2011 Annual Conference of Taiwan Association of Family Medicine

    Another 1 day stay in Taipei.
    The 2011 Annual Conference of Taiwan Association of Family Medicine is held this Sunday. I completed a small study about the musculoskeletal discomforts of the staff in a wind turbine company in Taichung under my leader Dr. Chen's assistance. My study was chosen for presentation by poster thus I went to Taipei carrying the roll of my poster for a short visit.



    As usual, I stayed in my good friend's rented apartment in the Minsheng Community (民生社區), my favorite district in Taipei that flawlessly mixes the modern city with traditional life of the ordinary folk. Unlike other areas in Taiwan, there are fewer buildings with arcades enabling people to enjoy a border vision. I arrived Taipei on Saturday evening, took bus to Minsheng Community Center, and then walked to my friend's place. We dined in a nearby restaurant named "Au Petit Cochon(哈古小館)." The restaurant provided French country cusine. We ordered eggplant salad, ratatouille, grilled pork rib, and confit duck leg. The taste of the dishes was a little too light to me, but my friend liked the meal very much.

Confit Duck Leg

      After dinner I bought some spicy soya-mixed meat back to my friend's house, watching Wimbledon women's single final. Maria Sharapova was defeated by Petra Kvitova. I was not surprised.
      The next morning I woke up at 7:30 am, when my friend had already gone to work (he is a journalist). The streets of Minsheng Community were peaceful on Sunday morning. Again, I took bus to connect with MRT to the Annual Conference. The venue was thoroughly crowded. I quickly pasted my poster in the designated place. My mission was done. I walked around and greeted with some old friends. About 1 hour later, my friends and I moved on to the Hankyu department store Taipei for chatting and lunch. One of my friend has worked at a local clinic of cosmetic medicine. She shared her working experience with us and gave me some advice of my future career plan. Her opinion is so practical  and precious, hence I have to ponder more over my next step after residentship.

The Quiet Street in the Morning

       My stay in Taipei ended with shopping in the MUJI store and the UNIQLO store. I found that Taipei has kept progressing. The gap between Taipei and Taichung becomes huger and huger. I often felt like I was in another country when visiting Taipei. However, I still maintain I love to live in Taichung more than Taipei because of the cozy ambience of Taichung and my family. Even though I once dreamed of owning a house in the Minsheng Community, it's just a dream. My reality is in Taichung. I prefer leaving Taipei as a dreamland faraway.

My friends (coworkers) and I