Goodbye Taiwan

I sit here now with 90% of my life's belongings beside me. Tomorrow I fly back to New York. Finally, a moment to properly reflect upon my 15 months here in Taiwan, aka Formosa the Beautiful Island.

I came here after the Lehman collapse so I could fulfill my lifelong goal of becoming fluent in Chinese. As a joke, I tell friends that when I first came to Taipei I ate beef noodles (牛肉麵) for one month straight because I couldn't read anything else on the menu. I admit, that's a bit of an exaggeration, because sometimes I'd toss in some dumplings (水餃) or something-something rice (??飯). Pointing and grunting is a crude yet effective form of communication. :) Anywhere.

My time here has now been somehow validated, since I scored a 6 on the TOP (equivalent to a 9 on the HSK). Now I hope that now language will not be a barrier in whatever I hope to pursue!

All in all, Taiwan has been very good to me... with the exception of the month-long epic battle with bronchitis, which I won with many casualties on the side. When I talk to people who have lived in many different big cities (i.e. New York, London, Hong Kong, Shanghai) they always say that the standard of living is highest in Taipei. This may seem strange for those who have never traveled here, but after being here for so long, I wholeheartedly love this place... I'd love to retire here someday. Hands down, Taiwan is one of the best places on Earth.

Don't believe me? Here are 10 brief reasons why Taiwan rocks my socks. :)

1. If you want to learn Traditional Chinese characters (vs. Simplified), Taiwan is where you must go. Sure from a practical standpoint over a billion people use simplified, but I am never one to take shortcuts when it comes to education. Plus, there's so much history and culture in traditional. Learning traditional after simplified will bust all your neurons, whereas (I've heard) converting to simplified after mastering traditional is a walk in the park. I'll give you feedback once I start grad school at Nanjing.

2. Taiwan is beautiful, with lush rolling mountains and sandy beaches. Many tracts of this island are preserved for people who love to explore nature. Taroko Gorge in Hualien is simply breathtaking and worth a trip.

3. The party scene is ridonkulously awesome, better than New York or Hong Kong. This is pretty much the consensus from everyone I know even though drinks are still ~$8-10 a pop. People party freaking hard here, and the usual scheme is: bar/lounge -> club -> karaoke -> stumble out into the daylight. My old bones can't handle it anymore!

Oh yes, and Kenting's Spring Scream totally lives up to the hype. Go.

4. If you like biking, then you will thank the Taipei city government for the hundreds of kilometers of freshly paved and wondrously smooth bike paths. I spent a lot of quality time with my dad along the riverside parks. :)

5. Adventures are easy to find in Taiwan! I learned how to surf and scuba dive. I've also gone hiking up a river and paintballing.

6. Taipei 101 is pretty snazzy! Unfortunately it's now demoted to the #2 tallest building in the world, but it still looms over Taipei like a benevolent giant... shaped like a phallic bamboo that explodes on New Year's (heh heh heh).

7. I reserved the 7th bullet for... 7-11!!! There is no where... NO WHERE, that surpasses Taiwan in convenience (stores). I have 4 convenience stores within a 2 block radius, the density is mind-boggling! Family Mart, Hi-life, I don't discriminate so long as they stock Yakult!

8. The art scene is totally happening here. David LaChapelle chose to have his first Asian exhibition right here in Taipei. I missed Cai Guo Qiang (蔡國強)'s New York exhibition in the Guggenheim, but caught it here.

9. Taipei is really cheap to fly in and out of (probably due to its crappy airport), but because of this I've gone to Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, and Malaysia during my time here. Whereas when I was in New York I went to Philly, Boston, and perhaps the Jersey Shore. Booyah, pwned!

10. The best for last... FOOD. Gah, I'm going to miss the food here in Taiwan so much! I can go on and on about what to eat here, but instead I'd rather point you to this Taipei restaurant review website. I can usually feed myself very well for less than $5 USD, sometimes $2-3 even. A poor unemployed woman's gastronomic dream...

Well I'm gonna miss ya Taiwan, but not too much because there are still many places in the world to explore. Plus, I feel like Taiwan's my second home now, and we've always got to come home once in awhile. :)