Goodbye (Taipei, Taiwan)

After getting back from Manila, I spent a few days relishing my empty apartment. My roommate was visiting home in Japan. I ate takeout soup dumplings and Vietnamese food, studied for the GRE, and watched TV. A friend was in a television drama. Every night he’d text me: ‘turn to channel 8, and you can see me!’ I’d start to drift off watching his TV show, not understanding the Taiwanese and too tired to read the quickly changing Chinese subtitles.

Then my first goodbye of the last week struck. I went to visit my old Fulbright host family in Luodong, the town next over to where I lived last year in Yilan. Even though the bus ride is only an hour from where I lived in Taipei, I almost never went back to visit. I still saw my host sister regularly in Taipei, even after she graduated from NTU and started working, and every once and a while had dinner with the rest of her family. Not having any family of my own around, it was nice to be invited to the important events of someone’s else family – Chinese New Year, college graduation, and family dinners – even if my mind sometimes drifted absently as everyone spoke in Mandarin too rapid for me to keep up with (or, with the older folks, Taiwanese).

We walked around a nearby park and sat next to the lake, watching the trains go by, and then got dinner at a Western-style restaurant with the rest of the family. I learned about an aunt who was going to quit her job and travel the world until she found love as I ate my pumpkin gnocchi and avoided the squid-ink bread. For dessert we had a red bean cake to celebrate three upcoming birthdays: mine (9/1, 24 years), my host brother’s (9/3, 12 years), and my host sister’s (9/6, 22 years). It’s an odd coincidence of numbers.

Then my host mom drove me over to the bus station. My young host brother was forced to grudgingly say goodbye in English (that’s what happens when your mother is an English teacher), while I did the same in Chinese. I told them how thankful I was to have gotten the chance to get to know them all, and my host sister told me to stop trying to make them cry. I’d see her later in Taipei anyway. I got on the bus. Goodbye Luodong!

After that, I was seized with the intense need to experience everything ‘unique’ to Taiwan before leaving, everything that I would miss and miss out on after leaving. It was overwhelming and I ended up just hanging out in cafes studying. I had another goodbye dinner, although this one seemed less sad, more our-paths-will-cross-again and we’ll be just fine in the meantime.

  I went through a packing frenzy, as if I could just rush through this sad end to things and move on to the next part of my life. I had another goodbye, with my television drama friend. This one was tough. I spent half a day at home ignoring the half-packed suitcases and working my way through the giant box of moon cakes he’d given me. I’m not much one for wallowing though. I got off the couch, finished packing and sold or shipped the rest of my belongings. Studied for the GRE more. Researched my prospective grad schools. My roommate came back from Japan, which brought some life back into the apartment.

I had my fourth goodbye of the week with two friends from Yilan. I slurped down a gigantic bowl of beef noodle soup with them, before heading over to Da’an park. As we walked there, we stopped at a bakery. My friend told me to distract our other friend while she bought him a cake for his birthday, which had been a few days before. When we got to the park she unveiled two cakes – she had not only enlisted my help, but also told him to distract me so she could buy a cake for my birthday as well. We laughed and ate our cakes.

The next day, I finalized everything. It was Saturday. I was leaving Sunday afternoon. My bags were packed, my room bare. My roommate and I went to my favorite café and that was my goodbye to the XX and comfy chairs with cappuccinos, scones, and pumpkin soup.

That night, my roommate and host sister went to a night market for pan fried buns, Taiwanese sausage, stinky tofu, oyster omelets, and chocolate, matcha and red bean xue hua bing (snow ice).

Afterwards, we went to a bookstore so I could buy a Chinese food cookbook in Chinese as a method of combating the language loss and hunger pangs that will inevitably occur when I return to the states. We had some trendy green tea drinks with a salty, foamy top that my roommate and I both gagged on (to my host sister’s amusement). We finished our goodbye and went home.

