Final Post

Well I guess it's about time to write a final post from Taipei. I fly out tomorrow morning at 10 am, so I have to leave the city at 6 am to get to the airport.

I hate to be melodramatic, but it really does feel like I'm going to leave part of my heart behind. I love this city, the friends I've met here, and most recently the wonderful guy I have to leave behind.

I'll write more this evening but right now I'm at a public computer and people are waiting...

-2:34 PM

I'm sleeping at his apartment tonight. I really don't want to leave. I have thought many times about just not getting on the plane, but I don't have any choice about staying here...

I just have to keep my head and my spirits up while on the plane... it's going to be one of the most emotionally draining 22 hours of my life, but after that I'll be home with all the silver linings that Cary has to offer... food (particularly Mexican), free rent, comfortable beds, family, friends, et cetera.

I also have resolve. It may be small solace, but I keep telling myself: I WILL be back in Taipei come January. I don't care what it takes or what I have to do. I am determined to come back here to the city and people I love so much. So if you are ever in the East Asian neighborhood in 2011 or any year thereafter, let me know!

-12:35 AM

Woke up and I'm feeling worse than ever. In 40 minutes the taxi will pick me up and I'll be dragged away from this city and leave this wonderful guy behind for 6 months. Thinking a lot about just skipping the flight ><. Probably won't but fuck I wish I could just run away and stay here for two months.

-5:30 AM

Pre-Hualien

Instead of going to Sun Moon Lake with the study abroad group (as I had plans last weekend which involved seeing off my Japanese classmate, baking cheesecake, and lots of time with a guy), I am instead travelling to Hualien (花蓮) on the eastern coast of Taiwan. It's supposed to be a beautiful region. I will leave tomorrow on the train at 9:55 am, and should return to Taipei on Friday at 10:35 pm. I will make sure to take lots of pictures!

all-nighter part 2

As I sit here munching on cheese and pretzels, and downing copious amounts of Diet Dr. Pepper, it has occurred to me that 3 hours is a long time, and I'm sure as hell not going to bed. So what better things to do than to make a list of things I will and won't miss about America? In fact, I've got three easy things to start off the list!

Things I'll miss:
Cheese
Pretzels
Diet soda
Milk
My friends and family
Snow
Hulu, Pandora, and other US-only web services
Beds with soft mattresses
Being able to tell who's gay and who's not
Turkey
Sleeping 'til noon
Actual toilets in restrooms

Things I won't miss:
Gender roles
Puritanism
Suburbs
"Chinese food". Also known as PF Chang's or 35 Chinese.
Pop music
Organised religion
High prices on everything
Partisan news spin

Update @ 2:50 Apparently it's snowing in Dallas. Hopefully it won't interfere with my connecting flight... still, I guess I'm lucky not to have flown through New York, DC, or Chicago

@ 3:00 I'm off now, getting ready and then heading to the airport. Hopefully I'll have internet at my hostel in Tokyo!

Pre-travel all-nighter

So I'm sitting in Cary, North Carolina (a city/town sprawling thing which I actually rather despise) with about four hours until I have to head to RDU airport.

I leave RDU for Dallas at 6:10 am, then I leave Dallas for Tokyo at 10:10. I will be arriving at 2:30 pm on Saturday. I spend six days in Tokyo (including the Spring Festival/Lunar New Year, which happens to fall on Valentine's Day), then I continue to Taipei, my ultimate destination.

I can't help but feel as though I'm not sufficiently prepared, though I've of course known for months that I'm leaving today.

Re the blog name... luuxing is the pinyin representation of the Chinese phrase for "travelling" or "tourism" [旅行] (though I have been warned about so-called "academic tourism"). I know, a nerdy name. But oh well. After all, I am going to Taiwan because I want to practice my Chinese.

Ideally: I will attempt to blog every other day, and I will include pictures of places I visit. Naturally, as I am actually studying abroad, this may have to change.

So this is it for the first post, I will try to update again when I get to Tokyo (after a grueling 20+ hours on planes).