Why hundreds of people from Taiwan are visiting P.E.I.
'As a father I will miss my daughter every day'
About 500 people, mostly from Taiwan, are visiting P.E.I. right now as part of a retreat — and the group includes some parents who haven't seen their children in years.
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People are here learning more about Buddhist teachings and to see how their donations are used.
"Our spiritual teacher, Master Zhen-Ru, she's on the Island for half of the year so a lot of them come over to listen to not only the monks' and nuns' teachings, but also teachings from our spiritual leader," said Molly Chang, a co-ordinator for the retreat.
The air so fresh and the trees so green.— Hui-Chen Tsao
Hui-Chen Tsao and Wen-Shuo Yang are the parents of both a monk studying with The Great Enlightenment Buddhist Institute Society and a nun studying with The Great Wisdom Buddhist Institute.
Family reunions
The couple hasn't seen their children in years. The siblings have been learning at monasteries on P.E.I. for the past couple of years.
"My husband, the first time he come to P.E.I. he cried like a baby and the heart is just strong and I hold his hand," said Hui-Chen Tsao.
"As a father I will miss my daughter every day," said Wen-Shuo Yang.
They were relieved to see where their kids are living. Monks and nuns typically study for 14 years.
Shoulder season boost
"My daughter told me we have friendly neighbour and friendly people just like Taiwan people," said Yang.
"The air so fresh and the trees so green," said Tsao.
The visitors are also touring and learning about P.E.I. This is the first time GEBIS and GWBI are working with Tourism PEI and Meetings and Conventions P.E.I.
Historic sites such as Orwell Corner Historic Village and Roma at Three Rivers National Historic Site opened up early for the visit — a boost during the shoulder season.
"We've talked to them and said 'hey we have a group of people here who are quite interested in learning about your culture and your history and they're very touched by the way you try to preserve your history here on the Island,'" said Chang.
Hundreds more expected
The nuns said the visit is comforting for them as well.
"Well they're pretty excited about it," said Venerable Yvonne who has been studying on P.E.I. as a Buddhist nun for five years.
"Because the way we show our appreciation to our parents is to tell them that how much we have been growing here on the Island and some of the parents, they told me that they've seen some of their daughters here on the Island they become more mature."
The group has been on P.E.I. since May 25 and will leave June 9. About 600 people are arriving for another similar retreat later this month. Organizers are also working on a retreat for the fall.
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