On Sunday, my last day, I ended up making my final goodbye to my television drama friend. I had one of those wonderfully terrible hugs where you hold the other person so tight it feels impossible to ever let them go, but then you do, and instead it feels impossible to ever touch them again, and it’s over, they leave, and it’s time for you to leave too.

So I did.

I don't really cry easily but sometimes it seems like my tears are saving themselves specifically to embarrass me in the most public places possible: the Beijing International Airport, the Boston Logan airport, Taipei’s Bureau of Consular Affairs - and now the Taipei Songshan airport. At least I’m not the only one – later on, boarding my connecting flight in Shanghai, I saw a young woman crying out her goodbyes into a cell phone as she walked up to the plane.

 

As the plane rolled out onto the runway, I could see Taipei 101 in the distance, until we started moving faster, going farther and farther, and rising up into the air, and Taipei 101 was gone. I was still pretty teary at this point but then the plane rose higher over the clouds and the view was so beautiful that it completely distracted me. I spent the whole flight to Shanghai watching the sun go down.

I had an overnight layover and I was leaving from a different airport, on the other side of Shanghai. The logistics of handling this kept me feeling busy instead of melancholy, especially when I was stopped at customs for half an hour. My passport was taken away with little explanation, but it wasn't the first time I’ve been detained in Mainland China with my passport taken away and no explanation offered, so I wasn’t too worried. After asking what was going on – “don’t worry, we just need to process your passport correctly, sit tight” – the customs officials realized I could speak Chinese and we chatted a bit. At first, they were impressed with my Chinese, but there was a phrase I didn’t understand and so they asked where I studied – “Taiwan,” I said. They laughed a little and said I couldn’t study proper Chinese there. I didn’t really want to argue with the custom officials in charge of my entry, so I just returned to my seat and passed the time reviewing GRE vocab.

I ate the best wonton soup of my life that night, searched fruitlessly for a source of internet, and fell asleep watching Audrey Hepburn fall for Humphrey Bogart in Sabrina. I woke up the next day, refreshed and 24 years old, ready to head west and chase another sunset.

Makati, Metro Manila, Phillipines

My trip to Manila was mostly about food. My reason for going was originally because my resident visa for Taiwan was expiring. I had to leave and re-enter as a tourist if I wanted to stay a bit longer once classes ended last week. But then my priority quickly became food. Naturally.

I got to my hostel and realized that it was almost completely empty, so there were not really any friends to be made there (save for two Filipino girls in my room but they nearly slept through my whole stay). Also, it was hot and my shared room only had fans.

I stuck to the air-conditioned museums, cafes and restaurants in Makati. I really liked many of the paintings at the Yuchengo Museum and Ayala Museum. Yuchengo Museum actually had an exhibition in which there was an ipad set up in front of each piece of art and you could lift the ipad, point the camera at the piece so that you were viewing it on the screen, and once you found the right spot to focus on, the artwork would become animated on the screen and change in some way.

   

For the food part, photos work better than words. Churros with chocolate. Longanisa. Shrimp with coconut milk curry. Tomato and chorizo with a fried egg and arugula. Chicken sigsig tacos. Ensaymada. Chorizo burger. Salted caramel self-serving soft serve at Family Mart. Double chocolate gelato frappacino, the likes of which I have never seen before.









    

My only problem is that I always want to try everything but also I think it’s really terrible to waste food. In a group this is more of a good thing than a problem, but creates a dilemma when eating alone. So, every now and then, I end up with too much food but still retain my determination to wipe the plate clean.

And that’s exactly what happened with the sea salt chocolate cake at Wildflour.

I thought I’d ordered a reasonable amount: half a Reuben sandwich and a slice of chocolate cake. Not bad, right? Admittedly, the “half sandwich” ended up being the size of a normal whole one but it was tasty and original and I liked it.

Then this monstrosity came out:



I think the photo doesn’t do it justice. It was approximately the size of my head. I just gaped at it for a few seconds after the waiter set it down.

