But for now we can still enjoy living here. The last few months we did a lot. So what have we been busy with the last few months? A short overview.
Taipei is developing quickly. Big buildings are arising everywhere. But I'm happy Taipei is also trying to keep its historical identity. You can find a lot of historical and cultural locations throughout the city. One of them you can find just behind the Taipei 101. This area used to be the living quarters for Japanese soldiers until 1950. Instead of being torn down, you can still see how they used to live. Now it's partly museum, partly cultural park. In the weekends you can enjoy some performances, buy local products or just enjoy home made ice or have a coffee at the cafe. A little gem in the middle of the business and commercial district!
Did you ever had an experience of having an odd feeling, but can't immediately figure out why? The other day I was on my way to the National Chengchi University. At Fuxing station I had this weird sensation that something was wrong. After a few seconds I knew why. There was absolutely no traffic on the main streets. The streets were completely empty! After 10 minutes traveling on the MRT (Taipei's metro system) I noticed that ALL streets were empty. Kind of spooky. Finally I figured out that Taiwan was practicing an invasion (from China) and the police and army weren't allowing anybody on the streets. When I arrived at my destination, I still had to wait inside the station until the practice was over. Just another day in Taipei.
The last week of May was my last week of teaching English at Happy Marian. For every student, I prepared a notebook with a personal message. After teaching these kids for almost two years, you really bond with them. And they with me as well. In one class, two kids were even crying for half of the time. One girl - Amy - asked if she could accompany us to Denmark. When I asked her what about her parents and brother, she replied that they could come too... :-) Two other kids, Harmony and Harry, gave me a small gift which they bought with their own pocket money. I'll sure miss all of them!
Even though I loved teaching English, I surely missed working in my own field of expertise: Spatial Planning. That's why I was especially happy with a proposal from the Taipei National University. Professor Chan and Lee are currently doing a project for the Taiwanese Ministry of Agriculture (COA). The topic is how climate change is affecting agriculture. They asked me to help them write a chapter about the Dutch experience and approach to this issue. Apart from that, I'm also happy to have the opportunity to learn more about Taiwan.
What I will miss for sure about Taiwan is the beautiful nature. Sometimes you just have to step aside from the commercial street to find yourself surrounded by nature. Scott and I went on a hike that started just behind the old street of Sansia. A wonderful hike which we only followed partly. Along the route, we also stumbled upon some resting areas. To our amazement, one resting area was equipped with fresh water and tea equipment. We were offered some tea and nuts before continuing our hike. Taiwanese people are so friendly. The other day I went on a beautiful hike with Tyler, Phil and David. We went to the Yanmingshan national park and followed a river upstream, encountering three waterfalls. It gave us a wonderful opportunity to enjoy the beauty and power of nature. And it was a rush jumping down the waterfall from 8 meters high! Hopefully I'm able to do some more hikes before leaving Taiwan. If I do, you'll probably read about it on my next blog! Until later...
View on Taipei 101 from one of the many small alleys.
This alley is typical for the Japanese soldier houses.
The small alleys functioned as a social gathering place.
Invasion drill. Weird to see the streets all empty...
Teppanyaki! Lea and Peter introduced us to this restaurant.
While hiking in Sansia, we stumbled upon an electricity tower. The view from the platform was really nice.
River tracing somewhere in the Yanmingshan National park. An amazing hike. It left me speechless at times.
Apart from one other hiker on a parallel route, we were the only one in the river. It was nice to get out of the city for a while.
The third waterfall was the most amazing one. Not as high, but a beautiful scenery. And it was a rush jumping down. Tyler, thanks again for arranging the trip!
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Another Chapter in life closed - hope to see you soon in the EU
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