Today I left Taiwan. For three weeks I was there, taking each day one by one. The reason was a wedding - a reason I turned into an an opportunity to turn this trip to Asia into something far greater.
It was my second time to Taiwan - a fact that never ceased to amaze Taiwanese. But in reality it was I who never ceased to be amazed by the Taiwanese people, who by the end of the three weeks, left me wondering, "have I ever felt this welcome in a country before?"
The wedding was a fun and also complex, fascinating cultural event, with me and the other two groomsmen - fellow USC graduates, the only non-Asians at the wedding. There were actually two ceremonies, one in Taichuing and the other in the capital Taipei (traditionally, weddings in Taiwan actually require three ceremonies!).
After the wedding(s), I stayed one and did a tour around the country, couchsurfing with great Taiwanese hosts in Hualian, Kaoshiung, and Nantou and staying in a great hostel in Taidong. Even at the hostel, my dormmate was Taiwanese and we spent the day together exploring the coastline.
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The countryside was beautiful. My most amazing moment took place at beautiful, alpine Sun-Moon Lake, which resembles Lake Tahoe in California, where at a Taoist temple I performed a ritual where I ask God a question and then drop two wooden blocks on the ground. If they fall on opposite sides three times in a row, that means God will answer, and I take a fortune after randomly selecting a number. My host, Evelyn, told me that many people drop the blocks many, many times to try to get it to land the right way three times in a row.
I felt really positive right then - I felt I would get a fortune; it seemed like my destiny. So I dropped it three times. To her shock, it landed the right way each time. The odds are 1-27, but what were the odds of this happening on your first time ever doing it, in a remote temple in central Taiwan right before you're about to embark on a great, uncertain journey? Even greater - probably outside the realm of mathematics, just as I like it.
At the end of my time in Taiwan, I thought of a remarkable fact. Besides my fellow groomsmen I didn't talk with a single Westerner the entire time I was here. It was a truly local experience, and perhaps that was why I felt so comfortable.
Now as I head to Singapore, I feel sad to leave Taiwan. I learned a lot about life, friendship, and what it means to be open-hearted while here. Now its time to take my lessons and grow into a better person. One day at a time.
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