Cassette 3/Track 8 – Heart of Taiwan

And it did all turn out okay – more than okay. With newfound confidence, I survived that stressful time and felt I could trust myself to get through anything. The relief left me lighter and freer. For the first time in a long while, nothing was holding me back. The next stop was Taiwan, the destination of our study exchange – a world away. The idea of venturing so far from everything I’d ever known filled me with excitement. It had always been that way: leaving home for a high school exchange in the US, moving to another country to study, traveling to the other side of the earth with no one to rely on but myself. Each time, immersing myself in a new way of life made me stronger, forced me to shift my perspective, and taught me new ways to be. Seeing how different life could be, and how people could behave in varied ways and still be “normal,” made me feel less lonely.

“I think we need to take this bus”, Sunny exclaimed excitedly as we exited the airport, our suitcases trailing behind us. “Oh no, yes, I think so too!” I replied, laughing as we ran toward the crowded vehicle. We barely made it, and as we heaved our luggage onto the platform, the bus suddenly lurched forward at full speed, nearly catapulting us down the aisle. “Ahh!” we both screamed, surprised, and realized we had definitely arrived in this strange little place that would be our home for the next few months.

Taipei was unlike any city I had ever known. Tradition and modernity walked shoulder to shoulder, with towering skyscrapers beside old temples and narrow alleyways lined with flower pots and scooters beckoning me to explore. The air was thick with humidity, even in February, and soon the heat would rise steadily, never relenting until the end of our stay. Sunny, Liz – another friend from our program – and I found an apartment in Da’an District, close to the bustling Gongguan Night Market and National Taiwan University. The area buzzed with life – thousands of restaurants offering any cuisine, little shops selling cute trinkets, and of course, the ubiquitous convenience stores that seemed to have everything we could ever need. The intense sun quickly made us adapt to always carrying UV-umbrellas around, and to wear cardigans even on the hottest days, lest you went anywhere inside where the aircon was working on full blast.

Walking through the streets at night, I marveled at the sights and sounds around me. The vibrant neon colors of the night market, the smell of oily street food wafting through the air, the chatter of people in a language I was only beginning to understand – it was all deliciously intoxicating. “Bubble tea?” Liz asked, grinning. Sunny and I exchanged glances. “Bubble tea,” we nodded. We had quickly embraced the national addiction to the cool tea drink, served in nearly every store and often the only thing we could keep down in the sweltering heat. After sampling every shop in our neighborhood, we’d decoded the perfect combinations of tea and fruit and settled on our favorites. With our cool drinks in hand, we wandered through the night alleys, laughing. As I took a deep sip and gazed at the clear sky between lanterns, I couldn’t remember what had worried me in the first place – I was too alive to recall.