jiufen

The other day some friends and I went by train and bus to Jiufen, a north-east area in upper Taiwan that was, apparently, the inspiration for some scenery in Miyazaki's movie SPIRITED AWAY. It was an excellent day. First, Ariel (name not changed, I have officially given up b/c I can't keep track anymore :p) and I met up at Taipei Main Station to take the local train to Xike, which was where Katie would hop on and join us.

The problem turned out to be that Ariel and I are great conversationalists and bad about paying attention, because instead of texting Katie to tell her we were almost at Xike, we texted her with "We're stopping at Xike now, are you here?!" and the answer turned out to be that no, Katie was not on the platform, so we hopped off and waited for her. Then we all chatted until another local train came, which we took to Keelung.

Keelung is not somewhere I've been before, but it's by the ocean and there was a harbor with an enormous cruise ship in it. It made me want to take a cruise, probably around Asia but maybe somewhere tropical. I've taken a crusie before but it was with someone else, and I'd like to go on one by myself, I think, just to see the sights and laze around.

Anyway, we took a bus up to Jiufen. The trip was full of skinny, winding, cliff-side roads that provide a little terror but excellent views. I talked alternately to Katie and Ariel, and Ariel and I mostly discussed what we wanted to do with our respective futures. It was nice-ish outside, a bit cloudy but with some sun, and all the mountains and flowers and trees reminded me, once again, I was in another country, one that is radically different from the Ohio I grew up in.

As a side note, I'm a little ready to go back home. I'd like to take a month off and soak up the USA, replenish myself before the next big adventure. In my mind I've already left Taiwan, a little, ready for the rest and relief of no work, no language barrier, just home and family and everything the way that I'm most familiar with.

Back to the trip: we finally arrived at Jiufen. It's a town that crawls up the mountains and digs itself in. It oozes photo ops. Not five feet from the bus stop was a cliff that offered a flawless view of the far-off bay, plus the mountains and a nearby temple.

We didn't have to get far to get to the tourist market, which was long, winding, mostly shielded from the elements by shop awnings, and very busy, it being Sunday.

There were tea shops, souvenir shops, stands selling all manner of street food, and lots of people. Ariel and I were listening for Japanese tourists and we weren't disappointed. Between the three of us we consumed two large pastries filled with taro and sweet potato paste, respectively. I bought a sausage that was apparently made with wild boar meat. Ariel knew of a cafe, which we found, and because the place was almost empty were were able to choose the table with the best view of the mountainside, overlooking the harbor and sprawling ocean in the distance.

We ordered food and drinks and stayed there chatting for quite a while. At last it got dark, which was what we were waiting for, and when we emerged from the cafe the famous red lanterns lining the market streets and roofs had been lit. People everywhere were taking pictures, and the market's darker corners took on a mystical quality.

Having now seen the sights, and knowing we had quite a journey home, we took the bus back to Keelung. There was a night market there, which we stopped at for a little more fun and some treats, which included an ice dessert that was cheap and delicious. I got lemon-flavored and it was like eating a lemonade icee.

Photobombers at Keelung night market.

At long last, we went back to the train station and took a train back. Katie hopped off at Xike and Ariel and I finished the journey back to Taipei Main. We ended up talking for quite a bit and I got home very late, but it didn't matter. I think we both had needed to come down from the excitement of the trip, and get used to the idea that we had to go back to work the next day.

Ever since I'd found out that Jiufen had inspired scenery in SPIRITED AWAY I'd been dying to see it, and I wasn't disappointed. It's a really cool place with gorgeous landscapes, and it has a unique flavor in its twisted streets and buildings piled on top of one another. I can see why it inspired Miyazaki.

These last few months will be my time of adventure, so I'll do my best to keep you posted of where I go!

late night (ongoing) sheer terror

I can't sleep, and I haven't been able to (well) for the last few nights, and my days have been spent somewhat strung out and tired and headache-y and completely losing my appetite (and shouldn't that have been a tip-off, I haven't eaten much in three days).

