A Moment of Clarity

I think I finally felt it tonight. The moment of peace and harmony that people sometimes describe.

I've now been in Taiwan for one week, which is half the time of my stay.

My host family really seems to love me. And I mean that. They enjoy showing me around, making sure everything is fine, and we are beginning to laugh and joke together..

But now back to that moment of peace I was talking about.

It happened tonight at the hot springs. My host father and I went into the public hot springs, the kind I'd only seem before in Japanese video games. The springs where they separate men from women and you get naked and relax.

At first I thought it quite odd, but then I took a second to look back and realize that I'd tried a plethora of new foods, smelled countless new smells, and that this change was therefore nothing
I should worry myself over.

So there I was, the only white guy surrounded by hordes of older naked asian men speaking Mandarin, completely embracing whatever the hell you might call that sort of experience. All my worries slipped away, reality seemed nonexistent, ceilings broke down and the ground fell out from under my-erm let's just say feet. I'd likely never be here again, and for a young man of my age I have to say I'm pretty happy with my life. The next time you get the chance to, look yourself in the mirror and say 'this is exactly what I need to be doing with my life right now.'


Now did you mean it? Did it feel right?

101 and meeting new friends

Yesterday I went to the Taipei 101 building, a massive building that pierces the Taipei skyline like a lone spear surrounded by its dwarfish counterparts. It was nice to go to the top, and reminded me of my journey to the top of the Empire State Building earlier this year...though we were in Asia, so everything had an asian twist. The view of Taipei and the surrounding area is amazing. There are rolling green hills on one side, a busy city with a rich cultural history, and buildings and monuments to former leaders and revolutionaries. There is a river, and a high tech industry quarter. Very buzzing and vibrant.

I met Gowtham, a Sri Lankan national who is studying an advanced degree in civil engineering in Belfast, and will return to Sri Lanka after to work as a consultant. Nice guy, and we saw him later that night too.

We returned home and ate dinner. My host father made the best fried rice I've ever had. In fact, I need to have him show me how to cook it before I leave. Then we sang Karaoke. Jim even sang some songs in English. I think he enjoyed it very much. We had a couple of duets, and it was fun. Then we went to a party that Alice was throwing.

I met a slew of new friends from all over the world. Too many to name. Though I did notice that a significant amount of them were from South Africa. Quite cool. Are you reading this Alice?! Hope work is fun! Alice is the most beautiful and sexy party girl in the world! Woohooo. hahaha

Aaaanyway, I had to leave a bit early as my host family had to return home to sleep for work in the morning.

Today I am meeting some people somewhere in the city. Not really sure where yet. Also not particularly concerned by it. Life is always a grand adventure in a foreign land.

The Yilan Incident

I awoke early again and this time my host father and mother took me to Yilan for the day. Yilan is a beautiful green area famous for its hot springs, and the cold springs that we went to. Apparently there are only two cold springs in the world, and the other one is in Switzerland. I also went with my host mother's parents, and we dropped them off at a large house in the countryside. I saw some Chinese workers wearing the traditional hats you see when you envision China, and it reminded me of learning of the rural peasantry in class last year.

There was also some sort of Indonesian man servant there to help the father, who was 80 years old. Not really sure what the story was there, but the Indonesian man servant seemed happy.

Then we went to a brewery. We waited around for a minute, and looked at a few exhibits. Then a man who worked there came and got really excited to see me. He gave me a short tour, showed me a video, and then brought out two bottles of locally brewed wine. While I'm certain this is the wrong way to spell it, he and I drank Kung Lu Joh, a wine famous for cooking chicken, and a very sweet wine. Then my host parents told him something and he brought sausages that were cooked in wine. Then he decided he wanted to drink spirits with me, so he brought a little bottle of spirits and we drank that. Then as we were walking through the store area he ran into us and bought me and him a beer. So we drank that and had consumed quite a bit of alcohol

Then he decided to give us a tour of the parts of the brewery normally closed to the public, so I saw the enormous storing rooms, the bottling process, and other nice stuff.

In the evening I met David and Nana. Nice fellows. Should probably see them again. If nothing else, we are all going to Kinmen island together. More to come soon, and I'll hopefully get pictures up so this isn't so boring!

Wulai and the Mountains

We spent Sunday in Wulai, the mountainous region of Taipei county just south of Taipei city.

In the morning, Roy cooked me cheesecake and cream puffs. They were delicious.

Wulai is a fun place in a mountainous jungle region. There is a tram that takes you up to the part of Wulai where the falls, ponds and streams, and attractions are. The mountains are covered in vibrant green foliage, and lush green jungle covers the panoramic view at the top of the mountain.

There was a Chinese horror ride, and obviously I had to go on it. We all went, and one of the girls came out crying a little bit. She was fine, so it was funny.

Then we got some boats, and paddled them around a ring. Kinda fun, though people were always getting jammed up in the narrow part of the stream.


We returned to the main part of the village and walked down the main street. There was an open market where I tried an egg that had been cooked in spring water and was quite sweet. I also tried a really good Taiwanese soda that came in a glass bottle and had a little glass marble in it. Cannot remember the name, nor would I be able to spell it anyway.

Then we came back, and ate some fried chicken and pizza. Oh and also some corn soup. I drank some whiskey and coke and then fell asleep. I'm now awake at 5 AM Taiwan time and ready for more. Let's do it!

