Reflections of a month and half in Taipei

I'm lacking a bit of focus today as I am hungover and in a frenzy trying to pack for my trip to Tibet.  Hopefully, sitting down and writing down my experiences so far in Taipei will help me regain some focus and kill some time as I wait for my laundry to dry.


It was March 2nd that I left Toronto.  Sitting on that plane, I wasn't sure if the queazy feeling was the excitement of leaving my life behind or from the three gin and tonics that I had with dinner.  I was coming back to Taipei for the fifth time in my adult life but this time, for a longer stay than my past four visits combined.  


My first couple of days here, I was determined to relax - the weeks leading up to my departure were packed with dinners with friends, packing up my place and making sure all of my affairs were in order before I left.  I can safely say that I was more useless than a three dollar bill - all I did was eat, sleep, shower and more sleep.


Living with my family here has made me really appreciate my Taiwanese roots.  I've never had dinners with family back in Canada, but here, I sit down with my grandmother, my dad, my stepmom, and various extended family members every single night.  We have great conversations over dinner that is prepared by my grandmother's maid, Tina, and the food is incredible.  All the dishes are my grandmother's recipes and since she's too old to cook up a storm anymore, she's passed them all to Tina, who's skill to replicate them is beyond words.  And of course, with dinner, everyone drinks.  Shit, I thought I drank a lot when I worked at advertising, I think I've in fact drank more here than I did back in Toronto.  

Mmm...Liquid dinners.

With all this food and drinking, my clothes were quietly hinting to me that I needed to get my ass to the gym.  I think I heard my jeans scream during my second week here - they weren't kidding around when they named them skinny jeans.  I first started running outside, but with March / April weather consisting of rain, followed by more rain, I started searching for indoor facilities.  Thankfully, my dad helped me find a city government gym that is a bus ride away and a really cheap monthly pass - 1500 NTD ($50 CDN) for 30 visits.  I think when I come back in September, I'll try one of the other locations as they all have different and cool facilities - my gym had a rock climbing wall and archery court, the one near my grandmother's place has a gun range.  Not sure how firing a gun counts as a workout, but I shouldn't judge.

My gym pass - 30 for 30!  That's dedication.

Besides the gym, I spend most of my days wandering around or grabbing a coffee at Starbucks and reading a nice book.  I've read five books since I've been here (which is more reading than I've done in the past year alone) and had a chance to re-read one of my favourite books ever, The Chinese In America by Iris Chang.  A well-written account of the three massive immigrations of the Chinese people over to the US and the struggles of the Chinese people after immigrating.  I'm a sucker for history books and this one merged my love of history with trying to learn more about my roots.


I've learned a lot about my own roots by going through old family albums and having great one-on-one chats with my grandmother.  She's old, but still as sharp as any one my age.  She's such an incredible woman, having raised five children, she worked full-time (which was uncommon for women back in the day), she's well educated and she's a firecracker - always telling jokes and laughing but also pretty quick to scold you when you do something wrong.  She's an incredibly generous woman - always making sure if you have had enough to eat or if you needed anything, I can see where my father learned that trait.  I'm glad I've had the time to spend with her, as she's been a key part of me discovering and piecing together the history of my dad's side of the family.


I've had a chance to travel by myself to Kenting and see the sights and sounds of south Taiwan.  I survived and much to my surprise, my Mandarin isn't as bad as I thought, being fully able to communicate with the hotel staff, taxi drivers, and other tourists.  Having hiked for about four and a half hours on my second day in Kenting, I was awestruck by the beauty of the south coast, in particular the cliffs of Maobitou and the neon green seaweed at White Sands Beach.

Breathtaking White Sands Beach

I haven't been very homesick, but it's always great to hear from friends.  Many thanks to those who I've spoken to over Skype and to Franky, who mailed me a card - my first and only piece of mail here in Taipei!

Letters are fun!

There's so much left in Taiwan to explore and I hope to do that when I return for a couple of weeks in late May and then in mid-August.  If my last month and a half have been as great as this, I can't imagine what three months in the fall will be like - especially when I start up my Mandarin lessons.  Reading and writing Mandarin will be a fun challenge to conquer and to be a student again, that will also be a fun challenge to face.  


I leave on a plane tomorrow for a new adventure - Tibet.  I am sure I'll see even more things that will open my eyes and arouse all my senses.  I face another big challenge - being disconnected from the world.  No phone, no laptop, no internet, NO FACEBOOK.  Let's see how much fun my dad will have dealing with a Facebook junkie going through withdrawl.  I must google "internet cafe Lhasa" before I depart.


Alright...back to packing...

I can only procrastinate so much.