Summer Vacation Part Three: Pandas to Camels

No matter how unreasonably long the vacation, it's never quite long enough. I was in Taiwan just long enough for it to start to feel like home. I felt myself reluctant to go, having fallen in love with the city and the people. Although, to my surprise, after a couple of days in Arabia, I am not at all discontent with being here. It has allowed me to slow down, relax, and reflect--things I seemed unable to bring myself to do while still in Taiwan. Now, I find that I am torn between wanting to stay in Saudi for the long haul, not just so I can save heaps of money, but so I can enjoy long vacations, travel the world, and live a peaceful, reflective lifestyle in between; and jumping on the next plane back to Taipei, so I can enjoy all of the things I really love about life all year long.



My final two weeks in Taipei, like the previous two, was flurry of activity. I wrote the previous entry from the coastal city of Haulien, which serves as a jumping-off point for exploring the stunningly beautiful Torko Gorge, for which Formosa (the beautiful island) was named. Although, most the majority of the trails were officially closed off due to damage from the recent typhoon, in surprisingly short order, I found a very good trail, which lasted several kilometers up a mountain, which lead to an isolated tribal village. Indeed, I crossed paths with two brown-skinned Taiwan natives with face-tattoos coming down the mountain as I was on my way up.

Despite the beauty of Toroko Gorge, after only two days in Haulien, I felt myself drawn back to my beloved Taipei. Full disclosure--I was going back for a girl...which very quickly proved to be a bad idea. So, from that point on I spend most of my vacation chasing various women...which at the time seemed perfectly sensible, knowing full well that in a very short time I would be back in the land of fig trees and chastity. After several dates, meetings and hang-outs, I found my self ill-satisfied, and finally ready to throw my hands up in defeat, finally willing to stop and actually pay mind to those damn emotions whirring around inside, begging for the attention which they had been denied up until that point. And then, against all odds and expectations, I spent my last few days with an amazing woman, who just so happened to be in the same situation as myself...and whom I haven't been able to stop thinking about since. 



Thus, I have come to realize that there really are some truly wonderful women in Taiwan, who are fun, clever, good-humored, and down to Earth--and willing to date a guy like me. Why wouldn't I want to live in a city like this? I could spend my free time doing the things I love--biking, hiking, doing yoga, and even Aikido. With some luck, I could even shack up with a pretty little Taiwanese girl. I could eat healthy food and drink craft beer. I could learn Chinese. I could live in relative freedom and delight in the finer things in life! I would have to work harder, I would get paid less, and I would have far less vacation time but I could truly enjoy life one day to the next, if I lived in Taiwan. 

During my two days in Korea, before flying back to Arabia, I was surprised at how crowded and oppressive Korea suddenly seemed. And when I got back to Arabia at last, I was equally taken aback by the emptiness and chaos. I how I longed for that happy medium to which I had grown so accustomed for the past month. But that feeling changed rather quickly. I was immediately and intensely discontented...but it forced me to stop. That was a great boon; my need to constantly be moving in Taipei was doing no good for my emotional well-being. People often complain about living in Rabigh, but it is peaceful. Also living here can be a big opportunity, if you have the right mindset. It's the perfect place for study, getting in shape, and learning new skills, if you have the requisite automotivation. The lack of places to go and women to chase can actually be considered a big advantage--and if one IS content to live here, as previously stated, the monetary rewards are considerable and the vacation time borders on absurd.



In my case, there are even more incentives to say: the work environment itself is constantly improving. Classes are becoming fewer, teacher support is getting better, and there are now real consequences for unruly students. If that is not enough, there is plenty of room for advancement in my company, and they offer free online master's degrees for employees.

So, in short, Arabia can offer me long-term financial security, professional development, time to develop skills independently, and more vacation time than I can shake a stick at. On the other hand, Taipei can offer me fun, companionship, the opportunity to develop skill in things I love, and a picaresque living environment.

I'm not sure what will happen. I would like to spend a year in Taipei...but the longer I'm back here, in Arabia, the more enticing staying another year seems. Things keep getting better here. Career-wise, it's really the opportunity of a lifetime. But then again, is any amount of money worth living life alone? Can you put a price tag on love? If I've learned anything from the past six months, it's that long-distance relationships do not work. I can no longer pretend that they do. So, I've got to re-think my game-plan. But what is my priority--money or love?

Summer Vacation Part Two: The Northern City

In keeping with tradition, let me introduce the topic of this entry, which will (in theory) prevent it from degenerating into a ramble about my personal life: Taipei is a fantastic city. I would love to live here, and if I could go back in time, I would have done a year teaching here rather than in Korea. 

I've been in Taiwan a couple of weeks now, and I've spend all of that time in Taipei. I didn't imagine I would be in the city for much more than as week, but here I still am after nearly three. It's been a real adventure. I've really gotten everything I needed and under different circumstances, I would say that it was the time of my life. Given the actual circumstances, it's been the perfect place to lick my wounds, reflect on life, and begin to move on. (Refer to the previous entry for context).

