Meriting the Madness of Love

“Soulja boy is coming!” – local intern Sylvia, about ten minutes ago, said in a hushed giggly whisper in our office.

 

Two months of cultural exchange, and on our part imposing the most obnoxious aspects of American culture on Taiwan’s most innocent, have led up to that quote. I’m sure quiet-as-a-mouse Sylvia had never heard of the Soulja Boy before she came face to face with USC’s global fellows. But before the end of the day we’ll have her, along with my boss Sean, cranking it in the Washington State Trade Office.

 

It’s going to be a hilarious last day.

 

Since this is my summation post (with a possibility of more to come), the summation word of my two months in Taiwan is epic. That’s the word the group agreed upon, and I like it. The epicness of this experience has made itself clear in the wonderful, enlightening, and oftentimes crazily random adventures and interactions we’ve had.

 

This past week I’ve been consumed with a little bit of desperation. I figure I probably won’t be coming back to Taiwan anytime soon, so I better make the most of it while I’m here.  Thus visits to some of my favorite places – the hole in the wall restaurant near our hotel with the best beef meal I’ve had here (or anywhere), Ice Monster with its indescribably delicious mango shaved ice, and the Shilin Night Market with its aisles and aisles of amazing food choices– were naturally obligatory.

 

Saturday I spent most of the day resting and watching movies, because everyone needs a day in sometimes. It was nice to relax. And that night I was able to do one of my favorite things, even in scorching hot and humid weather on an island in the Pacific: ice skate. Taipei has an open-year-round rink where people go to skate with friends, take dates, and play ice hockey. Yes, ice hockey. Hockey seems as out of place here as bobsledding does in Jamaica. It worked in Cool Runnings, right?

 

The next day was jam-packed with touring the north coast of Taiwan like the obnoxious foreigners we are. The amazing bosses of the Pennsylvania and Washington trade offices rented a bus and carted us to Danshui, Jo-Fun (which is definitely not how you actually spell it), and Keelung. The towns were all very charming, and we were able to take in some great views of the coast.

 

We did more eating that day than actual sightseeing, which of course I’m not complaining about! I had my favorite bowl of noodles to date in one restaurant (covered in peanut oil) and gorged on fried local specialties at the various street markets we visited. Not being constantly presented with delicious and cheap food on the street is going to be one major drawback of returning to the good ol’ USA.

 

My hair had been getting unattractively long, and I decided Monday it would be a fun adventure to get it cut in a country where I speak three words of the language. I was definitely a little nervous because I didn’t want to return home looking like a pixie. But luckily one person in the salon spoke enough English to communicate that I didn’t want all my hair to be chopped off. I’m very pleased with the result.

 

A great thing about getting your hair cut in Taipei is that it comes with many “extras.” For the price of a hair cut and a shampoo, I got an amazing head rub and neck massage + delicious milk tea. Definitely a good decision, and an amazingly inexpensive one.

 

On Tuesday we got to check a big one off our “list of things you must do in Taiwan.” We ladies have been working next to the tallest building in the world for two months, and finally we went to see what the fuss is all about. After work, and after a big storm threatened our plans, we took a high speed elevator to the 89^th floor of Taipei 101. Forty-five seconds later we stepped onto the indoor observation deck and took in scenes of Taipei at night.

 

I’m glad we did it at the end, rather than the beginning, of the trip. I was able to point out places we’ve gone in the last two months and reflect on the great ride it has been.

 

We’ve had three farewell events so far, one being last Friday night for another U.S. intern Chris who became a great friend, one Wednesday night with the USC Taipei office, and one Thursday night with our friends from NTU. I never like goodbyes, and it has been hard to let go of the wonderful people who have enriched our two month tenure in Taiwan.  

 

More so than tangible experiences I can check off a list or read about in the Lonely Planet, the interactions I’ve had with Taiwanese people – friends and random strangers – have been the experiences I’ll most cherish. I had a great conversation yesterday with a man on the MRT who commented on the cake box I was holding. And for several weeks, I often bumped into a middle-aged Taiwanese man named Blue on my morning bus ride to work who tried to teach me life lessons. He was very eager one day to share with me his experience watching the movie Closer and his personal revelations about love that resulted from it. “To merit the madness of love, one must abound insanity,” Blue told me.

 

Admittedly I wouldn’t be so keen on taking love advice from a stranger on the bus in the U.S., but that’s part of what makes Taiwan so great and what has made my time here so fulfilling. I feel honored to have been in the company of people who exude simple innocence and warmth. It’s been a humbling experience to have been constantly surrounded by people who always put others before themselves.

 

I’m leaving Sunday to head back to exotic Baton Rouge, Louisiana and I’ve been feeling a mix of emotions for the past week. While it will be hard to say goodbye to Taiwan and the many wonderful people I’ve met, I’m content with my experience and am excited to share it with my friends and family.

 

Taiwan’s tourism slogan is “Taiwan: Touch Your Heart,” and while it is painfully cheesy to say so, Taiwan has touched my heart. To mimic Jerry from Heavyweights, this has been the best damn summer of my life!