1: Movin' on up!

After a short summer visit to the States I am back in Taiwan. I arrived at 6:30am this past Tuesday, and thankfully Noah was there to lug my significantly overweight 70-lb bag up and down the steps of the train station (I got away with carrying the 30-lb one!). I managed to haul it backward up the stairs of his apartment building and immediately headed for the shower. I had slept pretty well on the plane, and I was a little disappointed to find that despite feeling exhausted, I wasn’t really ready to sleep. I was very excited to be in Taiwan again, but the unfamiliarity of my first trip from the airport to the train station to the apartment left me feeling a little nervous. I tried to remind myself that although “I’m back”, things will be different for me this year. I no longer have 11 awesome people to share in the experience, and the people and places that I’m most familiar with--the main reason why I was so excited to be back again--are mostly in Kaohsiung. Beginnings always excite me more than they scare me, but the in-between stage is always the most difficult. I hate the in between.

I got right to work planning the details of this coming week; I had nothing scheduled until registration for classes on Tuesday, but my plans to spend the weekend with Noah changed when his visa trip was moved up to Thursday. It turned out to be a great thing, because I called Nini, my host sister from last year, and made plans to go to Kaohsiung this weekend. We have some more packing to do before the movers can take everything on Tuesday (Nini was kind enough to help me move all of my things to her house for storage this summer and has been working with the movers to arrange all the details of the move), and I thought a trip back to Kaohsiung might be a good way to reintroduce myself to Taiwan. I called Peiwen, a co-worker from Wenfu and one of my best friends, to let her know that I would be coming this weekend and would love to see her and Yuki, her adorable little girl. It was so good to hear her voice, and when she asked me to stay with her for the weekend I was thrilled!

By the time Noah came home from work I felt better about knowing what I needed to do and when, and I was more relaxed. We went to a little shop around the corner for a late dinner (one thing that hasn’t changed--it’s nice to have those little bits of consistency), and ate three of my Taiwanese "comfort foods". Of course we needed a little adventure, so Noah looked up the way into the city where my training would be and wanted to take me that night on his scooter so I’d know where to go. We made it about halfway and then realized that the highway we needed to take is closed to scooters, so we drove around the city and gave me a little tour of a few of the more scenic spots. Having had a good first day and feeling better about my plans for the weekend, I worked on tackling the question of getting to Taipei for registration.

Just before I left Taiwan in July, I spent a day in Taipei looking for a new apartment. I immediately loved both the room and the roommates of the first apartment I looked at, and I came back that night to take the room. The dates for registration and training preceded my official move-in date, but my roommates all welcomed me to move some of my things in and crash in the living room if I needed a place to stay. Since I had the invitation, I decided that before I left for Kaohsiung I’d take the HSR (High Speed Rail) to Taipei to drop off my biggest/heaviest piece of luggage, and then pack what I’d need for the other days I would be traveling around. I would come back to Taipei for a day after my visit to Kaohsiung so that I could register for my classes, but then I’d have to go back to Hsinchu (the major city outside of which Noah lives) for my three days of teacher training. So with separate piles for Taipei, Kaohsiung, and Hsinchu, I headed off to Taipei.

I first got to Taipei on Thursday night and was welcomed by Andy, Fanfan, and Yumi, my new roommates. Yumi had plans to say goodbye to some friends who were leaving Taiwan this past weekend and invited me along. I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep for a while and thought dancing for a few hours might help, so I decided to go. I met a few of her close friends, and even found a good friend in another girl who, like me, was brought along by her friends. The music got better throughout the night and we were having a great time dancing, so we stayed out longer we planned. I thought for sure I would sleep well into the morning, but when I woke up and saw it was only 6am, I realized it would take a few days to shake off the 2-6am sleep schedule. I figured that it was late enough to start the day around 8, so I pulled out a little map of Taipei with a few suggestions of places to see. I found the section located near my neighborhood and decided on an alley with shops selling home goods and decorative pieces that would take me past NTNU (National Taiwan Normal University) where I’ll be studying.

Most of my roommates were at work when I came out from Yumi’s room, but Fanfan’s new teaching position doesn’t start until next week, so we got to know each other a little. She made a great breakfast/early lunch of sautéed beef with onions, carrots, garlic and white rice, and we talked about books and movies that we thought the other might like (she had asked me to bring her back a book by Paulo Coelho who is also one of my favorite authors). After the meal, Fanfan left to accompany her movie-critic friend to a review, and after doing the dishes, I was out of excuses to stay in. I grabbed my little map and headed out to explore my new neighborhood.

