“People create stories create people; or rather stories create people create stories.”
-Chinua Achebe
"Falling in Love." An interesting title that may need a little explanation. Do not be alarmed, Mom. I have not fallen in love with a Taiwanese boy. I am not going to get married and stay here for the rest of my life. It's the nation I have fallen in love with. But it's not just that. It's people. It's their stories and their lives. Now, I had no intention of being so poetic and flowery when I set out to write this blog, but these are the things that have been running through my mind as of late. So, here you are, reading the silly musings of Karyn's brain. But hey, I never insisted you read this. If you wish to proceed that is entirely up to you...
This island is incredibly beautiful. It has everything you could possibly dream of. Ocean, mountain, meadow, gorge, plateau, city, country.... etc. I am constantly in awe over the beauties surrounding me. Even in the oh, so polluted city I can't help but notice little things that make lovely in it's own way. But lately it hasn't been the scenery that has captured my affection- even though I can't get enough of it. It's the people. I find so much pleasure in meeting new people and forming friendships. I'm even happy just to see little glimpses into the lives of strangers. I guess it's a good thing I plan on continuing in anthropology because I'm addicted to it. This new love for humanity has even had an effect on my amateur attempts at photography. I now try and include random strangers into my landscape shots. I love the stories it instantly creates. I guess thats my way of justifying the creeper shots I've been taking lately...
Moving on... this last weekend, Kailey, Liz and I went on a little adventure down to Kenting National Park. If ever there was a beautiful landscape, it would be (and is) found on this little southern tip of Taiwan. Looking back, I have realized that even though this trip was made for the purpose of enjoying nature, It was really the people we saw and met that made it memorable...
When arrived in Kenting, we were greeted at our hostel by Sophy. She and her husband, John, are the owners of the U-dive Hostel. Sophy is Taiwanese and John is Canadian. I was immediately impressed with this womans welcome. She was incredibly warm and friendly and helped us make our plans for the day. She was so happy with her life that you couldn't help but feel happy for her as well. After she showed us the coral beach next to the hostel she helped us make arrangements for our scooter rental, and as soon as John returned from his dive, he drove us down to the rental shop...
We rode in the back of his truck... Oh and the matching tie dye was completely unintentional. I guess this is what happens when you spend every waking moment with someone for six months...
And so did his dog, Dog.
John was an interesting fellow, but I will wait to give a better description of him.
Soon we had our scooters and we were on our way.
I do love scootin' around. I only wish it would be a practical investment in Utah. Few things bring more pleasure than riding along the coast on one of these.
We rode around for awhile until we decided to stop for lunch. This is a typical portion size in this country....
Notice the text on the plate. I am seriously going to miss some of the food here. This place was a very common style of restaurant here. You grab a little basket and fill it with whatever meets and vegetables and noodles you want and then they cook it up for you in a jiffy. Kind of like Mongolian BBQ. I will probably be making a lot of trips to that place when I get home...
After lunch we drove around until we found a quaint little beach to enjoy.
I kid you not, the sand on this beach was the softest sand I have ever felt in my life. It was bliss.
And in case you doubt my actual presence on the beach here is proof that I was there. Because I know it's a little hard to believe...
We had a bit of fun playing in the sand...
And after looking like fools for awhile our little snowman in the sand was born...
The glasses we found on the beach were the perfect addition. It's like they were meant for each other.
I'm pretty sure there are about three other people have their own copies of this picture. For some reason the American girls making a snowman in the sand seemed to be really amusing to the surrounding Taiwanese. They tried to be discreet but as a master creeper myself, I know the signs of a good stalker photo...
Several people paused to take pictures with our little message in the sand as well...
Fortunately we were able to befriend some of them and they took this lovely photo of us all fist pumping in a happy holiday...
And then I began taking some shots of people around us. I thought I'd return the favor I guess. I love this one with them burying their friend in the sand. Beaches are the same in every country...
This is my favorite picture from the whole trip. Which is why it's on here twice...
This delightful woman spent the whole day walking back and forth along the beach. She had a marvelous outfit on probably to protect her from the very dangerous rays of sunlight...
I love the person bumping along on their inner tube in this one...
And some cute little twins in matching outfits searching for shells...
After our lovely day at the beach we scooted our way back to the hostel where we washed up and got ready for a little BBQ on the roof top patio of our hostel. And what an experience that was. The company, the food, and the atmosphere made our little dinner a scene straight from a Dickens novel. I kid you not, I wrote extensive character sketches on everyone there in my little travel journal the next day. I'll give you a brief overview of it here, but I'll spare you the more boring descriptions. First we had two Canadian men who have been living in Taiwan for several decades now, and still don't speak very much Chinese. One of them was John Boo, our hostel owner and the other was his friend and neighbor, Richard (the Canadian version of Doc. Brown.) Richard still had a very thick Canadian accent. These two, unable to fully communicate with anyone else for many years, spent the evening chatting away, often repeating things they already said as if they were saying them for the first time. It was thoroughly entertaining. Later a few Taiwanese men joined us. One was the captain of John's ship and he was a very impressive figure. You could tell he was very intelligent as he sat silently smirking on as he listened to the conversation of John and Richard. Another man came later as well and soon he and the captain were carried away into their Chinese world. It was very interesting watching the simple conversation between English speakers work it's way in circles while the Chinese conversation took on a very different shape. You wouldn't think that living in a country where you don't really speak the language to be a life style that would bring much satisfaction in life. But after watching these two men who have been doing just that for quite some time, I was struck by their sense of contentment. They really have found their niche in the world and that is very respectable in my opinion. IT ended up being a much different evening than we could have anticipated, but it was definitely worth it.
The next morning we decided to wake up early and take a little stroll on the coral beach next to our hostel. Dog decided to join us...
What a beautiful place to live. No wonder these people are so happy with life...
We spent a few hours here just wandering around and soaking it in...
Can you see the star fish??
Moss covered coral is pretty too, what do you know....
Bliss...
Tidal pools just never get old I think...
And of course I found some human specimens to capture as well...
And a lovely fisherman hard at work...
What a life, eh?
When I talk about the people I have grown to love I could never leave out the three amazing girls that I have shared this little adventure with. They are my sisters and my best friends. I would not trade them for anyone in the world. :) Here we have the lovely Kailey and Liz...
Unfortunately Annalisa didn't come with us to Kenting, But she is just as much a part of it as ever. It will be so strange to not be with these ladies at all times. At least I will have Liz with me in Cedar City.
If you haven't noticed yet, the fist pump has become something of a routine here... almost as much as the peace sign.
After a delightful morning we made our way home. And this is what accompanied us on our train ride home....
People create stories create people; or rather stories create people create stories... I think this is a really fascinating idea. It is a never ending cycle. And as I look around me I can see countless people with countless stories to be created- each as intricate and lovely as the next....
Once again, please excuse my ridiculous attempts at poetic thought. I get a little carried away sometimes....
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