When I travel, I really love to dig deep into the culture and learn as much as I can about it from the beautiful people who make that certain location tick. In Taiwan, I got the chance to take a brief stop at the Chaing Kai-shek Memorial, which is akin to America's Lincoln Memorial and National Mall:
The gorgeous and incredible spacious grounds were flanked by the Taiwanese National Music Hall on one side and the National Theater on the other. The victory arch and memorial itself are both massive, like awe-inspiring size. (I couldn't help but compare it with the USA's national memorials--so many similarities!) And, while I walked around with some smart and lovely companions, I got a lesson from them on Taiwanese independence (called Double Ten Day because of the day and month) as well as an explanation of the country's flag.
In case you were curious and according to my excellent Taiwanese friends, the red represents the red earth and blood spilled during the revolution, the blue represents the sky, liberty and democracy, and the white sun represents peace, with each of the 12 points of the sun symbolizing a revolutionary who died for the cause of liberty.
So. There you have it. I loved this place, and I was geeking out a little because of all the great stuff I was learning. What awesome geek-out-worthy things have you learned lately? Care to share?
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