So after a hiatus last Sunday from adventuring, I was back at it again this weekend. And boy was it necessary. Last week was a particularly long week of teaching at Hess for a number of reasons. For one, Hess management and I have had some miscommunications (miscommunicating and/or not communicating at all is sort of Hess’ M.O.) over whether or not I will be working on Christmas and Christmas Eve. As it stands now, I’m scheduled to work, though my recruiting company promised me several months ago that would not be the case. So needless to say, there has been some slight tension. But in the meantime, I plan on kissing as much ass as possible and keeping my fingers crossed that something can be done to fix this situation. I’ll let you all know what happens.
Secondly, this past Saturday Hess had its monthly celebration party for the students. And naturally, this month’s theme was Halloween. So instead of being done at noon on Saturday like I normally am, I instead stayed at school from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. And for the last 3 hours of this shift, I was dressed in a ridiculous (not to mention rather toasty) bumble-bee costume either standing and taking pictures with EVERY one of the 40-50 students that showed up, or doing my best Miss Cleo impression at the “fortune-telling” booth. Though I must admit I was pretty good at improvising during this latter part, especially when I used the globe in the classroom as my “crystal ball”. I’m pretty proud of how entertained the kids were considering it was by far the lamest of the stations (maybe that was intentional? A little rookie hazing, perhaps?) I also don’t think I get paid a cent for these functions, so needless to say, it was a long day. In fact it was so long that I really gave up any hope I had of going out that night to celebrate Halloween. Truthfully, this was partly because the exhaustion, and partly because I’ve been over Halloween for quite some time now. I remember at the beginning of college when I had back-to-back years of my best costumes, but ever since then, I’ve had very little desire to dress up/go out and celebrate. So I pretty much took it easy, and prepared myself for what I hoped to be a more eventful Sunday.
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| sadly I don't think I'll ever top these costumes. |
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| especially this one... |
And it was at this point, on Saturday night as I sat in bed about to call it a night—body and mind both exhausted—that I decided I needed an escape…and not just an escape from teaching. Sure, Hess management and the kids can wear on you a little bit after 6 straight days. But really I needed to escape more from Taipei city in general—the constant bustling in the streets, the swarms of motorcycles and cars, and most importantly, the people. All these things were so exciting to me at first because they were so different from Phnom Penh. But after a little while, you tend to get over all the incessant activity here. The worst part I’ve noticed is the population density. There are literally tons of people everywhere you go, and you are forced to bob and weave around them just to get where you want to go. Running on the dirt paths at Daan Park? Be ready to bust out your best juke moves as you maneuver around everyone. Want to grab a bite to eat at Ximen before work? Be prepared to fight some crowds to satisfy your hunger. Looking to catch that MRT train during rush hour before it takes off? Well you’d better be stretched, because you’re going to have to move like Barry Sanders in his prime, busting out stiff arms and spin moves, just to be able to get through everyone. What’s worse is when it’s raining outside, for not only do you have to cut through thousands of people to get from point A to point B, but you also have to battle their umbrellas (think my eyes have almost been poked out at least 20 times already).
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| Taipei is DENSE |
So, all that considered, I decided not to go to the National Palace Museum that Sunday like I was originally planning. Just the mere thought of how many people would be there, especially considering it’s the #1 tourist location in Taipei, made me cringe (though I still plan on making it out there soon because it sounds amazing…potentially next Sunday?) I just couldn’t bear the thought of it. So I asked my roommate Ari what we could do instead. “How about going on one of the hikes near my school (further away from Central Taipei and more out in the countryside)?” he proposed. Bingo. Excellent idea. After a week like that, I couldn’t just have a Lazy day like I had the Sunday before; but I also couldn’t deal with so many people like I do on a daily basis. So the proposition to go hiking, be secluded, get some peace, nature, and exercise seemed like exactly what the doctor was ordering for me.
And let me tell you-it was. This mountain hike was medicinal (California Prop. 19 couldn't even offer a more relaxing solution for a tough week). After all, part of the reason I decided on Taiwan was because I had heard so much about how wonderful the nature was here. The smell from the trees and the creek was so refreshing after smelling not much more than exhaust and B.O. for the past month (not to mention the stinky tofu stand right by our place….that stuff smells horrid). The shade from the trees, including numerous bamboo, was very welcome as it provided great protection from the sun and added great color to the trail. Even the sounds from the various animals and insects that surrounded us were such a great change-up from the honking of horns and chattering of people I had gotten used to hearing in my sleep. At times, it literally felt like I was walking through Jurassic Park with all the noise and trees around me. And even when I did run across people, they were the complete opposite of the people I would find in the city. Instead of running about, shopping, or talking on their phones, they were instead doing Tai Chi, reading, stretching, or just meditating. Some of them were even doing this barefoot walk across stones that is allegedly supposed to stimulate numerous pressure points in your foot that correspond to other parts of your body. And being in the joyous mood that I was, I decided to take part in the action (“when in Taiwan, do as the Taiwanese do”). Well, I suppose I’m glad I’ve done it so now I can say I have, but other than that it was a pretty painful experience. I guess you do feel “relaxed” afterward, but I think this has more to do with being relieved that it’s over and that you can wear comfortable shoes again. But anyway, it was an interesting part of the overall experience nonetheless.
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| The stone steps to Mordor (at least I'm replacing SP references with LOTR ones?) |
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| cool looking...not as cool feeling. |
The hike wasn’t exactly the longest in the world. It probably only took us about a half hour to get to the top of the mountain. But the trail was fairly steep, so by the time we finally reached the summit, we were in for a spectacular view….a spectacular view of the city in all its’ grandeur, with the backdrop of more beautiful mountains. And let me tell you, it is much easier to appreciate how amazing Taipei City is sitting peacefully on a mountain than it is as one of the many ants inside of it trying to get about. And so understanding this, I savored that moment. For I knew that once today came about, I would be back to being one of those ants encircled by all the madness and buildings, and without that perspective I had on top of that mountain. But that experience yesterday definitely made today much easier to handle, and not nearly as stressful as last week. I’m sure I’ll be back to that point of feeling overwhelmed with the city again at some point in the near future. But the great news is that when this indeed happens, and I feel like I need a breather, I’ll know where to go.