It didn’t take me long to get started – and it was delicious, sea-salty-chocolaty goodness – but as I was finishing the last half, I kind of felt like the chubby kid in Matilda who eats that massive chocolate cake in front of the whole school. When I finished, a little part of me wanted to raise the empty plate and cheer to the applause of everyone around. Instead, I just walked out to the Ayala triangle park and collapsed in the grass.

I eventually managed to straggle over to the air conditioned Greenbelt malls and kind of stretch my legs a bit, walking around. It was time to head back to the airport for my flight, but I didn’t have enough cash left to take a taxi to the airport, so I started meandering over to the buses. That is, until the sky parted and dumped an ocean’s worth of water over Manila. Then I was running, not walking. I managed to shelter my electronics but my poor self was like a 落汤鸡 (luo4tang1ji1) – a drenched chicken. I got onto a bus, perched precariously on the stairs overlooking the road, holding on the bars with a death grip as we hurtled down overpasses on a slick wet road.

Turns out, Manila’s airport has a total of four terminals and they’re not exactly all in the same place. My bus did not go to my terminal, so I was dropped off on the side of the road, and pointed in the right direction by the ticket collector. I walked along on the nearly non-existent sidewalk. I didn’t see anything resembling an airport around or any planes flying overhead. But a few people passing by confirmed the ticket collector’s directions, so I just continued.

Then a man in a red sports car pulled up and called out to me. I stopped walking and turned to face him, but didn’t move any closer and made sure to wear my what-the-hell-do-you-want-face (I forget sometimes and smile politely on automatic, which is possibly the worst thing to do). The man gave a sheepish laugh and paused, before asking, “What’s your name?”

I saw that coming, so I just said, “No,” and kept walking. I wonder how some men don’t realize how threatening it feels to have them pull up in a car alongside a woman walking alone (and not just in a place notorious for kidnappings like the Philippines, but almost anywhere, really).

I stopped to ask a couple cops how far Terminal 3 was (even though the cops there all carry guns out in the open and that kind of makes me nervous too). They exchanged looks before telling me to grab a cab, it was too far to walk. So I did, especially in light of what just happened.

I spent my last few hours in Manila drinking tea to sooth my poor overburdened stomach and reading Anna Karenina on my laptop (which I really, really like but only read bits and pieces every now and then so I haven’t finished yet and it’s been nearly a year since I started). I felt really gloomy on the flight back because going back marked the start of the end of my time in Taiwan.

I got another rough reminder of the Big Change coming when I got to customs and had to wait in the “Foreigner” line instead of the “Resident” line. I didn’t know what to fill out on the entrance form. Purpose of my visit: Packing up my stuff? Eating at my favorite noodle place one last time? Saying goodbye?

I marked “visiting the sites” to avoid confusing the immigration agent. A taxi driver honed in on me the second I stepped outside the restricted area. “Taipei?” he asked. It was 2 AM and the buses wouldn’t be in operation for a while yet. I really wanted to take a shower and sleep. I told him yes, but I only had NT$700 left on me, so I was going to need to split the ride with another passenger. We found a skinny guy with a wide-brimmed straw hat and set off.

The driver and I chatted a bit after dropping off the other passenger, he told me I needed to find a good job so that I could afford to pay for taxi rides on my own, and then we were there, I turned up the air con, took a hot shower and slept.

Nike Women's Half-Marathon (Taipei)

Last Sunday I ran in the Nike women's half-marathon, although I almost didn't make it to the race on time. I had kept busy the last few days leading up to the event, moving into a new apartment, getting to know my new roommate, and going to a friend's college graduation, but I left my Saturday evening free so that I could relax, eat well, and go to sleep early. Unfortunately, I woke up a few times in a panic, worried that I'd overslept. I even had a terrifying nightmare that I'd overslept and hadn't made it to the event at all, only to wake up and realize in relief that it was only 2:00 AM. My alarm was set for 3:30 AM, the storage lockers would be open for use from 4:30 AM to 5:15 AM, and the actually race itself would start at 5:30 AM.

