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July 24, 2008 – As I got up in the early morning, at 6:30 AM, I started thinking about Chao Chien-Nan (趙建南), the noodle shop owner whom I’d met earlier in the week. I wondered about how he was able to get up every morning at 4 AM, and open up his noodle store, at a time that most of us don’t ever get up. Today was the day that I would be able to interview him, and I was really looking forward to the opportunity. What made the new day even better was that I would also get to end the day by visiting Taiwan’s greatest national park. But, first, I would go see Chao at his store.

His store is located along a busy street, packed in with many other vendors, selling different items like fruit, vegetables, food, clothing, and so on. When Chou, my guide, and I came to the store, we realized we wouldn’t be able to park his car because of the incredible number of scooters on the street. We had to park the car elsewhere, and walk in from there. There were so many customers at the store ordering from Chao and his wife of 34 years, Li Shu-Chen (李淑貞), that it was truly a sight to behold. I decided I would just stay back and watch how they communicated with the customers and did their business for 15 minutes.

It was amazing! Many of the customers know basic sign language, and find it easy to talk with Li while making their purchase. If more in-depth communication is needed, Chao usually calls on his two hearing employees to help translate. The action sure was non-stop with the customers for Chao and Li. My period of quiet observation ended when Chao saw me and came over, thrilled to have me at his store. His welcome was very emphatic, as if we had known each other for years and years.

Showing me around the store, I saw how small it was, like 15’ by 15’, but the corner spot on the street made the size worth it. It’s a very ideal business location, and that really helps Chao a lot. From there, it was a mini-tour of his noodle-making machines, which were always working the whole time I was there. On the tour, I watched Li bring some boiling hot noodles from a pot into one such machine to cool down, before she could put them up at the counter. At this store, they make all kinds of noodles, including won ton, from scratch. Interestingly enough, they don’t use the local flour here; they purchase their flour, made of a higher quality, from the United States to make their noodles. Chao then asked me to try cutting some circles into a 3 inch thick noodle sheet, for dumplings, and also taught me how to fold and squeeze the circles into the shape of dumplings. He was very proud of me for getting it right on the first try!

Chao showed me a machine that made long sheets of noodles, before cutting them up into different shapes. He mentioned that it was his third machine in his 30 years of business, as these machines are always running 365 days a year without stopping. I got to see how the machine was run, and I even made some noodles and cut them! It got pretty crazy there for a few minutes, as I had to keep up with the machine by cutting 12 inch pieces of noodles quickly. Chao had a good laugh at my work with the machine, and even asked me to cut some more noodles. I kept on cutting, and he kept on laughing, surprised at my ability to keep up with the machine. Li, his wife, was stunned too. I kept on making more noodles, and I felt really proud of myself for having helped them a little bit with the noodles.

When Chou and I were ready to leave for Taiwan’s famed Taroko National Park (大魯閣國家公園), Chao excitedly wanted to join with us. He even pointed out that he had an American jeep, while Chou only had a Japanese jeep. I couldn’t say no to him, especially after the day we had together. He was so excited about coming with us. However, we had to wait until midday before we could leave, so he could finish preparing and packing the noodles for his business clients. When he finished, he took us to the Tzu Chi Foundation (慈濟大藏經), a massive campus that includes a university, hospital, temple, and school. I was very impressed by the size of the campus! We went through an exhibition of theirs that displayed what the foundation had done all around the world. One of the staffers were so excited to see an American, he even asked if he could take a picture of us. The staffer also wanted to show me the temple after our tour though the exhibition was completed. I agreed, and tagged along with him going into the interior of the temple. It was an incredibly gigantic temple, with over 2,000 seats! He had a good smile at my marveling about the temple, as we left the temple.

Chao’s jeep was at his house, so we went by to switch jeeps. He wanted to take us out to lunch, before the park, and mentioned that the place, a famous restaurant north of Hualien, he had in mind used his noodles. We went there, and I ordered the Beef Noodle bowl. It was a great lunch, and we had a good talk! Bellies filled, we got on the road for the national park.

Finally, after a long and fun morning, we arrived at Taroko National Park (大魯閣國家公園). Taroko (大魯閣), in Mandarin, means “magnificent and beautiful”. The road through the park is very tight, tight enough to only fit two small cars or one bus. I got out of the car and walked on the side of the road, at the Tunnel of Nine Turns, and looked over the tunnel and mountain, amazed at how they were able to cut a 19 kilometer long tunnel through the mountain in only 4 years. The gorge was very beautiful, and incredibly deep, all the way from the top of the mountain down to the river. I came across one area that looked like the face of a Taiwanese native, practically showing two eyes and ears each, with a long and strong nose. Chou laughed, and posed for a picture with me, acting out what the area looked like. We went through more tunnels, and parked alongside a sector we wanted to explore. The trails, like the roads, were also really tight, and it felt like I was falling down a deep cliff with each step I took. It was a great hair-raising experience. This is definitely a sight you should take in next year when the 2009 Summer Deaflympics take place.

And of course, you should visit my friends Chao and Chou’s shops. Trust me; the trip is really worth it! To end my time in Hualien, I took Chao to a sushi bar downtown in the city. He was happy that we had a chance to get together to have my interview, after getting to know me better over the last three days. I asked him about visiting Taipei for the Deaflympics, but unfortunately, Chao said it would be “almost impossible” for him to come because he’s always taking care of his noodle shop. I could feel my heart ache a little bit since he’d be missing out on a once in a lifetime opportunity for all Deaf people. So, maybe while you’re here for the Deaflympics, you could pay him a visit and try some of his delicious noodles. Show your Deaf pride!