I never imagined myself to love Taiwan as much as I have. The thought of staying another year frightened me. My whole life I always was one step ahead continuing to move forward and taking opportunities. By re-signing with my school, I felt I was letting myself down. After making the decision to not move and teach in a different country, I thought maybe I will move to a different city in Taiwan. The only area I was considering was the middle of Taiwan near the high mountains.
Taichung
The last weekend in May, I went to Taichung. By going to the city I was thinking of moving would hopefully help me make my decision. It was a nice weekend, but I still felt stuck.
Scuba Diving!
The following weekend, I started my scuba diving course. The class was covered in four days, over two weekends. The first Saturday was the classroom portion and Sunday was the swimming pool section where we tried the scuba gear for the first time. Due to a scheduling conflict, we skipped the next weekend and met again the following Saturday and Sunday for a total of four diving in Longdong Bay (Northeast Taiwan). The first time I put the regulators in my mouth to breath underwater, my body instantly reacted. After two tries, I finally could stay underwater. The weekend in Longdong Bay opened my eyes to a whole new world. At first it took some time to get comfortable with the gear, breathing normally and maintaining buoyancy, but after that went away you could really enjoy yourself. I remember the first day, Saturday it took me a little while to go underneath the water. I felt apprehensive, but thankfully one of the guys in our group helped me remain calm and was very supportive. The second dive that day I got a bit motion sickness as we were learning different skills on the ocean floor. I could feel I was about to throw up. I felt it was best to leave the water and relax. Sunday, was a whole new day. Kristen had given me some motion sickness medicine and I felt 10 times better. I was so eager to go underneath the ocean that day. Already I could feel diving was like second nature to me. It felt great!
In between the two weekends of the course, I went back to Taichung. This time I stayed with a nice family for the weekend. They took me on Sunday to Shipa national park. We had a great day together. The feeling of being with a family reminded me of my own family. Emotions started to fill my heart and tears came running down my cheeks. It was a nice reminder of the warmth and love that exists between a family. A bond that's unlike anything else.
We walked a few different trails, enjoying the fresh air and each others company. In the afternoon, there was so much fog we hardly could see anything. -_-
BIG decision
After a lot of deep thinking of what I want in my life and what I have, I decided to stay in Taipei and re-sign my contract. It was a very hard decision to make. Even though I wanted to live closer to the higher mountains so I could hike high mountains often, I was giving up a lot here in Taipei that I worked so hard to build for myself. I haven't lived here very long either and still have a lot more to explore and experience in Taipei. I let my school know my decision on a Tuesday morning that Friday I got a sign I had made the right decision to stay in Taipei. Two Taiwanese friends I met my first week of moving to Taiwan, asked if I want to live with them next year as they are moving to a bigger place. Their parents just bought a second place, near where we live (the parents live in the south of Taiwan, Yunlin). I feel honored they consider me one of their good friends and want to share their home with me. The two girls have been so kind to me the entire time I've been here and we have become good friends. I truly felt this was a sign that I made the right decision. :)
CS
Wednesday, May 29, I hosted my first CS. For along time, I didn't feel it was appropriate to host as I only have 1 room without a couch or an extra bed. As I've been CS, I noticed my hosted hadn't had a big space either. Quite a few times, we would share the bed together. I didn't mind; I was happy to have a place to sleep. So, I decided to return the favor from all the wonderful hosts I had in Taiwan and the Philippines.
Adrian, was my first CS. Jade, Ian and I met him in the hostel in Hualien. I had invited him to stay with me when he was back in Taipei. He contacted me and asked to stay for two night before his flight to KL. We had a nice day together on Thursday, my early day from work. His brothers ex-girlfriend lives in Taipei so after we climbed elephant mountain, we all went to see Fast and Ferious at the theater near Taipei 101. It felt good seeing a movie in a movie theater since its been so long since I had. We went for drinks afterwards, then Adrian stayed out all night with his friend and drank until 8 a.m.!
My second CS, Vinay, originally from India, stayed with me two nights as well. He had just finished his second year working in a bank in Singapore. We had a great time together. Vinay was very respectful, well educated, independent, friendly and helpful. It was truly a pleasure being in his company. One evening we found a nice restaurant near my house that has amazing chicken curry. I have already been back several times!
That same week, I hosted a guy from Israel. When I received Yoni request, I told him I couldn't say no to someone who's like family. The feeling of being with him was so special. Not to mention, he is very thoughtful, witty and loyal. The first day, we found a nice place to have dinner then took a long walk around Banquio. We shared nice conversations about our family, work, traveling and normal things like I would with a good friend.
There was a lot of talk about a typhoon hitting Taipei for about two weeks. The speculation was set for that Friday, Yoni first full day in Taipei. I told Yoni it would be best to start your day early cause we don't know how bad the typhoon will be or what time it will start. I left for school that morning and he went out sight seeing. When I got to school, I could feel the strange atmosphere. Sure enough the government called a state of emergency and we could leave school early at 11:30.
We were all anxiously waiting for the typhoon to come. However, Yoni and I went out anyways. I showed him Shilin night market, biggest in Taipei and also the oldest night market by Longshan temple. We could feel the strong winds in Shilin night market and decided to head closer to home. While we were sitting drinking a fruit shake at an outdoor shop near Longshan temple, the winds picked up harder and things started flying around. The family beside us was eating (Asian) ice cream with fresh fruit and things from the ceiling started to fall in their food. The works felt bad and gave Yoni and the family new ice creams. After all the talk, I was thinking it would of been a lot worse than it was. The rain was hard and during the night I could hear strong gusts of wind. When we woke up in the morning, the rain had stopped. Yoni and I were walking and we could see debri on the streets. In Xindian that morning and the streets were empty. There was not a single place to have breakfast. The only store that was opened was 7/11. We walked around for a short time, then decided to go into Taipei city and eat lunch there. We wound up at a TGI Friday's. Yoni had never been before and wanted to try it. We both got hamburgers that were delicious. Taipei city was a lot more lively than Xindian was. Later that day, Yoni left to go back to Hong Kong for his last week. He moved to Hong Kong after the army for two years to work with El Al airlines. After Yoni left, it felt strange and sad. It was nice hanging out with him and sharing many long conversations, walking and eating together. Really a wonderful three days.
A few days later, I hosted yet another CS. I was thinking of taking a break, but two young girls from Taichung were desperate and I said sure. They were passing through Taipei for one night to then hitch hike east. The two girls were so sweet and reminded me a lot of myself. I'm blown away by how many wonderful people I have met via CS. We all share so much in common as our personalities are similar. Most of us are open, adventurous, easy going, respectful, friendly, and thoughtful. Each time I'm with CS, I'm reminded of how lucky I am and how much I love my life. I always have the best days when I'm with a CS. It feels really good.
A day or so before I met the girls, I met up with Danielle's friend Sarah for dinner. She wanted some some advice about teaching in Taipei. We had a great evening together sharing our stories and words of wisdom. I really felt so peaceful in her company. Sarah's such a warm-hearted individual ^_^.
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