My alarm did not go off. I woke up on my own, noticing that the sky had already begun lightening outside, and panic clawed its way down my throat. I was afraid to look at my phone, sure that I'd slept in too late. It was 4:50 AM. There was no way I'd make it in time to store my stuff in the lockers but I could still make the race. I dressed, pulled my hair back, and grabbed five things: NT$1000, my ARC ID, my race bib, a time tracker, and the key card to my apartment. I couldn't store anything, so I could only take essentials. And I forgot to eat breakfast. Not the best start.

I did manage to stop in a 711 and get some water before sprinting down to a bigger road so I could flag a taxi. I hurriedly explained my situation to the driver, who managed to get me to the race start location with five minutes to spare. I was so incredibly relieved, not even caring that my start was less than ideal. I made it to the race on time! Now, to actually run it...

I had not realized how many people would be there - it was amazing to see so many thousands of women, all running this race. This was my first race so nearly everything was new to me and caught my attention - running out in the middle of the street (especially on the raised highway) was such a novelty to me, and I also liked looking at the gear other people were using, the clothes they chose to wear (best one: pink tutu), the music they were playing, how they were keeping pace...I tend to be most comfortable keeping a very steady pace when going such a long distance, so I was a little frustrated when people would sprint by, weaving in between runners and then stop, too tired to continue, and walk, getting in the way of the people they'd been weaving through. But anyways.

I had my cash stuffed down in my sock (resulting the smelliest bills ever, I am so sorry for the people I ended up paying that money to), and my ARC and key card in my hands. I decided not to bring my ipod as 1). I actually don't have any of those carrying/strap cases so I'd have to carry yet another thing in my hands and 2). I didn't want to be so focused on my music that I missed out on what was going on around me. It was fun being cheered on by people, getting high fives (and snacks!). Surprisingly, despite not having eaten, I felt full of energy and pretty good. About halfway through though, the snack tables started popping up and so as soon as I encountered the first one I grabbed a cracker and a cookie and just stuffed my face as I was running. The route eventually took us off the road and onto the riverside park path, which is very pretty - and I'd never been on that part of it, so it was nice to explore a new area. I was definitely feeling strained as I reached the last few kilometers but my goal was to do the whole thing without walking and I succeeded! And now I have a time that I can try to go and beat for next time. 

After the run, I collected my medal, free T-shirt, and sports drink (I never thought something so gross could taste so good), and relaxed in the air-conditioned bus that drove us back to the locker area in Xinyi, near to Taipei 101.There was a big stage with some people performing / talking to the crowd about something (I was too tired to really pay attention), and tents giving out free stuff, but all I really wanted was to get cleaned up, so I went home, devoured a snickers, and jumped in the shower. And then, remembering how satisfying the food from Sababa had been to a friend of mine after she ran a marathon, I decided I also wanted to load up on Middle Eastern food. So I decided to introduce my new roommate to the amazingness of Sababa.

I slept a lot after that. The only thing I regret is not having my phone to take photos, although you can see photos of the event here. If I'm still in Taipei this time next year, I'll definitely run it again!

Spring Final and Translation (Taipei)

This is my spring semester final presentation from last week. This time I actually went through the trouble of translating it into English, which was actually harder than I thought it would be. I debated whether just making it a general translation (easier) or really trying to stick to the original meaning of what I wrote (harder). I went with the latter as a challenge, and as a result of English might sound a little funny. Actually, this really made me better understand the reasons for a lot of the mistakes or grammatical correct but strange sounding sentences I’ve seen in papers written in English by Chinese students. Also, I had more information/photos in a PowerPoint that elaborated on some of the things that I said, so that would also account for any overly general or strange parts of the speech. Also, I think it’s funny how the English looks WAY longer, even though I painstakingly tried not to add any superfluous meaning that’s not in the original.


