Go! Go! Lamigo!

As in, the Lamigo Monkeys. As in, the Taiwan professional baseball team located in Taoyuan just north of Taipei.

We headed to the game via High Speed Rail. Getting around this city is so easy and convenient. And cheap. We've really enjoyed that part of it.

Two peas in a pod. 

Brian, who we met at AIT yesterday (seems like a week ago), offered up some tickets to the baseball game. Super nice guy and great to talk to. He worked behind homeplate tonight and his only stipulation to the tickets was that we promised not to heckle the ump. ;)

He warned us that the crowds are crazy and there's nothing like it. He was right. We knew he was right when these two set up shop right in front of us.

Yes, those are trombones.

Then the drum arrived...and the big flags, and the trumpets, and...you get the idea.

And the bad, really bad cheerleaders. 

So me moved down a few sections (you can sit wherever you want once you're in the park). The kids got some noisemakers and we were off to a great start. 

While Brian worked hard running the game, 

We found ourselves on the big screen. Twice in the first inning. He told us ahead of time that they love to put foreigners on the screen..and it's nationally televised. We're stars!

The home team, the Lamigo Monkeys, had tons of fans. 

Now, you have to understand. Each side has a "band" of sorts, cheerleaders, a guy with a microphone, and sometimes fire and smoke. WHILE the game is being played, the announcer is introducing players and such, and each side is doing cheers and chants. Each side's band is playing, waving humongous flags, and it's being led by a guy with a microphone and his own sound system. The fans all have noisemakers and megaphones. You can hear both sides chanting, the ballpark announcer, and oh yeah, the game is being played. It's completely insane. 

My favorite was the microphone guy on the Lamigo side. He's a Psy wannabe and I think he's pretty big stuff in these here parts. 

It was so entertaining and fun to watch. We were so tired after the zoo that we almost didn't go. We're so glad we did! A big shout out to our new friend Brian and his wife Belle. We appreciate his generosity so much!

We are now preparing for tomorrow morning. It's an early trip to the airport and we'll begin our journey home. It's difficult because we are all ready to be back home, yet there are a million more things to do here in Taiwan. And I know tomorrow will be hard for Katelyn, whether she shows it or not. The definition of bittersweet.