First of all, the semester ended, which was kind of a shocker, since it still seems like I just arrived here. I did very well on my final exam, which was a nice way to end things, and I said goodbye to a number of classmates who were going back to their various parts of the world. Lauren and I have talked a number of times about how weird it is to be the ones staying, since the last time we were abroad in China, we were the ones who were leaving after only five months. It's really rather sad to realize that a lot of these people, who I've spent a lot of time with and gotten to know fairly well, I may very well never see again.
Then, my mom came to visit over the semester break, which was fantastic and just a really wonderful experience. We spent the first couple days in Taipei, mainly to let Mom adjust to the time difference/food/etc. We went to Da An Forest Park, not too far from campus, and walked around there, which was really nice. We also walked around Tai Da's campus itself and explored my neighborhood a bit. Mom got a kick out of the little alley market by my apartment and maintains that the best meal she had here in Taiwan was a steamed, vegetable-filled bun she got there.
Then we took the train down to Hualien, and spent two nights at Taroko Gorge, one of the most scenic spots in Taiwan (more pictures are on my facebook account). That was probably the highlight of the whole trip. Because we went in midweek, things were very quiet up in the gorge. The hotel we stayed in was absurdly wonderful, with these little cabins right in the heart of the gorge and windows looking right onto the faces of mountains. We fell asleep and woke up to the sound of wildlife, and at night we could stand out on the green in front of our cabin and look up at the stars.
Moreover, the hotel offered ridiculously cheap shuttle service to various parts of the gorge, and we took full advantage. The staff were really friendly and helpful, and since we were one of just a few guests at the hotel, they really seemed to go out of their way to help us and make us comfortable. We went to the Baiyang Waterfall Trail the first day, then went down to the tiny town of Tianxiang where most of the lodging in the gorge is located and wandered around there for awhile. We ended up kind of stumbling across a shrine up on top of one of the smaller hills, and from the top we got some amazing pictures of the gorge and the surrounding mountains. We then took a bus down to the Tunnel of Nine Turns Trail and walked that. That trail was a bit more crowded, I think because it was further down the mountain and thus more easily accessible. We ran into a number of tour groups, some Taiwanese, some Korean. But it was still very peaceful and the scenery was amazing.
Our last morning, we walked part of the Swallow Grotto Trail, which started right by the hotel. The grade of some of the stairs was ridiculously steep, and we really felt it going back up, but the views yet again were stunning, and it was well worth it. Then the hotel provided a shuttle for us back to Hualien Train Station, and we took the Taroko Gorge Express (straight shot from Hualien to Taipei) back north.
After that, we did a lot more exploring around Taipei. We went to the tourist spots, like Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall, Taipei 101, and Shilin Night Market but we also went to Longshan Temple, Danshui and Ximending, just to get the feel of the city, and we went to dinner with Jessie, the friend who helped me settle in when I first got here. I confess, I did get a bit tired towards the end, but it was thrilling and exhilirating to be both showing off the city to Mom and also using my Chinese to get us around. Several of my classmates commented when I got back to class on Monday that my speaking appeared to have improved noticeably over the break, and I think part of that has to do with the fact that I was translating for most of the break.
Besides this, I also think I just got a really big lift from spending time with Mom. They say kids, as they're growing up, will keep going back to their parents for quick "recharges," and I think that's exactly what this was for me. I've been struggling a bit here, partly from culture shock, and mostly from post-graduation uncertainty. Mom's visit was a great chance for me to relax and have fun and not think about some of that stuff.
So now I have one semester left, and it's hard to believe that time has passed so fast. I remember arriving here, and being so nervous I wanted to throw up. It's hard to believe almost a year has passed since I was writing my comps and getting ready to graduate.
