biking in danshui

I'm going to miss the seemingly endless biking space in Taiwan. Biking is fun in and of itself, but having long, well-kept biking paths that quite often follow gorgeous scenery is fantastic.

Last weekend my friend Katie and I met up with a friend of hers in Danshui to go biking. It was really hot when we got there--like soak-your-shirt-in-five-minutes hot. It was humid, too. Danshui was packed, with most people buying ice cream or cold drinks and then taking refuge in the shade. I was not a little worried that the combination of heat and exercise would give me heat exhaustion or make me pass out. I'm pretty sure I didn't shut up about this fear for twenty minutes.

Fortunately, Katie's friend (and a friend of his) arrived and distracted me from bemoaning my weak constitution. We rented bikes from a nearby facility, and then waited for Katie's friend's other friend to arrive. This was fine with me, as I'd brought my camera and had plenty to photograph.

Once our group finally numbered five, we set off. Pleasantly, when you're biking you're creating a wind against yourself, so the heat wasn't overwhelming. A lot of other people had had the same biking idea, though, so the streets were flooded with people of all ages. We had to stop multiple times to walk our bikes up small hills or around corners where it was too crowded to keep moving. Eventually we found wide roads that let us go at a decent pace. I have no idea how far we went. Danshui is endless. We passed temples, markets, houses, a bamboo farm, and men building a billboard sign frame from bamboo (badass). We went over bridges and followed rivers and streams. We stopped a few times because although I didn't want to hold us up, I wanted to take pictures, too.

We saw two men fishing at a riverside, and an ocean bird standing by watching them, likely waiting for tidbits. It was hilarious.

Shortly after the moocher bird, we came upon a roadside oasis for bikers, which sold drinks and food. We decided it was as good a time as any to take a rest.

This was about the time we realized it was getting dark, and the only way home was back the way we'd come. Although my legs weren't hurting from all the biking (at all, which was amazing, I was very impressed with my strong little legs!) Katie and I had both been feeling the pain of our hard bike seats for the past hour. I think I could feel my lower pelvis bones bruising the whole way back.

The nice thing about the popularity of bike trails around here is that even after the sun set, we were never without light from street lamps. We only stopped for a breather once, and I ended up with some awesome pictures of the view.

Finally, at long last, we made it back and returned our bikes. The guys went out for dinner at Danshui, while Katie and I opted to have dinner at a location a bit closer to home on the MRT line since it was already a bit late on a Sunday night and we both had work the next day. We went to Sushi Express, a sushi chain restaurant. In each restaurant there's a conveyor belt that goes around a large bar. You sit down at one of the chairs and grab whatever dishes look tasty. Katie and I shared two plates of edamame (a bean that is now possibly my favorite thing ever) and a small plate of bamboo (also one of my new favorite things) in addition to plenty of rice and fish.

I didn't realize how tired I was that night but I slept very soundly. The best part was that I had absolutely no leg paint he next day. None. Usually a hard workout lets itself be known the following day, but I think my legs are strong enough at this point that even a long bike ride doesn't bother them. I hope I can keep walking and biking to stay in shape even after I go back to the States.

I can't believe I'm going home in a month.

hot days and honey toast box

As previously stated, the days in Taiwan are getting hot. A few days ago it hit 91 degrees Fahrenheit, and the humidity was so high it felt hotter. There was no wind. It was a bit like walking through soup. I think I wore myself out just going outside in it.

Fortunately, not all the days are like that. We have some pleasant sunny ones that are hot but not crazy-humid, or they come with a breeze. Today we had a thunderstorm that swept through and took the clouds and thick heat with it.

What I've always loved about summer, and what I love here, too, is that summer means more sunshine. We've had a few days with insanely blue skies, perfectly or almost perfectly clear, and few things convince me of the beauty of Taiwan like its buildings streaked with bright sunshine and stark shadow, with an overhead of sharp blue.

On one of these particular days (not the humidity-soup one), I went to Fuxing to meet up with two friends for lunch. I arrived about an hour early and spent the time wandering, because Fuxing/Dunhua is one of my absolute favorite places. I love the clothes available there, I love the adorable and diverse restaurants there, and I love the little streets full of new surprises.

My friends called me when they arrived, and I went to meet them. I may have spotted them across the street and I may have taken creepy spy pictures.

Maybe.

