Sunday. 6 days after I landed in Taiwan. It’s September now and still hot and humid as ever. None of the clothes I brought is well suited for this weather. Actually, even after I looked around, I don’t think any clothes is suited for hot and humid weather, period. If I leave the air conditioned room, I feel uncomfortable and sticky. There are lots of half-hearted AC around, one in mom’s nursing home room is like that. But then none of the older ladies like AC anyway, one of them demanded for the sliding door to be open for a crack all the time. So there you go.
I was wondering what would the life be like if I live here for longer periods of time. Say, a month. What kind of life would I have? In this neighborhood, I can find almost everything I need actually. There is outdoor market to shop for food to cook in the morning, there are all kinds of stands that you can get food all the way till 12:30ish in the morning. There are shoe store, clothing store, restaurants, department store, movie theaters, yeah, everything you need. I can even stop at Serena’s for a perfect cup of coffee and talk to anyone that stops by for the latest neighborhood news. But then again, the transportation is horrific if I want to venture out of the neighborhood. Driving is impossible. Bus stops are blocks away from your home. TV has very little good shows to offer. hmmm. I don’t know if I can stand the life here very long.
I miss the simplicity and the quality of life at home . Although my favorite food is hundrends of miles away, there is a relaxed way of living. I can get in the car and go anywhere without worrying about parking and traffic. I don’t have to jump back when a mortorcycle decides to cut in front of me to make a left turn. I don’t have to stop in my track when a bicycle suddenly cuts in to park in front of the shop I passes by. Yes, in general, the way things are have improved a lot but then in other ways, they really haven’t.