Field Trips, Dry Cleaning, Shopping, and Life Without Coffee

I wish that I could fill this blog post with amazing adventures I went on this week…but I can't, because I can be kinda lame (oooops.)  So instead I'm going to try something I haven't done before- which is just talk about things I've learned since moving to Taichung.

I am a city girl. I thought I was a country girl.  I love walking into the Crystal Diner Sunday afternoons and seeing the entire congregation of the church I just went to.  I love seeing my students at the grocery store.  But you know what I love more?  Starbucks.  Jazz Festivals.  Museums.  The ability to find couscous in the grocery store.  Public transportation. Shopping.  Walking home at 10 pm and not being the only person on the street.  Taichung has ALL of this.  And I'm sure, so does New York, or Hong Kong, or Asunción, or even Raleigh.   But I think I had been denying to myself how much I feed off the energy of a big city.  Even though the smog can be gross and sometimes it's 人山人海 (literally people mountain, people sea, aka people everywhere.)  There's something comforting in the flashing lights from the stores and the fellow joggers on Sunday.

Case in point: The Taichung Jazz Festival

Chinese is really hard.  Yes, yes, everyone knows this.  And I knew this.  After all, I studied Chinese for awhile.  But for some reason I forgot just how difficult it really is.  I'm currently learning bopomofo, which is the phonetic "alphabet" of Chinese.  (as in, it can teach you how to talk, but not how to read.)  The TPRS teacher in me loves this- finally language acquisition in the Chinese classroom- but it is frustrating.  Because I still can't read…especially because of the traditional characters that Taiwan uses. But I will continue to practice- and not get upset when I can't improve as quickly as in Italian or French.

A Bopomofo app for iPad… doesn't it look fun?

It's okay to be alone sometimes. I am by no means an extrovert, but at the same time, I like to be around people.  I don't like to spend lots of time with myself, in quiet reflection, which Oprah tells me is very important… likely because I don't like what I have to reflect on.  But I'm realizing that alone time is important.  Because sometimes it's good to hang out with friends, and sometimes you need to think about what's best for you.

Ok, sometimes it's better not to be alone

I am a work in progress. I have NO IDEA what I want to do with my life.  I have NO IDEA where I want to be in my life.  And I have NO IDEA who I want to spend it with.  But that's okay, I hope.  Because I'll figure it out.  That's what self-discovery is about.  And that's part of the reason I chose to take a job I never expected in a place I never expected.  So here's looking at you, Taichung!  In another 2 months I hope I stay this in love with you!

Just me in my uphill battle against my doubts.

Also, today marks my FIRST WEEK WITHOUT CAFFEINE! (Doctor's orders: I apparently don't get "good sleep") That's the longest I've gone without coffee or Diet Coke since I was 18! It has been difficult, and I have not been the happiest person because of it.  But I did it! (and doctor's orders, I'll do it for another week.) So dream big y'all!  If I can do it, so can you!

I dream of Pumpkin Spice Frappuccinos…
not that I'll ever be able to have one since they don't exist in Taiwan