Once I was with them and no longer playing paparazzi, we went to SOGO, and enormous department store that towers over much of Fuxing. The restaurant was inside, it was called Perfume Dance, and its main attraction was the dessert Honey Toast Box. Funnily enough, someone I met in my first month of Taiwan had told me about it, and I'd always meant to go but I'd never found it or gotten around to looking. Clearly, fate wishes for me to tie off any loose ends before I leave Taiwan.

We ordered a fruity drink and a dish that I think was noodles or potato but I honestly didn't pay attention because I was so hungry that I'd have eaten anything put in front of me.

We scarfed the food. Then came... the Honey Toast Box. Which was not much of a box but there was toast and ice cream and chocolate and--

Katie called it "Honey Toast Jenga." It did not last long.

hot days coming

We've been getting hotter and hotter days lately. Summer is upon us.

On Friday we had a spectacularly bright, clear day, one that made going to work feel criminal. Fortunately today, Sunday, was similarly bright and sunny, and although the heat and humidity were strong, it hasn't been unpleasant to walk around.

I quite rightly decided that a day like this called for watermelon.

Fruit here is very cheap, and plentiful. The market by my apartment has at least six stores that sell a variety of  whole fruit, and there are little stands everywhere selling fruit juice, which is usually just a glass of pureed fruit. (Uncomplicated and refreshing.) I will miss the fruit here so much when I leave. It's just so good. I have yet to actually eat bad watermelon. It's all crisp, juicy to the point of leaking, and every bite is perfectly sweet. For 50 kuai, about $1.50, you can get a big bag of fruit chunks and some little pointy sticks to eat it with. Believe me when I say this is heaven.

Today I also tried coconut water, fresh from the coconut. A vendor will lop off the top of a whole coconut (still in the green covering) and then carefully hack open a slit so he or she can pour the water inside into a bag. You get a straw to pierce the bag with, and have a nutritious drink. I've been told that coconut water is full of nutrients that are good for warding off heat exhaustion and dehydration.

Currently I'm hiding from the heat in a little cafe called "Pickles," by Fuxing MRT station. I just ate a cheese burger that oozed cheese and was liberal with the pickles. Absolutely delicious.

being "white"

This evening I was complimented on my white skin by the girl at the nearby convenience store. Hers wasn't the first compliment, either. People around here value pale skin, and due to my natural pink-ish coloring and the lack of sunlight during winter, I've gotten quite pale.

Now, in years past I always thought of myself as pasty. Pale wasn't something I wanted to be. But here in Taiwan, having pale skin is considered beautiful. People walk around with umbrellas to protect their skin and wear more covering than they need to in warmer weather. There are creams in the cosmetic stores that are for "whitening" as much as "anti-aging". When my photo was taken for my ARC (which I will never show anyone because it's actually hideous), not only were my blemishes cleaned up, they whitened my skin.

I'm not one to say "no" to Vitamin D. I love being out in the sun. But it's refreshing to see my pale skin as desirable, as opposed to something that needs to be fixed. I worked as a lifeguard at a water park for two summers and I remember, vividly, a young college-aged coworker saying, "Yeah, after I get my base coat [tan], I just stop using sunscreen."

Me, I was always in SPF 50 twice a day. I got dark as toast none-the-less, because I was spending nearly 8 straight hours in the sun, five days a week, all summer. But when I quit that job, I didn't get super tan, not without a lot of work (I hate tanning, it's hot and boring) and tan lines were a pain in the butt.

I will not say that the perspective of "pale skin as beautiful" is 100% healthy, because there's a lot of pressure on women here to be super-pale, when for many of them their natural (gorgeous) skin tone isn't going to allow that. It's the same as someone with very pale skin who burns easily spending insane time trying to get a tan that may not look right, or may be unhealthy for them.

My point is that Taiwan is teaching me, personally, to appreciate my natural skin-tone. Because here is a culture that values what I have, and sees it as valuable, instead of something that needs work. It makes me feel less pressured to get tan, and instead feel that protecting my skin and keeping it healthy is a good thing to do. I'm not saying that no one should try to get a tan, or protect their skin from the sun to keep it light if that's what they want (it's your body, after all, you're going to do with it whatever you want) but that valuing yourself for what you are is really important. Beauty is very, very culturally-based, and the standards are often too dramatic or specific for everyone to achieve, anyway.

What's vital is that you remember that, and don't base your beauty off what's considered "hot" or "not" by where you are. Hell, you shouldn't base your idea of beauty off of anyone except yourself.