Well, since this is the last opportunity for me to write in my Taiwan experience blog, I figured I'd better make an entry to update everyone. I feel a little guilty for being so MIA on here, but I guess my excuse is that I wanted to enjoy my last few months without having to scribe every detail.
I've been out of my apartment for about a week, and for the past two nights have been staying with my friend Amy who lives near the airport. Before that, I spent 5 days in Korea visiting Colleen...so a little about that trip...
It was my second time visiting Korea. Since the first time, in October, was only for 3 days I really felt Korea deserved another go from me. This time, I spent the entire stay in Busan. Colleen worked during the first 3 days, so it was up to me to get around and satisfy my touristy desires. By her recommendations, I seeked out different parts of Busan. During those days, I enjoyed a mixture of mountains, ocean views, shopping, and Lotteria (Korean fast food). I would meet up with Colleen and friends when they got off work for a late dinner and various post dinner activities. On the weekend we went to a town that I visited during my first trip, Haeundae. It's actually a beautiful beach where the Pusan International Film Festival is held. This time, with the weather not quite ready for us to lay out on beach towels, we opted for a ferry ride. This took us around 5 nearby rock islands and stayed inland. Unfortunately for me, I was still feeling the result of having a little too much fun the night before, and spewed my french fries off the back of the boat....but it was still a fun cruise along the coast. Joining us for part of the day in Haeundae were Paul and Nick, two of Colleen's closest friends. We parted ways after they escorted us to the Jinjapan we'd been mysteriously anticipating...reason being, a jinjipan is a fully-nude bath house extremely popular among Koreans, and quite normal to enjoy in the company of friends and family. As the guys departed to enjoy Fuzzy Navel's renowned burritos (which I sadly missed out on during my trip) and catch the movie "Kick Ass," Colleen and I paid $8 to strip down and and relax in the saunas, hot baths, aromatherapy steam rooms, and lounge areas of the jinjipan, all the while trying not to be obviously the only white girls curing our hangovers as Korean women and girls scrubbed down their butt naked friends. All jokes aside, the jinjipan felt completly normal after the initial shock, which was due to the fact that North America is the only place where nudity is shunned....the jinjipan was as clean and fancy as any spa I've been to. If there were one in downtown Mechanicsburg, I'd happily soak away my worries on a weekly basis. On Sunday we met up with friends and we enjoyed the culinary delights of an Indian restaurants that rivals the one in Taipei, followed by a performance of The Vagina Monologes....(this weekend just continued to take me out of comfort zone) - but I couldn't have enjoyed it more!
After a long day of travel back to Taipei, it felt good to sleep in this morning. Amy and her roommates went to work, so again, I set out on my own. I walked to TaiMall which basically ate up any money that I had left over from Korea - oh well, I ate well, saw a movie and picked up some Taiwanese necessities that I wouldn't be able to get at home. After hearing my friends come home complaining about their days at teaching, and seeing the extra work they brought home, it made me feel good that I was finished. I leave tomorrow night and arrive in Philly early morning of the 29th. I can say that although my time here was somewhat abbreviated, Taiwan has exceeded my expectations. I feel completely at home in a country that couldn't be more foreign. The friends I've met will be missed, and I hope to see them again. This place will always hold the memories that we've shared over the past 9 months. Taiwan and teaching have molded me and been the perfect transition to post-college life in this job deprived economy. So, what's next for me? What will the title of my next blog be? At this point, let's just say that I will keep you posted on douceur de vivre.
