Two years... and counting
I just realized that I left Canada exactly 2 years ago, plus four days. 19 months of that time has been here in Taiwan, but I did head to India for 4 months, Malaysia for a month, and the Philippines for about ten days.
On Sept 26, 2003 at about 630 am, after about 24 hours in transit, I landed at CKS in Taiwan, and by about 1000 am, I was sitting in Ilan train station. From there I called Tom and he picked me up and drove me to his house.
Memories from that day are something like this... I remember smelling everything like I had just discovered my sense of smell for the first time. As you drive down the street in here you are hit with wave after wave of smell, usually food. From smell to smell I could probably navigate most of the way through Ilan and Luodong... I remember seeing my first 70 year old farmer working, bare backed no shoes wearing a rice hat, working a rice paddy with a hoe - My exact thoughts were probably something like "Holy s--- I can't believe I'm in China" (no political connotations intended, I would say Taiwan now).
Then Tom and I bought a bottle of Taiwan beer (brown bottle for those interested) and headed up Fo Guang Mountain to sit talk drink and enjoy the view. I remember I headed behind a nearby irrigation tank, for the tea field below, to piss, and came face to face with a spider as big as my hand sitting in his web (you know the big shiny black kind with two yellow stripes on it's back).
I remember being tired and heading to bed early, and waking up the next morning at 600 am to the screams of some kind of massacre outside in which local village people were killing others (maybe foreigners?)... but it turned out only to be feeding time at the pig barn next door.
Anyway, that's that. These are some photos I dug up from years past here in Taiwan. Those first few months in Taiwan...
On Sept 26, 2003 at about 630 am, after about 24 hours in transit, I landed at CKS in Taiwan, and by about 1000 am, I was sitting in Ilan train station. From there I called Tom and he picked me up and drove me to his house.
Memories from that day are something like this... I remember smelling everything like I had just discovered my sense of smell for the first time. As you drive down the street in here you are hit with wave after wave of smell, usually food. From smell to smell I could probably navigate most of the way through Ilan and Luodong... I remember seeing my first 70 year old farmer working, bare backed no shoes wearing a rice hat, working a rice paddy with a hoe - My exact thoughts were probably something like "Holy s--- I can't believe I'm in China" (no political connotations intended, I would say Taiwan now).
Then Tom and I bought a bottle of Taiwan beer (brown bottle for those interested) and headed up Fo Guang Mountain to sit talk drink and enjoy the view. I remember I headed behind a nearby irrigation tank, for the tea field below, to piss, and came face to face with a spider as big as my hand sitting in his web (you know the big shiny black kind with two yellow stripes on it's back).
I remember being tired and heading to bed early, and waking up the next morning at 600 am to the screams of some kind of massacre outside in which local village people were killing others (maybe foreigners?)... but it turned out only to be feeding time at the pig barn next door.
Anyway, that's that. These are some photos I dug up from years past here in Taiwan. Those first few months in Taiwan...
3 comments:
Aaron,
Tom sits in his car outside his house - accessing his neighbor's wireless. He's playing an old lao ge cassette. I'm listening to it too. We are skype-ing it. Drinking beers over the web... And thinking that perhaps you need to get your hoop on skype soas we might have a 'conference call' one day...' How about it? Presently, we are both looking at, and discussing your blog. And it is so great. Good bloggin'.
How's the day by the way?
Drive safe,
Kev
The day is fine, as the king of the dragons has retreated to the mainland to reak havoc there. This weekends typhoon was the ominous Typhoon LongWang, (Dragon King right?).
Yeah, some Skypin' would be good, though I've never tried. I've got a friend with just the thing, that being a computer. Ok, then, now alls we need is a time and tall and cold green bottle of the local brew. Someday soon?
哇 我也想吃豆花~~~
Nice pictures and nice story ^_^
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