taipei

[breakingnews]

Just thought I'd drop in and say hello from the other side of the world (well, the end opposite of New York City). I arrived in Taipei two weeks ago and have been having a good time so far.

How I got here ... I wish I could explain it myself. Went through a rough patch this spring: split up with a few friends, saw others move to new places, had this disastrous episode with my best friend getting his girlfriend of a month pregnant. Also had my heart busted into a million pieces (not fun). And work - I just wasn't happy there and fell into complacency, and that gave birth to this unrelenting guilt about the lack of direction in my life, yadda yadda, etc. Your typical quarterlife crisis stuff, I suppose.

So, I quit my job a few weeks ago, packed up and came to Taiwan to improve my Chinese (one of the things I was feeling guilty about, never having learned well my parents' own language). It's been okay. Taipei is great: There is sooooooooo much great food to eat here, and the city constantly hums with this frenetic energy that is so exhausting yet oddly addictive. There are people everywhere all the time, always doing strange and peculiar things. I felt like such a small fish in Manhattan; but Taipei truly makes you seem the size of an ant.

I have been here several times before, so the sights and smells are not unfamiliar. Eating whole fish and duck heads is not strange, seeing Chinese writing everywhere is not intimidating and the etiquette (or lack of) is not startling. However, what's starting to sink in is the fact that I'm here for the foreseeable future, that I am not on vacation and won't return to all my friends and routine comforts in a few days, weeks or even months. There reason I am here is to overcome the language barrier. My daily challenge is not to get too discouraged. When someone sees I am of Chinese/Taiwanese descent, he expects me to speak like a native; when it becomes apparent that I cannot, a look of disgust or ridicule is not unexpected. It's a very humbling experience.

I start Chinese classes in early September at ShiDa (Nat'l Taiwan Normal Univ), and I'll be working part-time at a medical supply company, thanks to my dad's connections (yes, this is a VERY humbling experience). I'm living with my mom's younger sister and her family - when I get a chance, I'll post photos of our gorgeous view from the 13th floor.

I wish I had more to say right now - I've sort of spaced out and can't recall much of what I've done/seen/eaten over the past weeks. OH, for you sushi lovers: Last Saturday we went to Donggang, in the southern part of the island, where they host Taiwan's tuna festival every May/June. The toro was un-fucking-believable. Literally melts in your mouth like a slab of soft butter, and so full of that tender, juicy tuna goodness. Sigh, the 20 pounds I dropped this year will certainly return with haste, I've decided.

Any questions? Fire away! I've never seen people eating roasted bugs or spiders here (re: IOTD), but if I see anything truly extraordinary, I'll report asap.