丝路与宗教

今天我要跟大家讲的题目是丝路与宗教。这不是客观的历史，而是我去旅行得到的感想。几年以前我在西安学习中国历史，尤其是丝路的历史。为了比较好了解这个历史，我跟我的同学都一起去参观跟丝路历史有关系的地方。我们从西安坐飞机到新疆，然后从卡什开始我们的旅行。

头几天在新疆，我们去看卡拉库湖漂亮的风景。我们也去沙漠骑骆驼和爬沙丘。当时，我毫无疑问对食物有最大的兴趣，可是觉得我们看到的事情也很有意思。

我们已经在西安学习了利用丝路传播的宗教。我们也发现虽然上个世纪在中国发生了很多次要消灭宗教的事情，可是还可以见到宗教的历史遗产，甚至于宗教在现代社会所扮演的角色。在新疆，我们不但有机会更了解宗教的历史，而且也有机会更了解宗教在现代社会的情况，尤其是回教的角色。当時，我对中国政府如何说明宗教有兴趣。一般来说，我们在上课所学习的历史和宗教常常跟博物馆介绍牌所形容的不太一致。让我意识到政府如何用历史巩固权力。

我们从新疆到青海，然后再到甘肃。这期间，我们碰到几个问题，而且大家开始觉得疲倦，可是還是得到很多新鮮经验：跟西藏和尚打篮球，看了西藏和尚怎么画唐卡，还有骑西藏小马。我们也去见了一位喇嘛。按照规定，我们接近和离开时候，千萬不可以背对他，由于这样做真的對他不尊重。我跟同学都遵守这个规定，不过我们离开以后，几个同学頗有微词。因为那位喇嘛还是一个小孩子，他们不明白人民怎么會这么尊敬他。对一个不信仰宗教的同学来说，每个宗教的信徒都被别人愚弄，可是我觉得这话可不能这么说。每个宗教都大概有自己的道理，只是从外人的观念来看，每个宗教仪式的目的可能不太明显。我个人不信仰任何宗教，可是我明白宗教安慰人，也有助于建立社会和人类的关系。建立关系後也可以让贸易交流比较顺利，可见前人不但用丝路传播宗教，而且宗教也可能有助于丝路的发展。

我的演讲说到这里，谢谢大家。

The Silk Road and Religion

Today I will discuss the Silk Road and religion. This is not a speech based on academic research, but rather a speech based on my personal travel experiences. A few years ago, I was in Xi’an studying Chinese history, especially the history of the Silk Road. In order to better understand this history, my classmates and I visited places connected with the Silk Road. We took a plane from Xi’an to Xinjiang, and started our journey from Kashgar.

The first few days in Xinjiang, we went to see Lake Karakul’s beautiful scenery. We also went to the desert to ride camels and climb sand dunes. During this time, I was predictably most interested in what we were eating, but the things we saw were also very interesting.*

We had already studied religions spread by the Silk Road back in Xi’an. We had also already realized that despite the destructive forces of the last century, you can still see religious sites, even the role that religion plays in modern society. In Xinjiang, we not only had the opportunity to better understand religious history, we also had the opportunity to better understand the current religious situation, particularly the role of Islam. During this time, I was very interested in how the government represents religion. Generally speaking, the history and religion we studied in class frequently did not coincide with the description panels at religious and historical sites. This really made me realize how a government can use history to consolidate power.

From Xinjiang province we went to Qinghai province, and then arrived in Gansu province. During this time, we encountered a few problems, and everyone started getting tired, but we had many fresh experiences: we played basketball with Tibetan monks, watched how they paint Thangkas, and rode Tibetan ponies. We also visited a lama (Tibetan Buddhist religious figure/leader). According to convention, we could not allow our backs to face the lama at any time, whether entering or leaving，because to do so is disrespectful. My classmates and I followed this rule, but after we left, a few classmates voiced their complaints/criticisms. Because the lama was still a child, they did not understand how people could defer to him to such an extent. According to a student who did not believe in any religion, every religion’s followers are being duped, but I don’t agree. Every religion has its own logic, it’s just that from an outsider’s perspective, the motives of every religion’s practices are maybe not very obvious. I don’t believe in any particular religion, but I understand that religion comforts people, and also facilitates connections between people. Establishing these connections can also help make the process of commercial exchange more smooth, so one can see that the Silk Road not only help spread religion, but also that religion maybe facilitated the Silk Road’s development.

