I am back to Taiwan after visiting Malaysia. I will start learning mandarin next month. I am hoping to learn few words in order to prepare for my trip to China. From what I’ve heard very few people can speak English in China.
Back here in Taiwan, I recently visited Taichung; it’s the 3rd city in Taiwan after Taipei and Kaohsiung. Close to Taichung is Xitou, a national park full of bamboo trees, it’s just amazing natural beauty. I also visited the Taipei 101 tower for a second time to get a view of Taipei from the highest point.
I started to feel as if I live here, some of the stores and restaurants where I buy my food started to recognize my face. I start to realize how hard it is for someone foreigner to live in an Asian culture. First you have the language barrier which is very different and hard to learn, then the food, the traditions and the culture. I admire the Asian people who immigrate and live in Canada. It must be huge adjustments in order to fit and live in a culture that’s so different.
Although Taiwan is very modern but it has very strong tradition. Many temples and religious symbols everywhere, it’s very common to see people stopping by a temple for a minute on their way to work or while they are walking by. Taiwanese are very spiritual, I see many people chanting in the train or in the park.
Another thing is I noticed that Chinese medicine is as popular as western medicine. I attribute this popularity not only to the belief in the effectiveness of the Chinese medicine, but also as part of maintaining that connection with the long and rich Chinese tradition.
All pictures of Xitou park and also those from Taipei 101 can be a great poster. Amazing pictures!!!