Taipei, baby

Two days of teacher training might not sound like much of an adventure, and, well, it isn't. But the chance to be back in the big city after a month out in the sticks was truly Just What I Needed this past week. It was also a bit like going home.

Understand, of course, that prior to this past weekend, I had spent a grand total of, I think, ten days in Taipei in my entire life. But those were my very first ten days in Taiwan, when I learned just about everything I know about this grand country. They were also spent with all the other members of my training class, several of whom I made fast friends with. I hadn't seen any of those friends in the ensuing month (with one too-brief exception) and we had all had far too little time to write to each other beyond your garden variety hey-how-are-ya quickie. So being called back for follow up training was plenty of reason to rejoice in civilization and reunions with old friends.

Yep, old friends. Until you go to work in a country where you know little of the culture and less of the language, you really can't appreciate how fast and deep the bonds are with people whose backgrounds are more like your own. Perhaps we'd all known each other for just a week and a half and that was itself just a few weeks ago - doesn't matter! You'd have thought we were old college buddies who hadn't seen each other in five years or something. (Actually, I did go to my five-year college reunion - itself about five years ago now - and this weekend was a lot more fun than that weekend. There is definitely something to be said for not pretending to be 18 again.)

Taipei is just a fabulous city in its own right. From the moment the bus got into town, everything felt a bit more vibrant and cosmopolitan. It was pouring rain and I was lugging my overnight bag along as I ducked into the subway to get to the school branch for the training, but it was all a great feeling all the same. The subway is fairly new, and it's pristine. You could probably eat off the railbeds, really, which is amazing considering how polluted Taiwan is in general. While struggling to read the subway map and find the station I needed, I was once again reminded of what a great country this is: an older woman came up and asked me in more than passable English if she could help me. It's never any trouble finding someone to help you in Taiwan: just look lost!

Arriving quickly enough at my destination, we had to dive right into the day's training activities, but it was a joyous reunion all the same. When we'd all gone our separate ways a few weeks before, it was a rather anticlimactic parting, everyone getting their luggage together and nervous about what godforsaken town they were heading off to (Longtan isn't the garden of eden, but from the stories I've heard I'm pretty lucky), and of course there were lots of plans to get back together that very next weekend - none of which came to fruition - so why exchange any pleasantries? This time it was hugs and handshakes all around, and you could definitely tell we'd all been hurting for contact.

Training came and went, and the rain, unfortunately, did not. But 5:00 rolled around soon enough, and - just like old times - we all piled into the bus for the trip back to the First Hotel, which hadn't changed at all in those four weeks. More catching up and laughing about old times (one month ago, for Pete's sake!) and big plans for the evening, rain or no rain. The clique of which I was a member ended up at Citizen Cain, a great western-style bar and grill with terrific thin-crust pizzas, among other things. (I'm usually a thick-crust man, but this place is really something else, especially by local standards!) We had all spent a particularly beer-soaked night there not so long before, and one of my friends had even brought pictures of that evening, which served as a pleasant reminder not to overdo it tonight, since there was another day of training yet to come. On the actual trip there, we happened to draw a cab driver who spoke English and was in a mood to talk about the elections. Every day is an education here!

Saturday came and went back in the classroom, and we were free to go home that evening. But of course, there was no question that many of us would be staying right where we were. So much catching up left to do - and of course, not all of it ever was done! But we put a pretty good dent in it, with a trip to the Ministry of Sound, the largest nightclub in Asia (or so they claim, and it was awfully big) that lasted well into the wee hours. I never have cared for dance music, but hanging out with everyone was great as always. This was preceded by ruminations on where to eat which lasted so long we ended up having to settle for Subway, because it was all we had time for. Island time at its best!

Sunday was even better, though - actual shopping! My apartment is still looking quite bare, and a trip to Ikea was definitely [in order]. We also got a chance to browse for books and CDs; I didn't buy any, but the option was nice for a change. And in one of those only-in-Taiwan moments, one of our gang had forgotten her camera at a convenience store by the First Hotel, so we took a swing by there on the off chance that they would still have it - and they did! How could you not love this town?

It all ended where it began - at the subway station - with an agreement to meet up again in two weeks for a friend's birthday. Here's hoping I come with a shopping list that time. I had a few nervous moments waiting for the bus back to Longtan, but it stopped exactly where I had been told it would. Whatever my company's faults, they really are very good with the logistics and advising people how to get around Taiwan without being able to read most of the street signs. It's amazing what you can notice as landmarks and such when that's your only real option.

And I've still only scraped the surface of Taipei. But all in all, I'm glad to be back here in Longtan. As one of my friends said over a marvelous pasta lunch on Sunday, "If we lived here, we'd eat and shop like this all the time and we'd be broke and fat!"

Too true. Too, too true.