My speech has finished here, thank you everyone.


*This sentence felt oddly generic to me but it was the result of changes one of my teachers made。。。so I went with it – actually, a lot of the sentences in our textbooks feel kind of generic/broad to me, but I don’t know if that’s simply a feeling I get because of differences between English and Chinese or because it’s an aspect of the style of academic writing/speeches – a lot of the text content is written as academic speeches/lectures - or simply a characteristic our particular textbooks. Or just because my Chinese isn’t advanced enough for something more complicated...

Annddd....here's a one of my practice videos (I recorded myself a few times so I could better identify my pronunciation problems...especially the fourth tone, third tone combo which killed me...I practiced saying "li4shi3" - "history" - so many times but it's still really hard for me to force myself to say it correctly).

Tainan

I went to Tainan a couple weeks ago to take the TOCFL (Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language). I passed the listening for my level...and actually failed the reading. Oops. Reading is definitely one of my weak points. Tones are my ultimately weakness though. I just have to continue the never-ending struggle of studying Chinese. It's like running a marathon, except every time you think you hit the halfway point, the distance doubles.

In any case, after the test, I wandered. I didn't even get to the sights across the city that I had originally planned on seeing because I kept stumbling across temples around where my hostel was. I'd always heard that Tainan was Taiwan's historical center but it was another things seeing for myself how many old temples there are. I know many people think all temples start to look the same after a while - I've had the same feeling at times - but each temple I came across seemed unique and I really had a good time exploring them all.

 This last building is actually an old Japanese-style building that is now a grade school...I wish I could have gone to school in such a beautiful place with so much history! (Granted, I did go to school in the New Orleans Garden District, which is pretty beautiful and filled with history as well...)

 So, I had all these local specialties I wanted to try (coffin bread!) but I ended up binging on some of the most delicious "Western" food I've ever had in Taiwan. Well, the quiche and soup was just okay (from Quail Quiche) but the hummus and giant chocolate rugelach-croissant thing from Imma Bakery and Cafe was so amazingggg. I even ended up going back there on Sunday to buy a bunch of things to bring back to Taipei: spinach quiche, more rugelach, and chocolate mousse cake.

  

Huangdidian 皇帝殿

So I went for a hike on a trail called 皇帝殿 (Huangdidian) near the small town of Shiding, about half an hour or so outside of Taipei. Before hiking the trail, I got lunch at a restaurant called 王氐豆腐 (wangdi dofu). Sadly, they were also out of dou jiang (soymilk), for which they are famous for, but I managed to get fried tofu, some greens and the best luroufan (rice topped with bits of pork meat, fat, and juices) I've ever had. So delicious.

Afterwords, I headed for the trail. For about an hour though, all I did was labor up one set of stairs after another. It was boring, hot, and exhausting. Finally, though, I got to the interesting part, with ropes and ladders. It was actually more challenging than I had anticipated and I had a few fun moments envisioning myself tumbling down as I struggle to get a grip on some of the climbs. I definitely won't be going on this hike alone again, but I do want to go back with a friend and explore some of the parts I didn't get to.

I eventually made it up to the ridge, from which there were some amazing views. The trail became very narrow here and the slopes were very steep, so there was a rope with several slings that you could hold on to. I tried it for a while but it messed with my sense of balance so I felt more comfortable just walking along without it.