Sorry but it is hard for me to write inspiring things without pictures and when I have to rush to post something every day! I'll try to get used to it, and when I have time I'll get wireless at a Starbucks to add pictures!

We'll stop the flames at dawn, but I keep burning on and on....

The finest line divides a night well spent from a waste of time....unless you're in Taipei for the first time. Then you can do pretty much anything you want and your time spent is worthwhile.

Also I don't have wireless internet access, so I won't be able to upload pictures yet. But I have plenty in mind for these posts, and will have to retroactively add them.

Making a long story short, I made the 13 hour flight just fine and didn't sleep at all. I then went to my host family's home in Taipei and met them for the first time. They prepared a lovely meal of Thai style soup, Lamb Leg, pasta, and other sides. Then the drinking began. I probably had five or six beers, and began mixing them with Sprite and some sort of Chinese spirit, though I was unable to read the bottle. Met my family and met some of their friends, so it was a good night. I then slept a very short while and woke up at 6 AM Taiwan time ready for more.

We went to breakfast and then the famous museum. I learned about the event where the GMD and Chiang Kai-Shek took the artifacts and rare treasures from the mainland when the CCP came to power under Mao in 1949. Before too long, I realized that I was looking at these treasures-treaties from the Opium Wars with European nations and the US, the Jade Cabbage, and other ancient priceless bronze works. Truly amazing. I even saw FDR's signature on a document from the US. Pretty remarkable.

In the afternoon, we went out to lunch and to a place along the river in the bay. We walked around and I tried strange new foods, almond milk, and then we caught the ferry to the other side, a place ironically called BaLi.

In the evening, we stopped for dinner at a Dumplings restaurant. There, I tried two new Taiwanese delicacies-Pig blood rice cake, and Duck Egg, also known as Century Egg to culinary enthusiasts. The pig blood cake really wasn't bad, mostly just tasted like rice. The duck egg tasted strange, but not really bad. Certainly unlike anything I'd ever tried before. Let's just say it won't replace bacon and eggs in my diet.

We then went to the Chinese Cultural University, where my host father works. He had the keys and the place was deserted, so I had a professional class spa to myself, complete with jet massage underwater chairs of various varieties. Oh and then I had a massage in a massage chair.

Then we went home and had some Jim Beam/coke and Bacardi/coke. My host brothers turned red in the face as they drank it, and then I fell asleep.

Today we are going to Wulai, and tomorrow to Ilan, Hsinchu. Time to keep this dream alive.

Back into the unknown

Well the time has come again. Over the past three years, I've been able to travel internationally for extended periods of time, and each time I've chosen to blog about it. This is the start of the Taiwanese blog. It is required for my program, as the government of Taiwan is paying for my flight, providing me a place to stay for the two week duration, giving me a cell phone, and bestowing countless other perks upon me that I can't list in their entirety here, so in the long run it is a pretty sweet deal.


But let's be honest. If you've read my blogs before, you already knew I was going to blog about this regardless of the aforementioned...


First and foremost I should thank my friend Phil Fong for turning me on to the program. Had it not been for him, I never would have known such an opportunity existed, and wouldn't have applied. I should also thank the SayTaiwan program and Taiwanese Government for selecting me, and thank my host family for agreeing to house me for the two weeks, and also for their wonderful outreach starting a month before the program is set to begin. From the looks of it I will be taken care of. I just hope they know what they've gotten themselves into.

The picture here is of Roy Chang, my host father, who seems to be preparing everything wonderfully for me. I haven't even met you and I can't thank you enough Roy.

Also a big thanks to my wonderful boss for agreeing to let me go on this adventure and keep my job! Mentioning that I might meet the president of a foreign country might have helped a bit...and I promise I'll pass out my business cards if you ever do read this, Walt!

The program falls at a strange place in my life, and a wise man once reminded me that you can have all of the money and success in your life, but at the end of the day, your life is set, and once it is set you inevitably find yourself longing for the past, for days of your young life when everything was still unknown. For you see, the unknown is the absolute truth. As paradoxical as it seems, there is nothing more pure and endearing than the unknown, and my current 'normal' life has recently still been rather unknown to me.

I've moved to the West side of Los Angeles, to the Beverly Hills area, and am working in Westwood, at a job that is both challenging, rewarding, and something I truly enjoy after my first three weeks. My core group of friends is still here, and many of them are now closer to me (geographically and emotionally) than ever before. I'll enjoy watching the seasons change and the settings change but familiar faces remain as we progress through this wonderful disaster they call life.

For the first time, I'm no longer under my parent's guidance, support, or subject to their will. With their blessing, I'm on my own and things are truly starting for me as a young man.

Now Taiwan comes into the scene.


I can't really say what I expect, nor can I say that I want to have any expectations. From my previous experience, you can have an idea of a place, though that idea can never mature beyond an abstraction, and in fact it is rather folly to waste energy or presence of mind on expectations when it comes to visiting foreign lands. No matter what, your idea or hope will not match reality. Reality, from what I've seen so far, while completely different, is always much better.




There is my host brother, and I think he told me his name is John. He also messaged me, and seems excited for my visit. He tells me he is a chef and his largest concern was that I wouldn't like him because he smoked. I told him those are two great things already. These are very polite people.