Via a few texts back and forth (nobody in Asia actually talks on the phone, we just text, it’s just what we do over there. God forbid anyone ever leave me a voicemail. You think I know how to check it? ha!) we had scheduled a meet-up. I hopped in a cab, and after a few sharp turns and Hail Marys, I had reached my destination. It was a swanky, loungey bar called People6/People 7, or something like that.
Get this, in order to get in the “secret” entrance, I had to wave my hand under this rock thing, then the doors magically opened. That was pretty cool, you guys.
As I would later come to realize, my new friend in Taipei, who we’ll refer to as ABC, knew where just about everything was, particularly swanky bars and amazing Indian food.
For that alone, he made it past round one. Ding ding ding!
go for the TKO
I didn’t really know what to label this little meet up. I decided it wasn’t a date and therefore chose a pretty bland top and simple pants. Why dress up for a mid-week night cap?
When I arrived he was waiting outside with that same cheeky smile he wore outside of shi-da a few months prior.
What in the world am I even doing right now?
We went inside and, per his suggestion, I ordered an Erdinger beer. It was stupendous. That became my signature order in Taipei moving forward.
Yum!
I knew things were off to a great start when I found out he was from San Francisco. Imagine, half a world away from home, two Californians met and realized they had more in common than a crappy cell phone.
With that, he sailed right through round two. Ding ding ding!
I decided I’d test his comedic abilities by throwing out a Dave Chapelle quote. He quoted right back.
Score!
Turns out that he owned both seasons of the stand up comedy show.
Oh fate, you know me SO well.
Dave: bringing people together since 2004
It was so effortless to speak with him. For the previous few months I had spent in Taipei, I had to carefully choose my words around most people so that I wasn’t using jargon they wouldn’t be familiar with. My own English was suffering due to the lack of use, as odd as that sounds.
I missed being sarcastic, I missed using words like “serendipitous,” and most of all, I missed being able to just let a conversation flow. It’s extremely exhausting to constantly be translating in the mind. Not that I’m complaining, but I had simply taken the ease of speaking to another human in my mother tongue for granted back and home, and I wasn’t about to at this juncture.
The previous months spent in Taipei, while eye-opening and wonderful, were also very taxing. It was difficult to do things that were so simple back home. I couldn’t simply walk into a store and ask where the monkey wrenches were located, I had to first find a store that sold wrenches by translating store names, walk in and use my best Mandarin to ask (and sometimes get laughed at when I used the wrong tone, despite my best efforts), and then navigate my way back home.
Say What?
It was lonely at times, and it certainly didn’t help that I spent far too much time pining over what I had left behind: friends who were still in University, having fun and posting their pictures online for me to drool over.
So, it felt really good to hang out with ABC. For one night, I felt like I had a slice of home with me in the place I had come to love. A place that had taught me so much. I truly had the best of both worlds.
Over the next few weeks we got dinner at a few new places. I learned the city in a different way than before. While doing things independently had been extremely liberating and enlightening, it was great to have a buddy along who both spoke the local language and English effortlessly. Oh, and did I mention he knew where all the good food places were?
I did?
Well then you just wait ‘til next time when I talk about Yang Ming Shan, the mountain with the best view, and the best cheesecake, in Taipei.
Self Realization: I can be independent, but oh, how having a buddy makes it all that much sweeter.
Today’s guest blog is written by Ava Apollo – a lover of travel and previous resident of Taipei, Taiwan.
Ava Apollo grew up in Southern California where she was exposed to a wide variety of languages and cultures. After her university years, Ava spent a year in Taipei where her love of travel, Chinese language, and writing were intensified.
Ava has since returned to California, however, she remains a lover of writing about Asia and traveling the world. When she’s not writing for MSW, Ava’s blogging about love and life along with her friends Stella Sage and Bella Blue on Super Blogettes.