The little shortcut Andy showed me to get to the main road is easy enough, and as soon I came out from the ally I saw that there was a MyPhone just across the street. I took it as a good sign since one of the first things on my list to do was pay my phone bill. Having crossed one thing off my list just 5 minutes out the door, I had a little swing in my step and I felt a little more excited. I stopped at the ATM to take out money since I had been unable to do so at another ATM the night before, only to find that my U.S. card still wasn’t working. I’d made sure to let my bank know overseas transactions should be expected, had even called again before I left the apartment that morning, and had never had this problem in Kaohsiung, so I started to get a little nervous. I went to a few more banks with no luck, so I finally went in and asked the very helpful staff about the problem. They all did their very best to refer me to other more international banks, telling me to come back if I still couldn’t manage, and on my way to one of those banks, I found one a few blocks away from my house that can read my card. Relieved that I could pay my tuition and realizing I wasn’t too out of practice, I set out on the wandering part of my day. I passed the Wellcome (yes, with two l's), which Fanfan had told me was the closest grocery store, so I went in to take a look and was very impressed. It has a ton of fresh produce and meat, something that was a little more difficult to find nearby in Kaohsiung. I can also shop for everything else there as well, and it felt so nice to know that I would have a reliable go-to store for the year.

I continued on my way, stopping at the university next to find the building where I’d need to go on Tuesday. I looked for the street I had read about in my map book, but I was having a little trouble finding. I asked for directions a few times, making sure I was heading in the right direction since I seemed to be wandering into neighborhoods, and I stopped to cool off at a small park. It turned out the street wasn’t too far away at all, it just wasn’t the main road that it appeared to be on the map. I found a quaint-looking shop with windows filled with stained-glass lamps, silky-looking pillow covers and other pretty pieces, so I wandered in to have a look. The store owner was very friendly and helped me look through her very interesting collection of teacups and coffee mugs. I decided to buy one each for Yumi and Fanfan since they had been so welcoming and helpful. It was also nice to make my first addition to the apartment’s dinnerware collection.

When I came home, Fanfan came out to ask me about my day and offered to pick up some dinner for us on her way back from an errand. I offered to go with her so that I could see the area for myself and had a couple of hours together to talk about teaching, my time in China, and cultural differences. I had dumplings for dinner, something I was very happy to taste again, and on the walk back she showed me the other Wellcome that’s even closer to home.

When Fanfan and I got back Andy was rocking out to Celine Dion while packing his things, Yumi came back shortly after with her friend who was visiting from Malaysia, and I finally got to meet Danny, the fourth roommate who is coincidentally from Maryland. It was nice to have the kitchen traffic that naturally happens since all rooms branch off from that central room. Andy wanted to go out for a drink, and with half of my things still at Noah’s (including my makeup and most of my going-out outfits), Andy did his best to fix me up. He tried out a Cleopatra look that was a little too much for significantly pale me, and I tried my best to stand still as he attacked me with a mascara wand which he used both to apply my mascara and my “eyeliner”, a very painful process involving scraping the brush against my eyelids and then pulling the mom-move of removing what he didn’t like by licking his thumb and smearing it across my face. When he was satisfied with the final result and I was happy that my eyelids were still intact, we went to Ximen, a favorite outdoor hangout for the city’s young gay population. We chatted with his friends for a while and then headed to Fresh, Andy’s favorite bar. It was pretty empty for a Friday night, but it gave me a chance to talk more with Andy and Vincent, the adorable bartender who happened to be from Kaohsiung! I’m telling you…Kaohsiung is just that great. After my second drink and Andy’s fifth (or something like that), we headed home. On the way to the taxi we stopped at Yoshinoya, the 24-hour fast food Japanese restaurant to get Andy a midnight snack, which he insisted on feeding me in the back of the taxi. Bumpy taxi plus drunken roommate handling chopsticks equals an incredibly fun eating experience!

The long day plus the two-hour chat that followed in Yumi’s room as we settled into our beds helped me sleep a little longer than usual despite the jetlag. As soon as I woke up I got started on this right away, eager to tell you all about what is just the beginning of the second half of my adventures in Taiwan. I was in the middle of writing when I had to leave for Kaohsiung, and since Monday night when I left to go back to Taipei, everything has been a whirlwind. I still have plenty more to tell, but I just finished my first day of teachers' training. I have another long day tomorrow and again on Friday, but now that I am almost completely adjusted to Taiwan time, I am hoping that a good night’s sleep will give me enough energy to finish writing tomorrow. For now I’ll stop here. I’ve added a few of the pictures from my last few days in Taiwan before I left Kaohsiung at the beginning of July until I find my first big photo op!

晚安！Goodnight!