Goodbye (for now) Taiwan

June 30, 2011

5:50 AM

Taoyuan International Airport, Gate D5

It’s shortly before six AM at the Taipei-Taoyuan international airport. I left Yilan at 3:30 this morning, hugging my roommate goodbye. Miss you, Carolyn. Neither of us had slept, both trying to finish packing up the apartment for our respective homeward journeys. Amazing how much stuff you end up with in the course of a year. I arrived at the airport at 4:45 in the morning. I’m well aware that I’m behind on my blog. You don’t have any posts on May or June, and we’ve arrived at the last day of June now. Where oh where has the time gone? Yes, yes, bad blogger for not updating. Shame upon shame.

Anyway, fortunately, in between catching catnaps on the plane, I’m hoping to enlighten you with the goings on of my last two months. (I do so love to do things chronologically; after arriving home, I may follow up with some blog posts on various topics about life in Taiwan.) For now, let’s stick to the present.

I can barely believe that I’m on my way home. I’m aware that I’m not the same as when I left, and odds are, I’m not the only one who’s changed. I’d like to hope I’ve changed for the better; it’ll be an experience getting to know people again after being gone for a year. A year really is a short time in the grand scheme of things. Being in Taiwan this year seems to have gone by tremendously quickly and it makes me feel as though I could probably do just about anything for a year. Then again, time flies when you’re having fun after all, so maybe that’s why this year seems to have disappeared out from under me.

I’m not sure what exactly lies ahead for me. I’m aware that right this minute, I could go anywhere. It’s a startling, and terrifying, and amazing feeling all at once. I could say “the sky’s the limit” but there is no limit; the sky will take you anywhere. Right now, I’ve thrown a few job applications out on the east coast (hey, if you’re hiring…). I also went on a job interview this week on the east coast of Taiwan. I’m still waiting to hear back; as of yesterday, no decision had been reached. I was really excited about the interview and I think it would be a great school at which to work. I’m also applying for a position in Hong Kong. Beyond that? I’m still looking, and open to suggestions.

It doesn’t quite seem real that I’ll be home later today. Admittedly there’s 20 hours of flights between home and myself, but it’s still technically today. The last few days have been a complete whirlwind. Between errands, meetings, spending 10 hours on a train for an interview, and scrambling to get things done, I didn’t end up having time to say goodbye to a lot of my favorite restaurant owners, which is unfortunate. I’m going to be immensely missing the food and the people in Taiwan.

My final week in Taiwan disappeared in right out from under me. I don’t know what happened Sunday, except that errands like the bank and the post office, which I wanted to accomplish, had to wait, because they weren’t open. Monday I got up at 5 in the morning and went off to Yunlin County for a job interview—I didn’t make it home until 8:30 at night. Tuesday is rather blurry at the moment, in my sleep-deprived skull. I recall getting a new ATM card at the bank, buying boxes at the post office, lots of cleaning and packing, the preliminary apartment inspection, and my dear, wonderful bicycle being stolen. I parked and locked it before going into the bank, and didn’t get the chance to go back for it until after 9. Wednesday was a flurry of more errands (bank, school, Carrefour, post office, apartment inspection, Carrefour, manic packing until it was time to leave).’

And here I am at the airport. I’m looking forward to being home and hugging my mom, and my auntie, and cousins again. I’m not sure what exactly lies ahead right now, but if the past year has been any indication, good things await. I’m going to post this now, and when I’m bored on the plane and internet-less, I shall fill the time by writing my blog entries about May and June, discovering the perils and adventures of teaching, travel, and friends in Taiwan. Sorry I failed to come up with another word that started with T. At any rate, I’m signing off and will be writing more soon.