and how many more of them will there be?
i could just watch a movie. that will keep me entertained for a couple of hours. then it will be 4 p.m. what to do for the remaining 8 hours of my day? tapping fingers together.
oh! i know! i can blog!!!
THINGS I NOTICE WHEN I WALK AROUND
signs in taiwanese, people with masks, lots of 7-11's, lots of noodle bowl restaurants, everyone holding umbrellas, then closing them when they walk under a building overhang, only to open them twenty feet later. young women in leggings with long sweaters over them, and fluffy boots and jackets, older women in slacks and flats with heavy jackets, sometimes bonnets. men dressed in slacks or jeans with black shoes and members only jackets, tall buildings everywhere, both residential and commercial. taxis everywhere, scooters everywhere. there are special boxes for scooters at the stop lights. they are for the scooters in the opposite line of traffic, who would normally be turning right in the states. instead, they cut across the first row of traffic flowing perpendicular to their lane, and wait in a box in front of everyone until the light turns green.
i see lots of mcdonald's, lots of kids in uniform with backpacks and cell phones, walking to and from schools and universities. there are men smoking outside their cabs and places of business, people on corners handing out flyers for restaurants or trying to get the passerby to sign a petition. the streets are clean. there are alleyways between each tall building with potted plants on the ground and clothes hanging from lines above. there is a row of scooters on each side of the alley, making the passway very narrow. most of these alleys are one way.
in the 7-11's, there are juices in plastic bottles that range from generic vitamin water to asparagus juice. there are two crock pots of brown boiled eggs with the shells on, slightly cracked, floating in brown water. there are signs for noodle bowls that are instant, and people are eating them at a counter at the window. they are looking at me and i am looking at them. there is a small section on the shelf toward the back that has bottles of sake, jim beam, some fancy bourbon in a box, and bottles of wine. at the front counter, there is no queue. people walk to the front and put their money in front of the cashier, and they are served. the cashier will take your trash for you since there are no receptacles outside. supposedly, the city made a rule so there would be fewer trash cans on the street because the smell was stinking up the city. people allow themselves one small bag that they take around with them all day.
walking around, i smell food. i smell steamed food, fish, beef, fried food, the scent of perfume on some women and men as they walk by. i see young couples holding hands but other than that, no public display of affection. on the metro, people are pretending to be asleep, looking at each others' shoes or on their cell phone, texting. that's nothing unusual. when people get out of the subway, they are in a rush to get to the escalator, yet once they're on it, they don't walk. they let the ride take them up. they have (and i have) a plastic card that is put up against a sticker to validate the ride. there are also one-way plastic tokens you can but for a dollar, that you scan upon entry and deposit upon exit.
there are underground walkways that link the two sides of major intersections. some temples and govt. buildings are gated, and usually grandiose. the cost of an average meal is $1-5usd. most street food and average mom n pop stands accept the money prior to giving you the food. there are stands with doughnuts, fried pastries, grilled, stuffed buns, soups with beef and pork that is poured over noodles and topped with cabbage and scallions. when they eat noodles here, we are given a soup spoon and chopsticks. the noodles are gathered with the chopsticks and laid in the spoon. they are then eaten from the spoon with the chopsticks. making slurping noises is ok. showing the food in your mouth or letting it fall out of your mouth is impolite. this can be a difficult thing to avoid, as noodles are not the neatest food.
there are shops with delicacies, packaged food and tea. there are stores with miniature handmade tea cups and pots. there are a lot of clothing stores, phone stores, cafes, sushi restaurants, electronics stores, bakeries, hair salons, hardware stores, brand-name stores, jewelry stores and cheap textile shops. what i don't see are a lot of bike shops. not one, actually. people rarely lock their bikes up. i see them against fences, or just parked with a kick stand. there are receptacles for umbrellas outside many stores, and no one steals them. i don't see a lot of people eating while walking, but there is a lot of coffee and tea consumption.... all types of tea. green tea, tea with milk, bubble tea, soy and tea, etc. the men seem to stick with the men and the women seem to gather with the women.
as far as i can see, it's like any other city, besides the signs being in a different language. it's reassuring to be in a place where i feel comfortable enough to step out of the window of my eyes and into the world of the people who live here.
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