(This post was written Sunday morning.)
Sensory overload. Those are the first two words that come to mind when I think of how to describe my Saturday (and even though it has been less intense the rest of the time, the entire trip could be described by those words as well)
We first took a bus to Carrefour, a large hypermart or grocery store, (imagine Target on one level, and Safeway on the second), ate lunch in the mini mall below the store, caught another bus to the train station, road a train for 45 minutes (standing in the most crowded train I have been in in my life) then road another bus up a windy narrow road to Jioufen There we were crammed into narrow walkways filled with little shops that sold everything! This was followed by a ride back down the hill (very similar to a roller coaster ride) to Keelong and the night market there. Each place was more crowded than the last. The press of bodies, the the visual stimulation, and the smells all combined to form this amazing sensory experience that is frankly indescribable. I don't know how to begin to describe all of the smells: the smell of fresh seafood, of raw sewage, of frying oil, of cooking meat and the fuel used to cook it, of sweaty bodies, the very distinctive spice blend that seems to permeate everything, and of course the very distinctive smell of stinky tofu.
The visual stimulation has been constant since we arrived. Signs are everywhere: sides of buildings, banners on awnings, paper, neon, glass windows, cars, busses. Everywhere. When you can't read the written language you tend to not focus on it as words but rather it blends into this giant canvas of art. There are English words in many places and I find my eyes leaping there, for some sort of understanding of what is written. Are they selling car insurance or shoes? Telling you to eat healthy or giving directions to the nearest bathroom? I am learning to communicate by recognizing symbols that I need to know like exit, bathroom, and learning to recognize the symbol for New Taiwanese Dollars. Pointing and gesturing usually works to purchase something, though sometimes we have needed translation by our student guides. They have been so patient and tolerant of our constant questions, educating us about the culture, and making sure we all get to the right places at the right time (have you ever had to herd 18 people through a market so crowded that you could hardly breathe?). We would not have been able to see nearly so much without them and there are not enough words to thank them for the time that they have spent with us.
I can see that due to the crunch for time that I'm going to have to continue to write posts even after I have returned. There are so many things that I could speak about, food, culture, transportation, the places that we've been. I can only hope that I am able to find the words to describe them.
Today we are going to downtown Taipei to visit Taipei 101 and a few places around it. This is the last day of touring and shopping. On Monday we will be sitting in on food science classes with FJU students and then will be headed home on Tuesday. I told someone on Thursday that I would have been happy enough with just the one day that we had already spent here. Each consecutive day brings a new understanding of foreign culture, personal growth, and a litany of experiences to share. I will probably sleep for a week when I get home!
Until next time,
Emily
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