The Calm After The Storm

It was January 2006. We had entered the Johannesburg Airport's immigration section. I stood in line thinking about how blessed I was to be in Africa again, and wondered what new mysteries I would discover on this trip. It was my turn to be asked questions like: What is your business in SA? So, I walked up and handed my passport to the brother in the official uniform that made me uneasy last year, because I knew that I was smuggling a couple of grams of dirt out of the country. He looked at my passport and then looked at me. His face was calm and looked a little bored from sitting in the same spot all day. He said: do you know where your ancestors are from? I was a little startled by the question, but I answered with a smile: "no, I assume somewhere in West Africa." He nodded and said that some American slaves were taken from South Africa, and that I could be from there. I responded, "maybe you're right." He smiled and handed me my passport and said, "welcome home, brother."

I've calmed done considerably since my last posting. At times, I see Black-American culture as Joseph son of Israel. Sold by his brothers, but by God placed into a better situation than his family so that they may not starve. I belong to many groups and cultures, the most important being Christian culture. Religion is no hobby for me, it is truth, the Way that all should live. If anything keeps me sane it is God and His favor in my life. I have witnessed the majesty of prayers and Faith, nothing can sway me from believing in these two tenants of my Religion. There isn't any liberal doctrine of inclusion that will make me believe in anything else.

I spent this past weekend in Taipei, Taiwan, which was a much needed vacation. I spoke about food cravings amongst my cultural rants on the last postings. While at the airport my desire for fried chicken was dealt with a nice serving of Popeye's chicken. I haven't had Popeye's chicken in years, despite that we have a couple in Birmingham.

We got on our flight bound for Taipei and hit the airport around 2pm. WE had to catch a bus that took us to the Subway station about 45 minutes away, then made our way to our hostel. The place was small, but clean. There were other travelers there also looking for a little adventure. Since I was traveling with three ladies, other travelers (male of course) made a point to strike up conversation with my group. For our first night we explored a little around our hostel, and stumbled on a temple that was nice. We decided to be a little bit more daring and traveled a couple of minutes further away to a place called Miramir where one could shop, see a movie or ride a big ferris wheel. I must admit that I am a little frightful of heights. It's not that bad, I just get a little uneasy when on things like ferris wheels, nonetheless I got on. Later that night we visited a night market and caught some street food for dinner. The area was called Shilin market and it was a combination of carnival games, clothing shops, and street food vendors. All very nice. The following day we set out to do some hiking. We trekked through a forest type area trying to find our way to the top of the mountain and to where we could catch a glimpse of a Volcano. We made it to an open area that looked like it lead up to the summit of our hike. We started up these stairs in the rain, with strong wind gust daring us to continue. Shanita and I were a little uneasy about the weather, it was slippery and far too windy for us to feel comfortable. We decided there wasn't anything worth breaking an arm over, so we decided to head back down, while our more adventurest colleagues set out to make it to the top. It was much colder than we expected in Taipei, so we where all wet and cold and praying for some warmth.We met back up at the visitor center and caught a bus back to the city to change clothes for that night. For our night excursion we tried to find a sketchy place called Snake Alley. I am a cautious person when I travel, so the name alone sounded like a place where stupid American tourist go to get robbed. According to others, Snake Alley was were one could see a man cut open snakes and drink their blood, and even the on lookers could try some snake blood if they wished. We never found the place, but we did discover some more night markets. One of our colleagues found it on her own later, and confirmed all the stories.
Sunday was the best day of the weekend. We left early that morning and headed to the Hot Springs Museum. Once we discovered that the museum was closed for prepares, we redirected and decided to find the public hot springs. There is something familiar about Taipei Citizens. Oh, they have a hint of Southern Hospitality! First example, we asked a young lady at the information desk inside the MRT station (subway station) how to find the Hot Springs. She gave us good direction and even gave us her personal cell phone number just in case we got lost. I forgot to mention that during our hike in the mountains, at least 90% of those passing by us said hello with a nice smile. When people in Hong Kong look at me, it is either to give me a peculiar glance (not necessarily negative) or to try and sell me a suit. Now, the cherry of our trip was an encounter with a Japanese woman that was 80 years old, but looked 60, and walked as if ageing had spent more time in other places than her bones and joints. She didn't speak much English, but only Japanese and Mandarin, which didn't help us much since we are English speakers and only had training in Cantonese phrases. Anyway, we set there for a couple of minutes trying to talk to her, while people walked passed us smiling and staring. Somewhere during the conversation she managed to write down her home phone number, and we were still slightly confused at why she was so adamant about spending time with us. We communicated with her best we could and she ended up leading us to the Hot Spring. Once we got there, she found someone to translate for us. Turns out, her daughter had married an Indian-American (not American Indian), and my two colleagues Shanita and Dhwani reminded her of her grand daughters. My two colleagues were stared at quite often in Taipei, but in a very nice curiosity type way. I don't believe Taipei has a thriving Indian population or is it their top vacation spot. My ethnicity was completely ignored here, which was very beautiful to me. We spent time at the Hot Springs with our friend, she invited us to her home, but we didn't have time. While walking back towards the MRT station she followed us and stopped at least two more people to tell them about us, each one listening attentively, not seeming bothered by our intrusion.

Well, that is the latest. I would like to give a warm congratulations and Happy Anniversary to my Brother and Sister-In-Law. Monday they will have been married for two years. Postings these are getting harder and harder. I actually started on this one about three days ago. Anyway, until I blog again.