We landed in Tapie caught the MRT (Taiwan’s train system) into the city center and like hearing underwater, the world was suddenly both the same and profoundly different. It first struck me getting on the escalator and seeing a massive line for the right side (where you ride down) and the rest of the escalator and stairs were totally clear. The physics of the escalator were the same, how to use it was completely different. We moved from a land of chaos to a land of rules.
It has made me think a lot about these social rules and expectations we have and apply to our surroundings. A friend posted on facebook about how “inappropriate” a man was who “grabbed her arm for a selfie.” I had to read it a few times to see what was inappropriate, as that was a daily experience here in Asia, but had to remind myself not so much at home. Old women regularly grab Lily’s braids and say how beautiful she is almost daily. Women pretending to “faint” on how handsome Traverse is, Isabelle, being totally undressed and “handled” during a shopping trip for a swimsuit top. Later that day she said, “mom six months ago that would have freaked me out, now it is just the norm.” As we hit the modernity of Taipei it made realize how much this year is shiting our experience and expectations and I think I am going to miss the random selfies.
As we adjust our gears to a new country and a new culture we have been reminded that the goal of the year was not to be comfortable, but build resiliency. And when our first nights hotel was accidently booked for the wrong month and we were searching for a place to stay that night, or the town we thought we would love for 3 weeks turned out to be more a sprawling suburb -we found ourselves stumbling with google translate as the language hurdle was larger than we anticipated.
But we adjust, we prioritize and do what we always do when life doesn’t go like you planned, head to the mountains. Taiwan's backbone is comprised of towering mountains reaching almost 10,000 ft tall shields the productive cities of the westside that have transformed Taiwan into the ’little dragon’ of Asia or this ‘modern miracle’ of industrialization. The east coast is still rugged an beautiful and much in the same condition as it was when the Portuguese sailors in the 1500’s “described” it, naming it “Formosa” or “beautiful island.” So off to the hills we go to see the sites and re equilibrate.
Grabbing a picture of this stunning view
Welcome to Taipei!
The train system has made getting around the island much more straight forward and enjoyable
Speeding down the coast
Finding a local art studio
End enjoying the art along the way
Impressive bike infrastructure
I love seeing how comfortable they have become in all sorts of new places and settings
Headed back on the train
Some days there was English writing that made sense
Other days we tried google translate. Never ending entertainment “please don’t waste your face.”
And most of the time it all worked out
Another thing we could not get over were the short, fat shaved dogs.
And the random fun beautiful art along the streets