What I realized is that, with about four months left in my Taiwan contract, I am terrified--paralyzingly so--of not finding a job in Japan and having to a) go back to the States and find some other alternative, b) stay in Taiwan (at a new job, ain't staying at this school with this boss), or c) find a new country to move to.

The fact is, after moving to Taiwan, after escaping what was, to me, a hellish nightmare and sure-deathbed-regret of a potential life in the States, I cannot go back to that. I can't not have my dream of living in Japan. I can't do anything else and not just... suffer a little bit. I cannot do anything else with my life until I have not just been to Japan but lived there. I need to do laundry and buy groceries and complain about high phone bills and deal with ordinary people problems in Japan or my life is incomplete. I have been working for this goal, of living the domestic life halfway around the world for over a year, and if I do not get that now, I might. Just. Die.

I mean, I'll survive, but right now at 1am it sure feels like it'll be death.

No reassurances needed, btw. This'll happen or it won't, people believing in me won't make it happen (this isn't an anime, after all), but I need to put this out there. This is where I am right now. I am going to be in "Japan. Now. Or. Else." mode for about three months.

It is going to happen. I need it to, and if I can make this country-hopping thing happen once, I can damn well do it again.

longshan temple

The full title ought to be "Longshan Temple and Other Adventures," but I didn't want to write all that.

Today I had work. The first class had been cancelled, so I only had my CJ09 class (they talk, which is nice), and my 1hr private student Amber, who is the mother of two little boys who are also taking private classes at our school, with our two other teachers. After both classes were finished I went home and changed, since I had to meet a third potential Chinese tutor at 5. The distance between 1:10pm and 5pm sounds like a lot unless you are me, and you are tired, and then that time goes rather fast.

I got to the meeting fine, though, and met the tutor. She was very nice, and wonderfully helpful, but I think she's looking for a more studious student than myself. My heart is set on Japanese, and although I'm very interested in Chinese, I know I won't be as vigorous learning Chinese as I would Japanese, so I'll probably go with the tutor whose slow, conversational pace worked best for me.

When the tutor and I parted ways, it was only 6pm and I knew I didn't want to go home yet. I was on the blue MRT line, so I went to Longshan Temple. I've recently realized that I love night markets, and I want to visit more, so I'd been looking up notable ones on Wikipedia. There is a famous tourist market called Huaxi Street Tourist Night Market (or Snake Alley) by Longshan Temple, which is also famous.

At first I didn't see anything outside the station, and after walking in a circle I was ready to be disappointed and go home, but I went a little ways farther and found the temple.

It's huge and stunning. There were tons of people there, buying incense and offering food and flowers. I wandered around and took pictures of the temple.

I did go into the night market, as well, but I didn't stay long and didn't get many pictures. It was a very tourist-y market, with one informal market outside and another one inside, and a lot of the items sold were souvenirs (like little clay teapots, jade bracelets, and dishware) or porn. I have never seen so many porn shops in my life, and there were occasional tables set up with all sorts of dildos on them (for men and women). Looking back, I REALLY should have taken pictures for the entertainment value, but I didn't want to look crazy, but then again, I'm betting a LOT of tourists take pictures.

The indoor market looked like this:

I didn't explore much because it had a lot of the same stuff as the outside one, and crazy as it sounds it didn't have that "authentic" vibe that I really enjoy about night markets. I mean, there were families there, definitely more Taiwanese than foreigners, and I saw many of the common goods and activities I'd see in other markets, including mini arcades for kids, goldfish-fishing, and stalls selling the usual fashions. It just didn't have that quirkiness that sparks my interest.

I'll likely go back, anyways, if only to get more pictures of Longshan Temple in daylight, and maybe to try some of the food I saw. I bought watermelon juice and that was REALLY good.

Went to Ximen after Longshan, and took some pics/videos, bought some colored tank tops and flowered shorts that just barely do their job (I'll need tights with them) and headed home.

Tomorrow is another adventure!