Asia's best kept secret…

I survived!! No wonder I’m exhausted: I visited my entire family, flew for 17 hours across the Pacific, and landed smack-dab in the middle of a cultural conundrum!  In the past month I’ve started a new job assignment, travelled around parts of Taiwan, searched for (and found!) a place to live, purchased furnishings! When I say everything about Taiwan is different than anything I’m used to, I mean EVERYTHING. It’s not just a new country, it’s a country where I cannot read the signs or understand the words. For a directionally-challenged person who must now rely on public transportation, this is definitely an issue. I got an MRT map and have started figuring things out, but it’s slow going. A country where, thankfully, the people are very friendly; most do attempt to help when asked. I managed to get on the right bus down the street from work, bound for Nanjing E. Road, but almost got off on the wrong stop (hey, it said Civic center which is on Nanjing E. Road). The kind bus driver indicated I had two more stops to go when I started to get off the bus. It’s a country of ironies. For instance, there are clear signs saying “Pedestrians have the right of way.” but it really should read “Pedestrians must get out of the way (of any on-coming traffic, even in a cross walk, if they expect to live another day)!” The humidity here is INCREDIBLE, but on the upside, I’ve probably lost another size just from sweating, and I can save 5 minutes each morning by NOT drying my hair. (What’s the point? By the time I walk the 20 minutes to work, it’s wet again!) I will spend this weekend RESTING, maybe catch the latest Harry Potter movie, doing laundry (that’ll be an interesting experience which I’ll surely share with you), and checking out the night market (photo ops galore). Thanks for your encouraging words….the adventure continues!