COMPASS MAGAZINE, August 2000. VOL. 7 ISSUE 8

Editor's Note

For many Taiwan residents, summertime can be a distinctly uncomfortable time of the year. Extreme heat and humidity can leave one feeling sweaty, dirty, lethargic and in dire need of a cold shower--all before the day is half over. Although it tends to have slightly-less extreme weather than both Taipei and Kaohsiung, Taichung is no exception to these conditions. Thankfully, however, locals now have a great world-class option--introduced in this month's cover feature--for cooling off and having some fun. Check it out!

Those of you paging through the July edition of COMPASS may have noticed our new, vastly-improved pull-out map of Taichung. Design and Production Editor Donovan Smith has worked very hard to upgrade the magazine's maps over the past few months and can justifiably be proud of a job well done. Of course, we will not stop there and plan to continue improving all aspects of COMPASS. I have been encouraged by very positive feed-back from individuals and businesses and welcome any further comments and suggestions.

Be sure and read the other interesting features in this month's edition, including an Up Close look at taxi drivers by Cheryl Robbins, Donovan's wacky horoscopes and, as always, John Chislett's informative introductions to Taichung restaurants and 'hole-in-the-wall' eateries.

In closing, I want to take the opportunity to thank a special group of people who are essential to making COMPASS an interesting, informative publication for the entire Taichung community. Our translators--people like May Chao (who works long-distance from California), Nono Yu, Priscilla Chen, Kristy Liu, Andreana Huang, Heather Yian Lin and Debbie Ho--are regularly called upon to make often-difficult translations on short notice. Their hard work and contributions are greatly appreciated by editors and readers alike.

Sincerely,