Prep
Hair products, foundation, shoes above a size 8, and clothes greater than a size 4. These are the items I had to make sure I had plenty of before leaving Brooklyn. It remains to be seen whether I can pick up these items in Taipei. I have already seen several black women walking around Taipei with fly hair styling and color, so I next time I see one, I’m going to muster the confidence to track them down and start asking questions.
As for Leila, it seems that children’s items are plentiful and much more affordable on this side of the globe, so other than hair products and a few clothing items to get us started, her packing was relatively less stressful.
Arrival
The flight was uneventful, other than fantasizing about the accommodations in Crazy Rich Asians versus my economy class ticket on China Airlines. The 15 hour flight was fine once I got beyond the first two hours. The reverse countdown didn’t help until the hours were below four. Nonetheless, my luggage and I arrived to Taipei greeted by a sign.
“Dr.” does look great in front of my name, and certainly I have enough years of schooling under my belt to be one, but unfortunately, I am not a doctor. There are some awkward corrections in my future . . . or perhaps this is foreshadowing to a PhD I didn’t know I was going to pursue. I was so exhausted; I didn’t even notice the title until I looked at the photo.
It’s easy to calculate the time difference in the east coast of the United States and Taiwan because all you have to do is switch the “a” with a “p”. No math involved. So when I was fully starting Saturday with my 5:00 am arrival. My family was finishing the work/camp day on Friday evening in Brooklyn at 5:00 pm. If you’re wondering where Leila is, Len and she have stayed back for the week while I sort out the logistics of our new adventure, and now that I’m here I believe that was the wisest decision. When I arrived, I was immediately able to text my husband using the airport WiFi, and by the time I arrived at the hotel, I could use Facetime to chat with them both. She was at acting camp this week and performed as Helena on Midsummer Night’s Dream. Just before I left, I was helping her rehearse her lines, and when I got off the plane, I was looking at videos of her performance.
As part of our transition, the Foundation of Scholarly Exchange offered four nights in a hotel in the Ximen neighborhood. I checked in the previous day, so I would not have that awkward noon check-in time wait. Day 1 arrival was spent resting. I did not pressure myself to hit the ground running into the city. I have 10 months and had been running around Brooklyn and Manhattan all week, so primarily I forced myself to rest. The Jet Lag is very very real. I’m five days in and I’m still waking up between 1:00 am and 3:00 am. It will take some time for my internal clock to reset.
The weather is extremely hot and humid. I am from the Southern United states so I’d say the summers are probably compatible. If you notice from the slide show below, there are palm trees in the campus photo. The temperature was pretty compatible to the weather in New York, but here the humidity does feel a bit more extreme. I am told that by October the temperature will be more comfortable and there will be much less rain.
Day 2 (Sunday, 9/2), I headed to the campus of National Taiwan University so I could see the campus and locate my apartment. The subway system is a color coded system, not unlike the one in Washington, DC. The transfer points are easy, and it’s easy to determine the direction. It is not surprising that public transit here is pretty awesome – clean, organized, efficient. I was able to arrive on campus easily. The campus is beautiful and quite large. It is said to be one of the greenest spaces in Taipei. There are all these beautiful tropical trees with enormous roots. The campus was built during the Japanese occupation in 1928 and they are celebrating this year 90 years of being an institution. While in the bookstore, waiting to meet my guide, I could see the focus on indigenous culture and art. It is evident that there is a conscious effort to celebrate aboriginal/indigenous Taiwan. There were several postcards showing the beautiful artwork which reminded me of work I’ve seen in the African Art museum in Washington, DC. Many of these artifacts are held at the Museum of Anthropology. I am curious how the vernacular of the art influences the architecture and what the differences are stylistic among the eleven indigenous cultures recognized in Taiwan.
My Taipei residence is technically located in an apartment that is a 10 minute walk from main campus in the Da’an District — a fully furnished two bedroom apartment. I had not seen photos of the campus provided researcher housing, but was pleasantly surprised. The building is nice and the apartment is spacious and newly renovated.
Before I left, the hotel printed me a map with directions from the subway of Leila’s school location. It was a simple four minute walk. Beyond the hotel, I have no WiFi access (yet) which means no Google Maps access. When I arrived at the location, I immediately wished I’d spent more time learning the traditional characters rather than only focusing on pinyin because the map the hotel printed me was only in Mandarin traditional (not simplified) characters. I was completely disoriented and could not match the street names. In this moment, I knew I had to rely on the kindness of strangers. As with most places, many people speak English very well. I was able to track down a young lady that shared her WiFi with me so I could access Google maps and find my way to the location. Yes, that happened. I was able to find my way to Leila’s school easily after that. What would life be like without WiFi and Google Maps? The language of technology has been a common language shared across cultures beyond even a mother tongue.
7 Eleven is a massive force in Taipei. 7 Eleven in Taipei is equivalent to the bodega in Brooklyn in that it’s open 24 hours, it carries food, beverages, and any other immediate household needs. Restaurants/take out is so inexpensive here that most young people do not cook, so 7 Eleven is also an option where people purchase food (and alcohol). I’m still trying to wrap my head around this. Where I’m from; 7 Eleven was known for big gulps but you would never go there to purchase dinner. Navigating ingredients as a pescatarian has been tricky. I’m definitely going to have to learn to say (very quickly) in Mandarin “Do these noodles come in a vegetarian broth?” Also, the seven eleven ingredients are fully in traditional Mandarin characters. While I learned, to clearly say that I don’t eat chicken, beef, or pork; I’m not familiar with the associated characters. Yes, I will be learning and studying more Mandarin while I’m here with more of a focus on learning the characters.
This week will be filled with more logistics such a visits to IKEA, meetings, orientations, etc. Not so different to moving to a major city in the U.S. Other than finalizing my Alien Resident Card, getting a local phone, and navigating a foreign language; it has been very similar to moving to any major U.S. city. Perhaps that’s an understatement, but for now, since it is new and I’m adjusting, I think it’s good to highlight the similarities.
I’ll be updating my blog weekly on Wednesday, and I hope that you will continue to follow this journey. If you have any questions about my experience or would like me to highlight, please feel free to contact me via email or post a comment. The semester at National Taiwan University starts mid-September, so I have time to adjust before beginning my research.