midsummer days

i've had a few people remind me that i haven't updated my blog lately. i think it's just that i'm settling in and finding a rhythm--and loving it--so i haven't been as diligent about posting updates. but this is a good thing, right? ;-)

as i thrive on new experiences, and even on doing things that scare me a bit, every day here has been immensely satisfying. i am finding out which grocery stores i like (where i can find indulgences like american granola bars or "laughing cow" cheese wedges, or salad dressing) and finding out which things (like fruits and some vegetables) are much better when bought from the street markets. i've tried new fruits like custard apples and lychees, and they're not bad! i've checked out several coffee shops and know how to order an iced latte with not much sugar in mandarin. a few times a week i go to Taipei and take yoga classes at the studio where i bought a membership. i did some research about vegetarian restaurants in Taipei and copied down the addresses in characters. tomorrow, after my yoga class, i will show a taxi driver my carefully drawn characters and hope he can read them! some nights i go for a run, when it's cooler and less polluted. there are many people out late at night, walking around the park, doing stretches and exercising. it's a wonderful, laid-back, safe community. after i run, i go to a pagoda in the park and do some stretching, or hang upside-down from the monkey bars (which is great for your back!) i stay up late chatting with my floor-mates or catching up on e-mails and looking at pictures of the floods in Iowa. i'm getting to know my (Taiwanese) co-teachers better and am blessed to have some really good ones who are helpful in and out of the classroom. i met an English-speaking Indonesian woman at a little clothing shop who wants to take me to her Indonesian restaurant and hang out sometime. another woman who owns a restaurant across the street from where i live ordered a textbook for me so that i can start learning some Mandarin. i'm planning on checking out some nearby Taiwanese churches. although i enjoyed the English-speaking Filipino church that some of my friends go to, i want to have more interaction with Taiwanese people and see how the local churches are. although i won't understand much, it's a good way to learn language too--by immersing yourself within a context that you know about. for example, by going to yoga classes in mandarin, i've learned how to count and the words for "inhale," "exhale," "up," "down," and so on.

so many things every day! things that are bewildering, shocking, hilarious, sweet, frustrating... but i love experiencing all of them. today after teaching i went downtown and did a little shopping, and then sat in a park with some iced coffee. it was so beautiful. today wasn't as humid as it has been (my hair is a complete disaster here; i've given up on it) and there was a lovely breeze. with my eyes closed, i could hear cicadas singing and birds chirping, children laughing and basketballs bouncing. i felt like i could have been anywhere in the world. as fascinating as our differences are, as diverse our cultural norms, as impossible as it can be to communicate across languages, we are also very much the same. our souls have longings that are universal, and need no language or symbols. this is comforting to me. while i feel isolated at times, i never feel alone.

that being said, i DO miss all of you, and ask that you continue e-mailing me when you can and sharing your lives with me, as i am with you. xie-xie ni... thank you...