                                 

I came here on short notice on the advice of my friend Cathy, who I met doing tutoring last year in Vancouver. As per her recommendation, I checked in at a hostel called The Meeting Place. It's just far enough out of the way to feel comfortable without being feeling disconnected. People there are, as a rule very social, and there is a large common area in which people are often watching a movie from a projector. The atmosphere was chill and so were the people. Shortly after I arrived, the weather started to turn sour. It was perfect. While writing in the computer room, someone suggested I download an app called "Skout" and that if I did, I would  be hanging out with a Taiwanese girl that very evening. But, I was warned that Taiwanese are, for the most part, nice girls, so I shouldn't be expecting too much. I decided it was worth a shot, and as luck would have it, I met Taiwanese girl named Jenny Chang, and she showed me around the Shilin Night Market. Turns out Jenny had just gone through a breakup as well. We hit it off right away. We ate Chinese medicinal soup, bubble tea and pork's blood pudding on a stick. It was a nice first night--it was pleasant just to share space with someone in the same situation and wander around a while. 

                                 

I spent the next couple days bumming around, not really leaving the hostel much. I wrote Kyungmin, trying to get some kind of closure, or maybe just to have contact. Because I put her picture in this blog (now removed), she told me I should stop trying to contact her, and that she was going to forget her memories of us together. I wandered along the riverside feeling sorry for my self, wondering what the hell happened to the sweet girl I used to know. I went drinking with a British guy who spoke fluent Chinese named Neil and a Cambodian-American named Ken. We got drink and instead of hitting on girls, we talked about Buddhism. The next day, there was a big typhoon that swept across Taiwan...but left Taipei relatively unmolested. 

Cathy flew in on the night of the typhoon. I stood around waiting for her at a subway stop for an hour before returning to the hostel. I then saw on the news that a plane crash-landed after missing the runway at the Taipei airport. Luckily, though it wasn't Cathy's plane and she showed up at the hostel a few hours later, chipper as ever. We had a couple beers by the river and she was graceful enough to listen to me wail about my situation. Cathy came back to Taipei to teach for another year, and has been busy with training ever since. Even though I would take a 50% pay cut to live in Taiwan, instead of KSA, I have been considering it. A lot of people, like Cathy, love it here, and I think it's for good reason. 

Cathy introduced me to her friend Aiden (also an ESL teacher) who speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese and has lived in Taipei for eight years. Aiden is seriously considering leaving--his leaving status has downgraded from definitely leaving, in the past couple of days, due to meeting a girl. Aiden, despite being a Aussie, is a really good guy. He let Cathy and I crash at his place for a few days, and we had a lot of fun. Here's a list of things we did:

- Had a rooftop cook-out. 

- Went to a party in Daan Park. 

- Went to a pool party (full of smoking-hot Taiwanese girls in bikinis).

- Went for a bike ride with Aiden's buddy, then swam in the river. 

- Went to the chiropractor, then the masseuse.  

- Went to the gym.

- Went to the bar, then the spa, (with said buddy). 

- Went to the top of Taipei 101. 

Aiden talked about his iron-hard resolve to leave Taiwan. I whined about my situation. I learned some Australian, had a good time and came out of that week significantly less mopey. 

Allow me to break the narrative for a moment to say this: Taipei is a wonderful city that has a unique flavor. Having not spent enough time in China to really get a feel for it, I can't use it as a point of reference. So instead, I think of it as sort of half-way between Thailand and Korea. Like Korea, it's clean (they are big on recycling here), the culture is influenced largely by Chinese and Japanese, and it is firmly capitalistic. On the other hand, like Thailand, it's tropical, the people are super chill, and there are scooters everywhere. It's a good balance. Thailand can at times seem too chaotic, and Korea can definitely feel too uptight. Taiwan has a good balance. 

It was great hanging out with Aiden and getting a taste of what it's like to live like a local, but all good things must come to an end. So, I returned to The Meeting Place in time to hang out with some of the long-term occupants before they continued on in their journeys to The Philippines, Thailand and Australia. Although I didn't expect to be back, I was glad to return. I had a lot of fun staying there on both occasions. Somehow, something interesting to do always happened. 

It would take too long to go into detail about all the things I did, so here's a list of I got up to while staying at the hostel (on both occasions):

-Hiking with Neil from the hostel, followed by hot springs. 

-Hiking with assorted hostelers. 

-Jogging along the river.

-Eating Dim sum ("Hong-Kong food") with Jenny. 

-Hot Springs and dinner with Jenny. 

-Bike riding along the river with Cathy.

-Soccer with hostel members. 

-Assorted massages (sans the "special").

-Exploring the night market near the hostel. 

-Going to the sports center to work out, and go swimming with hostelers. 

-Seeing live cheesy magic acts and live music with a beautiful Taiwanese girl. 

-Exploring Shi Men Di with Cathy.

-Going out on my own to check out Chain Kai Shek memorial and the national museum. 

-Went to a computer/games expo with hostelers. 

-River tracing with Adien and his buddies. 

Perhaps it's redundant to point out that Taipei is a very fun and interesting city with lots to do. It's not redundant, however to point out that the people are super cool and really friendly. Although Taiwanese people are very hardworking, they also manage to be very nice, polite and easy-going. I really don't know much about what it actually teaching English in Taipei is like, but I know that the living in Taipei part is excellent. I came here to try to get over my Korean girlfriend, and my time here has served that purpose very well. I'm sure it has dulled some experiences which otherwise might have been even more fun. To vacation here under normal circumstances must be very satisfying indeed, and I expect living here must be the same.