Read From the Beginning
Here are a bunch of poser zebras. I'm not sure what they were looking at, but to zebras it must have been interesting.
So we bought this sweet thing the other day. In fact, Jordan had wanted to order it, but didn't, and then we magically found it in the one electronics store we went into. We took this as a sign (or at least, I took it as a sign and told Jordan) and bought it. I guess they make all the GPS devices in Taiwan, so that's why it's here.
Anyway, it's name is igot-u and it's a GPS tracker. This means that we velcro it to the backpack, walk around, and it sends a message to a satellite and tracks where we go. Then we go home and upload it to the internet, and you can watch us walk! Woohoo! I know you are very excited.
Here is a map I made. This is just a lame, small map. If you click on it it should take you to a new page. There you should click on the 3D view. Notice in the top left corner that you can push play, and also you can push the faster button, so it doesn't take too long.
\
Let us know how it works for you.
Here is another map, from another day.
Jordan is too busy to post these pictures that he took. So I will post them for you. We were at the zoo and we saw this sign:
Jordan stops to examine the sign.
Family takes time to stop and touch the poo for the photo.
Jordan goes into the bathroom and finds these trivia:
This next one made me a little nervous to visit the hippos.
This last one is not true. I know this for a fact because Farah out-pooped both Jordan and I combined.
If only my students were around to really enjoy these poo facts. The middle schoolers really love poo. This post is in their honor.
(Note: this post is from 11/4... publication was delayed due to internet troubles).
Marisa and I arrived in Taipei eight days ago, and are leaving two days later than planned. I'll admit that one of those extra days was due to wisdom tooth complications and a resulting trip to the dentist... but as for the other day, well, we just didn't want to leave. Taipei is colorful and vibrant, and every day here has been a kaleidoscope of sights and sounds and smells and tastes and feelings.
Spending anything less than a month in a city like Taipei--with its combination of dense population, fascinating history, and unique political situation--could be seen as futile.What can anyone possibly learn or pick up or take away in such a short amount of time? Of course, that's the question that hounds this whole trip, and every trip for every traveler... so I'm glad to have launched into this endeavor with a large city: biting off what is obviously so much more than can be chewed forces me to step back, and let go; to regain perspective, and try and come to grips with what journeying is about, for me. Which is not to know everything, or see everything, or understand everything; but to see some things, to try to understand some things.
It's about finding myself in the National Palace Museum surrounded by the largest collection of mainland Chinese artifacts in the world (far more than can be displayed at any one time; the displays are on constant rotation), and reading a sign that says they were "transported here by the government"... and trying to comprehend what that means. The sign does not say the Chinese government, because Taiwan is creating, is searching for--has created, has found--its own identity apart from China; but neither does the sign say the Taiwanese government, because the artifacts were in fact brought to Taiwan by the very Chinese KMT, even if that group has since been absorbed into the Taiwanese nation. Neither does the sign explain why the artifacts were transported, or hint that they might be seen as stolen, or repatriated--though Beijing constantly hollers accusations from across the straight (despite Mao's Cultural Revolution, which likely would have seen most of NPM's treasures destroyed). We are left with, simply, "transported" by "the government."
It's about turning from that sign, with all of its underlying political nuance, to examine a jadeite cabbage, crafted during the Qing dynasty, that's stunning in its beauty and its creativity--the way the artist used imperfections in a piece of jade that might have been tossed out as useless, to complement and even enhance his vision: craft meets form and function in a brilliant display that I can appreciate a century later.
It's about leaving that museum, and walking for hours through night markets that overwhelm my senses with distilled life energy. Feeling people at the ends of all my limbs; smelling dripping fats and dripping sugars at the ends of all my nostrils; tasting things and separating the flavors out a little--green onions wrapped in barbecued pork strips, sugar donuts hot out of oil, corn roasted in a spicy sauce--before everything merges back into a primordial sea of smells and desires. A puppy looks out at me from under the arm of someone who's just purchased it.
It's about noticing Kimchi in the market, and seeing Korean flags advertise Korean restaurants, and wondering if I ever would have noticed those things two years ago, before living in Korea. Wondering how many times I walked by Kimchi in my life without recognizing what it was; realizing that that will never happen again.
It's about getting lost on a street, pulling out a map of Taipei, and instantly having a passerby stop and ask with a smile, "Can I help you? Are you lost?" How to explain that I am, but I'm not?