In the photo above, you can just barely make out Taipei 101 rising up from behind the mountains. Around this time, a lot of clouds had started moving in and the sun was beginning to sink further down than I was comfortable with. I was starting to get nervous that I'd end having to make my descent in the rain at night so as soon as I found a trail leading back to the main road, I took it. A set of cement steps eventually appeared and led me down to a few eerily empty temples. The incense had been lit and there was a little bit of music playing from radio, but no one was there, or even further down the path. It was very Miyazaki-esque. About twenty minutes down from the small temples, I came across a woman carrying two slabs of stones up the steps. I'm not sure what they were exactly but they looked a lot like Western gravestone markers (although I don't think that's what they actually were). I just can't believe she was carrying them all the way up the stairs. She had stopped to rest so I stopped to talk for a second and offer up a "jia you!". I even wondered if I should help her but she waved me on my way and I kept going.

After wandering through a small little rural community, I made it back to the main road and followed that back to Shiding, took the bus back to Taipei, took a nice hot shower, and feel asleep for nearly twelve hours.

Chiayi and Alishan

 After leaving Taichung, I took the train down to Chiayi city. The train and bus tickets to Fenqihu and Alishan were pretty much sold out, so I spent a day exploring Jiayi, which has an old Japanese train station, several retired trains on display, and a lot of beautiful traditional Japanese houses. These houses were built using hinoki wood (Japanese cypress), so they smell amazing.

I wandered around the homes for a while, some of which are set up as little shops selling tourist trinkets and local specialties, and bought some whole wheat baked cookies (that are way better than they sound like they would be). As I was leaving, an auntie stopped me, exclaiming that she was happy I bought the cookies because a friend of hers runs the shop. She was one of those dominating, talkative aunties that kind of drag you into conversation whether you want to or not, but I didn't mind. She told me how Chiayi is actually the location of the movie Kano (or that the events depicted in the movie took place in Chiayi? or both? ~ a bit of language confusion) and that she either got to meet or personally knows the director...in any case, pretty cool. She was very enthusiastic and sent me on my way with a papaya.

As I kept walking, I also came across a restored Shinto temple on the edge of the city. Like the homes above, it was built using hinoki wood. The woman working there explained to me that the temple was built without the use of any nails, simply wood. This area, along with the old train station, was one of the few places I went to that was completely quiet, high on a hill away from the bustle of the city, and somehow completely bereft of any visitors. 

Afterwords, before leaving for Fenqihu the next day, I made sure to get a local specialty: huo ji rou fan (turkey rice). It was the perfect mix of juicy, fatty turkey with rice. The dish is offered at many restaurants in Chiayi, but I went to a place famous for its huo ji rou fan, so it was bustling with people. I pretty much just chowed down my meal in a corner as one of the waiters decided to take a short break and ask me the usual questions: a) Where are you from? b) Why are you here? c). Do you have a boyfriend? (frequent addition: You should get a Taiwanese boyfriend. It will help you learn Chinese).

The next day, I took the train from Chiayi to Fenqihu. The train runs along a track that was first built for logging purposes, but is now used solely for tourism. The train used to run all the way to Alishan but an earthquake a few years ago damaged the track. They've only just recently re-opened part of the track, which runs about halfway to Alishan, stopping in the small town of Fenqihu.

Fenqihu is famous for their lunchboxes, so I made sure to pick one up at Fenqihu hotel. I heard they had the best ones and I have to admit it was the best lunchbox I've ever eaten...chicken, egg, pork, and some unidentifiable pickled things and veggies...so good. I also hiked up over the town, where I came a across the ruins of an old Shinto shrine, another remnant of Japanese rule over Taiwan. Again, actually, this place was very empty and very quiet. I liked how peaceful it was.

I took a bus from Fenqihu to the final destination of my trip, Alishan recreational park. Actually, I meant to stop just shy of the park, about a few miles away, where my hostel was located. I missed my stop though (or, rather, the driver drove right past and I didn't even notice) so I ended up inside the park itself. One of the bus drivers was kind enough to give me a lift for free on his way back to Chiayi, so I managed to get to my stop. From there it was supposedly a 40 minute walk but I managed to hitch a ride with a construction worker and his grandchild (I think?). I did have a few terrifying horror movie scenarios run through my mind but they were actually quite nice and the ride was fairly short.

