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Published: March 3rd 2010
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Stairs
The Taiwanese are a thoughtful and practical people-- rather than build switchbacks which meander up mountainsides, they put in stairs that take you straight up. Watch your step, though. That wood is old. I found an apartment! After just two afternoons of looking around at various places (aided by my friend Miyuki, whose Chinese is way better than mine), I discovered a beautiful place just a few minutes away from my school. Nice big windows, a washing machine, free wireless internet (yes...), and a fully functional kitchen shared with the landlady and another tenant named Eugene. The landlady, Grace, is a little batty, but very nice and hospitable (just a few minutes ago she brought me a cup of tea and two slices of some sort of green fruit). Her somewhat ironically named dog, Happy, is neurotic and suspicious, but I am optimistic that someday he won't freeze and stare at me coldly whenever I enter a room. Best of all, there is an enormous and beautiful park right across the street from my apartment, with a pond and wicked, wispy trees and a children's playground. It's nice to have some greenery in the midst of this urban density.
I went on another hike on Sunday, this time by myself. I had wanted to take the train and spend a few days on the eastern coast of the island, but too late discovered that
I spy
Do you see him? you have to buy train tickets several days in advance in Taiwan (I asked a woman why that was, and she laughed and explained, "because Taiwan people are so many!"). So instead I've been taking day trips around the county, using the very modern and efficient subway system to take me to outlying areas. On Sunday I went to a town called Xindian and found a hiking trail that led up into the densely forested, steep hills to the east. The first ten pictures in this post are from that hike. The transformation was amazing; one minute I was on a busy street by a 7-11 and a bunch of middle schoolers playing basketball, then all of a sudden I was ascending into a misty, warm forest. Butterflies, spiders, flowers, old soft wooden steps, and only the dull hum of the traffic behind me to remind me that I was still in one of the largest metropolitan areas in southeast Asia.
After spending close to an hour climbing around from lookout to lookout (and after enjoying my peanut butter sandwich), I began my descent and encountered an old man resting by the path. We chatted politely for a minute or
Lookout
(In more ways than one) two, then the man (whose name, Mr. Lin, appropriately means "Forest") leaned in close to me and asked in his wheezy, eager English, "Do you like Scotch whiskey?" Sure, I replied, I like whiskey as much as the next guy. With some effort, he climbed the few remaining stairs leading to a small pagoda and gestured me in. Then he opened his fanny pack and pulled out a small bottle of whiskey and a glass. He poured a generous shot and held it up to the light: "Look, look! Clear. Good color. Blue label. Ahhh". Then he gave me the glass and instructed me to smell it. "First, you look. Then, you smell." He was delighted. "Finally--" and he leaned back and poured most of the remaining contents of the small bottle into his mouth. Like a conductor, he elaborately waved his hands in front of his face as he swooshed the liquid over his tongue and from cheek to cheek, then swallowed with an enormous sigh of contentment. "Blue label! So smooth. Good, ah, good...finish!" I could only agree. He looked at the remaining Scotch, then at me, pensive. "This I save," and back it went into his pouch.
Not yet finished, he then whisked out another bottle, some sort of cherry liquor. We shared that as well. After another few minutes of chatting, Mr. Lin picked up his two canes, looked me in the eye, and solemnly said, "Now we must say goodbye." He ambled off down the path. As he left, he cackled and shouted back, inexplicably, "Vaya con Dios!"
The next six photos are from the next day, Monday, when I went to the zoo. I didn't bother to include the vast majority of the pictures I took because we've all been to the zoo before, but these ones I thought were particularly great.
The next five are from a walk I took yesterday, Tuesday, along the banks of the river DanShui (which means Fresh Water). My aim was to see the ocean, so I took the subway to its northernmost point, then walked along the river to its mouth at the sea. It was a much cooler day than we've had in a while, which was wonderful. No notable encounters except with a strangely out-of-place pig, who was patiently (if a little mournfully) waiting outside a store.
The last picture comes from
Monday night, when I met up with my new friend Lain for dinner. He has been living in Taipei for eight months, ever since he moved here from Spain to study Chinese. He is also a vegetarian (convenient), so he took me to a favorite vegetarian restaurant of his. Afterward we walked through a night market near our school and found a furniture shop with (as you can see) unbelievably soft chairs.
Orientation was this morning, classes start tomorrow. I am in an intensive course which meets for three hours a day, five days a week. Blog posts may slow down a bit now that school is beginning, but I will try to continue to travel around on weekends.
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Mia
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You are lucky to experience this beautiful part of Taiwan :)
Hey~Just randomly passed by here and read your blog! Nice pictures and interesting article ;) Enjoy your time in Taiwan, you will find how lovely Taiwanese people are :D