I am Hot and Sticky

I wasn't exactly sure how to title my first blog entry in Taiwan. I was thinking of several titles, such as "I am a Pretty Lucky Guy" and "I Look Like a Waiguoren (Foreigner)", but I settled on the one above, because of all the themes of my journey so far, this one is predominating.

I have been here for just over a week (or a few days-- if you don't count the days I was zonked with a case of jetlag). Since my life has been focused on getting housing (remember Maslow?), I haven't been able to write. However, I am happy to say that I am writing you now from my room in the hills behind my University, National Chengchi University, near Muzha in the southern part of Taipei.

Last year, I lived in the city center, and this year I decided I wanted to live closer to nature. Which is exactly what I have done. Crickets are chirping and butterflies flutter just beyond my front door, and me and those butterflies and crickets are all swallowed by the lush green of these hills.


Even though I lived in Taipei last year, I am still in a bit of shock here. This past year, despite missing Taipei terribly, I settled back into Berkeley life and reconnected with my waiguoren roots. Nevertheless, the kindness of Taiwanese people touches me every day and makes my reentry a little easier.

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On the plane to Taipei, I was able to sleep, so on my first day, after arriving at 4:30 a.m., I took a bus to Xindian, and met my friend Kiet. She let me crash at her place, and after showering and changing, I hit the streets of Taipei. Since I didn't want to get clobbered by jetlag, I knew I would need to stay up for the next 15 hours.

I headed downstairs, where I had seen a breakfast stand, and ordered some eggs. As I sat eating breakfast, I just couldn't believe I was back. In contrast to my first time arriving here, when the laobanniang asked me if I wanted a beverage with my meal, I could understand and respond. "Sure," I said in Chinese, "I'll take some soymilk." "You want that warm?" she asked. "Yup," I said.



With a little oolong tea (okay, a lot), a made my way to the University and announced to administration that I had arrived. They set me up with a student who would help me find housing. Typical of Taiwanese people, she took a lot of time out of her schedule to help me find a place to live. After search for a day and a half, I found this place surrounded by nature, and soon after, grabbed it.

While looking for housing and settling into my new place, I have been studying. Everybody says I study too much, but I love learning Chinese and Chinese Medicine. "You have to be practical," says my mother. I suppose that in the next few years, my mother's "practical" and my "dream" will come together.

When people tell me that I'm brave because I am pursuing my dream, I want to encourage them to follow theirs. Everyone has a dream, even though for many it is buried underneath stress or sadness or busy-ness or too much project management. And then, people say they are too scared. I've learned that living your dream can be difficult at times (like when you are hot and sticky and realize you are on the wrong bus, or when you can't understand what the clerk at the 7-11 is asking you). But if it is a choice between these frustrations and working for a company you don't believe in, or submitting to a boss that is, well, an asshole, I think the decision is quite clear.

This past Monday, I took my placement test for school. There are many Latin American students and since my Spanish isn't bad, I have been hanging out with them. It's funny, last year I met and hung out with a lot of French people. It looks like this year I will practice my Spanish. Many of these students come from countries that have maintained diplomatic relations with Taiwan (like Paraguay, Honduras, and Nicaragua) and so after studying Mandarin here for a year or two, they go on to get a bachelor's or grad degree here. "Will you be getting a professional degree here?" one woman asked me. I told her that I already have a profession, that I am an acupuncturist. I am probably 15 years older than her, but am flattered that she thinks I am in my late twenties.

I have already made some new friends here. The other day, while studying in a cafe, I met a professor of Chinese, Yilin, who was excited to meet me. I told him that I study Chinese medicine and we ended up having a conversation about Classical Chinese and philosophy.

In typical "Roni" fashion, when I tried calling him yesterday, I called the number scribbled in pencil on the back of his card (which apparently not his phone number), and ended up having a conversation with a retired professor at the university (no doubt, I think I'll need to give Yilin his card back). So, I am meeting this professor today. In Chinese, this is called "yuan fen", which is hard to translate, but can be translated as "synchronicity".

In addition to studying my characters for school, I have also started learning some medical Chinese, which will be essential for interning in a clinic. While my classmates are learning the ins-and-outs of dealing with insurance and dealing with things like overhead, I am working on my Chinese. I am definitely taking the long path that is less traveled. As they say at McDonald's "I'm Lovin' It!"

Every day, I see things which I would like to write about, but there's no way I can write about every one. Like when I went to work out out the Zhongshan Fitness Center. While I am doing situps, there is this 75 year-old woman next to me doing her exercises. She was amazing. She did all kinds of exercises which would put most 20 year-olds to shame. This is one of themes that become apparent when you live in Taipei. Many of the old people here really take care of their health, choosing a different model of ageing than in the States.



To everyone who supported me in Berkeley this past year, I am sending you my immense gratefulness for your friendship. Thanks for helping me keep this dream alive. I miss you a lot already.

Lots of love,
Roni