It's about riding a gondola out of the city, to the hills of Maokong, where I sit and drink locally grown mountain tea in the shop of a woman with kinds eyes who offers a discount and tries to communicate with me in broken English and sign language. All I can give in return is "che che", and a bow, and a smile; somehow it feels like enough.
It's about going back to the city again, riding the metro, and playing an elaborate game of sign language with a boy across the way who's hat reads "YoYo King"; his mother smiles from where she's standing by the door. What game are we playing? Only the other one knows.
It's about exiting the metro and finding a temple that was built three hundred years before the metro was dreamed of, and is just as alive and active as ever, with people from all walks of life worshipping Buddhist, Taoist, and folk deities all together. Incense burns, wax melts, sweat drops on stones that once served as ballast on immigrant ships coming from Fujian Province in China. I touch the stones; they feel old. I watch a woman in a corner bowed over prayer beads, whose hands never stop moving; she's there when I come in, and there when I leave, two hours later. She was probably there before I was born.
It's about leaving that temple and seeing a man with three Great Danes, just walking down the street as if he were normal. Three Great Danes.
It's about finding the river, and walking for hours as the sun drops low over a city that feels far away across marshland... but really the city surrounds me. Watching bikers come and go; boys playing baseball under a bridge.
It's about joining Beitou locals in their daily or weekly visit to one of Taiwan's many hot springs (supposedly one of the primary reasons Japan lusted after the island)... letting the sweat evaporate and the miles of walking fade, as I descend into the water, lean my head back to watch Taiwanese clouds turn into Taiwanese sunset... then look down to notice a young girl smiling at me from across the pool. Isn't this great? her eyes say. Yes it is, I return, with my smile.
Yes, Taipei has been great, and I would like to stay longer. But I also want to get out. Because large cities, as interesting and exciting as they can be, tend to take on a life of their own, tied to but separate from the countries that contain them. I want to see more of Taiwan, as it was before Taipei, and is outside of Taipei. So tomorrow we leave the city behind for a trek down the country's east coast, the last region to be subdued by Taiwan's former colonizers, and the least developed region to this day.
I've been having lots of writers block. I remember back in high school when I used to write everyday, but then that was the point. You have to write a lot to be able to write. Which is kind of a tricky circle to get started on. Especially when what I would rather do is watch CSI on the TV here in our room at the “Legitimate Home Stay.” Being able to flip through channels is such a novelty, and so while it's mostly useless, it's still fun. Kind of like watching commercials. But then a preview for HP7 comes on and I'm riveted and then have to send a note to Erica on Facebook to see if she's ready. I can guarantee that wherever we are, we will make it to HP7, maybe not on the opening day, but soon after.
But perhaps I'll wait to write about HP until it actually comes out. And since I can't always post pictures Jordan has taken about poo, I'll have to come up with yet something else to write about.
Since we left Taipei we've either been wet, walking, or both. Sometimes the wet has been good, like when we were at the hot springs. Hot springs are really nice. We're thinking of planning the rest of our trip so that we can stop at some more (well honestly, I had already planned our trip that way, but it tuns out it was an excellent idea).
Otherwise we've been wet because it hasn't stopped raining since we got here. Well today saw our first dry 24 hours since we landed. We spent most of it walking around trying to find a hot spring that, it turned out, was closed. Although we did get to experience first hand the generosity and kindness of the Taiwanese.
A few days earlier we hiked 10 miles up a mountain. Well, I guess it was really 5 miles up and then 5 miles down, but with a 20 pound pack, that's still quite a lot, since usually I prefer to walk on flat surfaces. It also rained the entire time. Jordan says the view was worth it, and I guess the feeling of accomplishment was worth it. One of the things we saw while hiking was this inscription, which translates to “Boldly Quell The Wild Mists.” So this is me “boldly quelling the wild mists.”
When we finally made it down the mountain we ended at a temple where we spent the night. I enjoyed walking around the temple in my pajamas.
After leaving Taipei Marisa and I headed for Taiwan's northeast coast, where we did some camping and hiking. I'll post more about our experiences when I have the time, but for now, I thought I'd upload a couple of videos we took from our tent. These won't show you much of Taiwan, but they'll give you a bit of an idea of what it's been like camping and trekking in the rain... monsoon season on the east coast is late summer, but the aftermath has been hanging around this year, so that we've only seen two dry days since we've been here (and sun only once).
