At long last, I have conquered the imposing edifice that is Taipei 101! It is a building of height and beauty, and can be seen towering over the city from many places in Taiwan. It is the third tallest building in the world, and it is designed to look like bamboo.
Months ago, I had known that we would have the Wednesday of June 12th off--it was a public holiday for Dragon Boat Festival. I had asked my boss for two additional days off, the Saturday and Monday before it, so between those days, Dragon Boat Festival day, and my usual Tuesday and Sunday off, I ended up with five straight days of freedom.
Because I am a genius.
Knowing that I would be leaving Taiwan soon, I planned ahead of time to see some things during that week. Taipei 101 was high on the list, and my co-worker Nicole volunteered to go with me. We had a fantastic time. Nicole is great company, and we took all kinds of funny/cute pictures during the day.
Taipei 101 has, as its name implies, one hundred and one floors. It costs 500 kuai (about USD $16) to go to the top, which is actually quite a lot considering how much many other things don't cost. Nicole also said she remembered when she first went up, years ago, and it had cost hundreds less.
You aren't actually allowed to go to the top floor. The elevator (which had an overhead light show of constellations and starlight) takes its passengers up to the 89th floor, which has a 360 degree walk-around indoor observatory area. There wasn't much to do aside from check out the view or buy expensive food/souvenirs, so Nicole and I mostly looked out the windows and took pictures.
One thing we had both definitely wanted to see was the giant "ball," or damper, a stabilized weight that helps Taipei 101 keep its balance during inclimate weather and earthquakes. It was very impressive.
Eventually we discovered a staircase that let us go higher or lower. We went higher (two floors) and found an outdoor observation area. There were a lot of foreigners there. The area was small, but the view (what you could see if it, they were careful to make sure no one could fall off or jump through) was spectacular.
That done, we waited around the last few minutes for night to fall, and took pictures of the city in the dark. Even though the lights are artificial, there's something magical about the millions of signs and car headlights blinking in a city at night. I spent a lot of time trying to drink it all in, because I'm really getting down to the bare bones of time that I have left to really see Taipei.
When we'd seen all we had wanted, Nicole and I returned to Earth. We took the MRT to Taipei Main Station and found a food court to have dinner in. We chatted about everything and nothing. Nicole is one of the special people I've met here that I'm really going to miss.
One of my absolute favorite things about going new places is finding out how similar people are no matter where you go. Regardless of the language we were grew up speaking or the foods we're familiar with, or the cultural ideologies of where we grew up, our core selves are very much the same. We dream, we strive, we hurt, and we carry on. How anyone could ever believe that they would not find someone they identified with outside the social group they were born into is beyond me.
After dinner, Nicole took the railroad train home, and I took the MRT. Taipei 101 was more of a tourist-y interest than anything else, but everything is more special when you share it with friends. It was an excellent day.
You can tell you've been studying Chinese if:
- You see an accent over a letter and read it as a tone, not a change in pronunciation or emphasis.
- You begin to realize how many MRT station names you've been saying wrong for the past year.
- You notice when something isn't in Hanyou Pinyin.
- You have a preference for a particular Pinyin writing system. (It's the one you're studying.)
- You catch yourself trying to read the names of stores you're walking past, just because you can.
- You prepare in your head what you're going to say to the cashier, rather than just checking to see if the menu is available somewhere in English.
- You wince at your previous attempts to spell out Chinese words phonetically.
I just bought my ticket from Taipei to Columbus Ohio and I'm freaking out about it a little.
'Scuse my cursing but holy shit. I have been in Taiwan for almost a whole year. July 6th will be the one year mark for my time in Taiwan. I remember getting here. I remember dying in the heat, getting sick from waffles, getting blisters from shoes, being overwhelmed by the Chinese everywhere, baffled by all the new systems, assaulted by the culture.
I remember my first days here. I remember the first nightmarket I visited. I remember seeing my apartment for the first time. I remember buying bedsheets and going places with friends while having no idea of where I actually was. I remember being terrified of getting lost. I remember everything being an enormous tornado of new things that I couldn't sort out.
It is the weirdest thing to visit the Guting MRT station area, which is where I stayed and had training for SHANE in my first month. I remember that place when it was confusion central, and to have that memory overlaid with my knowledge of the area now is surreal.
I remember feeling like the year was going on forever. I remember winter being a time of frustration and cold that I thought I'd never get out of. I remember feeling like finishing this year was an unachievable thing, and now it's nearly done.
What will I do when I go back? What will be comforting? What will be shocking? I'm expecting reverse culture-shock but I don't know from what. (Probably all the English everywhere, I've gotten used to Chinese being the background noise.)
I feel like I'm on a rollercoaster that's hurtling toward the end.
I'm going to cry when I leave. I'm going to miss this place so much. I'm going to miss this part of my life so much. I'm going to miss the city and the nightmarkets and the cute cafes crammed together along cute streets. I'm going to miss the people I met here, all the friends I've made. I'm going to miss the city itself. I'm going to miss always having things going on that I don't understand, things that are new and different and challenging to my world.
I haven't yet secured a job in Japan and although I'm certain I will, the fact that I haven't yet still scares me, because I have so loved this thrilling part of my life, and if I cannot get back on this rollercoaster, I will be absolutely miserable. I am not ready to stop travelling. I am not ready to relax. I'm ready to go home, but I am not ready to stay home.
I will be happy to see my friends, and my family. I'm looking forward to buying jeans that fit. I'm looking forward to cooking my meals again, eating foods that have been with me since childhood. I'm looking forward to cleaning out my childhood room, selling or donating or throwing out all the things that I've been without for a year and, quite obviously, have not needed.
I am going to miss Taiwan, so much. I am so glad I came here. I am so glad there wasn't a place for me in Japan yet. I'm so glad I came to a country that, before now, was barely on my radar, and now it has left a permanent mark on me. It means so much to me now.
One month until takeoff. Let the final preparations begin.