Then I got to the hostel and one of the most beautiful views I've ever come across:

 

After watching the sun go down, I got my dinner in the hostel (pretty much the only place to eat within a few miles). I walked in and they had already set a couple plates and some soup on a small portable stove for me. Yum, I thought, this is perfect. Then came another plate. Ooooh, that looks good. I snapped a photo to document the feast. Then another plate came. Okay, wow, this is a lot of food. And then another. I snapped another photo. By the end, I had nine plates and was furtively looking around the dinning room, wondering if anyone else thought the scene - one person sitting with nine plates of food, a bowl of rice (with unlimited refills), and a pot of soup - was as ridiculous as I did.

Unfortunately, I don't have a shot of all the full dishes together because, well, I was eating them too fast for that. In any case, the man in the table beside me was facing a similar situation and we shared a laugh over the insane quantity of food. It turns out he was the bus driver for a group of teachers on a retreat together that were also staying at the hostel. Originally, I had planned to walk to Alishan recreational park, but he offered to talk it over with the teachers and perhaps give me a ride in the morning. The teachers were essentially a huge group of recently retired aunties and were very welcoming in giving me a ride in the morning.

Before we left the next morning, I walked out to the viewing area, only to find it completely blanketed in clouds. It was eerie standing there facing that blank white wall. I walked up to the edge of the deck, so that all I could see was the white, and it just felt strangely uncomfortable and scary, like the whole world had disappeared, and I was all alone.

Then the bus driver came out and we had a fun photo shoot. He, like nearly everyone I encountered at this hostel, knew a lot more about photography than I did so he gave me a few tips. Finally, we loaded up on the bus and the auntie teachers tried to not very discreetly set me up with a young man traveling with them over the course of the ten minute ride to Alishan. Once we arrived, we split ways but I definitely had a good time with them. 

Finally, I was in Alishan Recreational Park. The clouds were still everywhere but they lent the park a beautiful and mysterious air. The cherry blossoms (and magnolias, further below) had just started to bloom, which unfortunately drew the masses, loudly shouting through the park, so it wasn't exactly peaceful, but it was still beautiful.

I was so happy. And then everything changed. About two hours before my bus home was scheduled to leave, I realized I had lost my phone. The phone I just got replaced three months ago. Sadly, I missed out on seeing part of the park because I spent my remaining time sprinting back up the mountain in a panic, retracing my steps, and stopping at a hotel, police station, and entrance office to see if anyone had turned in my phone. Which no one did. Sad that I had missed out on seeing the whole park, and super pissed that I was stupid enough to lose the phone, I wandered over to the bus area and then killed the few minutes I had left looking through the shops. 

Then this little guy just wiped the frown right off my face:

His mom was the shopkeeper and just let him chill in a barrel of goods. I ended up buying some baked pumpkin treats and a bar of hinoki scented soap, because I want to pretend like I live in a wonderfully smelling traditional Japanese house. On the four hour train ride back to Taipei, I got very philosophical over my lost phone and reasoned that it was meant to be, for a variety of different reasons.

Then I got home and checked my email. Phone: found! By the guy from the teacher's bus. I left my address at the police station, so they have mailed it to me. In the meantime though, I'm feeling strangely appreciative of silence that comes without a phone. Of course, I did get a panicked email from a friend wondering if I was okay, so there are downsides. 

Mostly, I'm just looking forward to my next trip in a couple weeks...to Kending! For Spring Scream!

Hopefully I won't lose anything.

(Did I mention I also lost my passport and NT$5,000 on this trip? But both worked their way back into my hands two days later...so that's good).

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Also, as I was traveling through Taichung, Chiayi, and Alishan, there were student protests occurring in Taipei and are still going now. Away in Chiayi and in no way paying attention to the news, I didn't realize how serious things were until I got back to Taipei. The government has actually used violence to crack down on the protestors. An anthropology blog I used to read in college actually discusses it here.