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| This Taiwan trip gets a giant thumbs up |
After a lovely week in Taiwan, the return trip wasn't quite as pleasant. After my first flight I had a 4.5 hour layover in a Chinese airport with no heat, and then had a 12 hour flight back to LA on an ultra uncomfortable plane where my TV screen was broken and the man next to me was hacking up a lung the entire trip. Those final 18 hours of travel notwithstanding (plus the 28 hours it took me to arrive in the country), it was a really great trip overall and worth all that time and the logistical nightmare of getting to and from Taiwan.
Going into the vacation I wasn't sure if it was going to be mostly a relax-in-the-apartment-with-the-family type of trip, so I was surprised with how packed my itinerary was and how much there was to see. I think the blend of sightseeing and family time was actually pretty ideal, since those were the dual purposes of the trip. Everyone I met, both in and out of the family, was extremely friendly and very open to me being a part of their lives for this week.
It was definitely one of my most unique trips to date. Living and traveling with natives gave me a much fuller exposure to the culture, and a stronger selection of activities and eateries. In my two previous Europe trips it seemed a lot easier to get by with English and some limited native phrases because at least the language was more easily recognizable and English was more widely spoken. Here I was very much dependent on my hosts for the week, and even the two trips to 7-11 I made on my own I felt uneasy about. There were still certain levels of awkwardness due to the language barriers and when meeting new people, but that was to be expected and I started to get used to it as the trip progressed. One nice aspect of the trip that was different from previous vacations, was that I really didn't have to make almost any decisions. I followed the itinerary that was made for me, went to the restaurants that they had already chosen, and ate pretty much any food that was placed in front of me. As silly as it might sound, it was actually a very nice break from decision making. I've already commented that I'm afraid I'm going to have trouble coming up with plans and meal ideas when I got back to the States.
As great as an experience as it was, with all the travel and tough communication that I had faced over the break, I was very relieved to make it back to America and to Los Angeles. Unfortunately, though, there was very little time to relax and recover because my first classes (and a job interview) were only two days away.
And in case you haven't seen enough photos via the blog or Facebook, here's a more complete album of the trip: Taiwan Trip Album
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