First night out camping:
The following morning:
That day we hiked the historic Caolin Trail, in the drizzle (click here for more pictures):
And spent the night at a temple in Dali (click here for more pictures):
I've been having lots of writers block. I remember back in high school when I used to write everyday, but then that was the point. You have to write a lot to be able to write. Which is kind of a tricky circle to get started on. Especially when what I would rather do is watch CSI on the TV here in our room at the “Legitimate Home Stay.” Being able to flip through channels is such a novelty, and so while it's mostly useless, it's still fun. Kind of like watching commercials. But then a preview for HP7 comes on and I'm riveted and then have to send a note to Erica on Facebook to see if she's ready. I can guarantee that wherever we are, we will make it to HP7, maybe not on the opening day, but soon after.
But perhaps I'll wait to write about HP until it actually comes out. And since I can't always post pictures Jordan has taken about poo, I'll have to come up with yet something else to write about.
Since we left Taipei we've either been wet, walking, or both. Sometimes the wet has been good, like when we were at the hot springs. Hot springs are really nice. We're thinking of planning the rest of our trip so that we can stop at some more (well honestly, I had already planned our trip that way, but it tuns out it was an excellent idea).
Otherwise we've been wet because it hasn't stopped raining since we got here. Well today saw our first dry 24 hours since we landed. We spent most of it walking around trying to find a hot spring that, it turned out, was closed. Although we did get to experience first hand the generosity and kindness of the Taiwanese.
A few days earlier we hiked 10 miles up a mountain. Well, I guess it was really 5 miles up and then 5 miles down, but with a 20 pound pack, that's still quite a lot, since usually I prefer to walk on flat surfaces. It also rained the entire time. Jordan says the view was worth it, and I guess the feeling of accomplishment was worth it. One of the things we saw while hiking was this inscription, which translates to “Boldly Quell The Wild Mists.” So this is me “boldly quelling the wild mists.”
When we finally made it down the mountain we ended at a temple where we spent the night. I enjoyed walking around the temple in my pajamas.
Home wherever you love
This is my new motto. I tried to get Jordan to change the tagline on our website, but he doesn't seem that interested. In any case, this is my new tagline. You can imagine it at the top of the website when you read my blogs.
You may be tempted to ask where I love. And while I love many places, and I really can't claim to have one favorite, it turns out that really I can.
I love McDonald's. Because it is always there. It always has been there. And hopefully always will be there. Where else can I turn when I'm in the middle of nowhere Taiwan and really need to eat something that's not Chinese? Or the middle of nowhere Korea? Or the middle of nowhere Bolivia?
A cheeseburger always tastes the same and so do french fries. Maybe I used to only like my burger with ketchup, while these days I can eat all the fixings. But there is nothing that says home quite like McDonald's. Not because their food is so great, but because it's always the same, and more importantly, always there.
After arriving in Taipei and spending a few days looking around, it became apparent that we really aren't a one camera family anymore. Often I'm happy to let Jordan take the pictures, but after a while of standing around while he takes lots, and lots, of pictures, I decided I would really rather have my own camera. So Jordan got to buy a new fancy one, and now I get the old one all to myself. I'm excited to try and remember all those things I learned in photography class back in high school. But the scary thing is that when I had that class, we learned on actual film. We spent half the class learning to develop our own photos. I remember thinking it was unlikely I would ever use that skill because, really, who has their own darkroom? Well it turns out I do, and it's called Photoshop.
Perhaps the best part of this deal was that I no longer have to process the hundreds of photos Jordan takes; he's in charge of them himself. Leaving me more time to do fun things like scrapbook and post on the blog.
I really love to do nothing. I also really love to scrapbook. Luckily I can scrapbook while we're traveling. However, it's a bit difficult to do nothing when I have to walk ten miles with my heavy pack. I mean, we don't have a goal, or a deadline, or somewhere we have to be, so in that way walking is like nothing. But, I also have to carry 25 pounds on my back and keep moving my feet. This is say, more difficult than taking a snooze on the couch. Luckily, I have a walking stick. When I was carrying it around at the beginning and it kept poking things from its attached place on my backpack, I thought it was pretty annoying and I used to say insulting things to it. However, it turns out that people don't carry them around to be stylish, and they are in fact helpful if you are walking far distances, even if the ground is flat. So I've apologized to it for the mean things I've said, and we've become friends. I've also given one of them away to Jordan, even if he is a camera hog*.
*For the good of everyone who reads this blog, I will keep saying less than nice things about Jordan in hopes that it tempts him to write his own blog posts. Perhaps if you would like to hear from him you should also leave inspiring comments.