So, I have finally settled on a date and booked my flight back to Canada. Wait, wait - not moving back, no. Just a visit. It sounds mighty strange to say that I am visiting my home country, but there you have it. I will have a glorious 10 days of September weather (during which time I will probably be freezing my butt off!), and then head back to Taipei in what will hopefully be more temperate Autumn weather.
Over the past few months, I have been building a wish list of things I will bring back with me. Things that I contemplated bringing, but opted not to (for absolutely no good reason). Things that I didn't know I would miss until I got here. Things I didn't know I couldn't find here, or at least without paying exorbitant prices for ($7 for a box of mint tea, for example, or $5 for a bag of Lay's Salt and Vinegar chips). Taiwan is lovely, and Taipei is incredibly convenient, but there are just some things that would make my life here an awful lot more enjoyable.
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| Proof that Taiwan's sky-gods love Canada |
- Maple syrup. Just kidding, I'm so non-Canadian in this regard. It's not something I miss at all. Take it or leave it. Also, it's sold here too, just not in cute maple-leaf bottles.
- Loose leaf mint tea. Just plain mint, not "digestive tea" combined with licorice, thank you very much.
- Chamomile tea. For those times I need to fall asleep asap. Like now. I really shouldn't be up at 1am writing a blog post.
- Yerba Maté. Also incredibly expensive, and in bags, not loose-leaf.
- Rice pasta. $10 a bag, if you can find it. Eek!
- Crackers. Normal, crunchy crackers. Nut Thins. Rice cakes. Whatever. I'm getting tired of super-salty Want-Want brand rice crackers.
- My small hiking backpack with camel pack. MEC, you should expand to Taiwan. Please.
- GF veggie gravy mix. It's not great (understatement of the year), but there is zero chance of getting it here.
- My non-slip Keen sandals. So ugly, yet so functional. Perfect for Taiwan! For that matter, I should really bring my:
- Crocs, for precisely the same reason. Ugly, comfortable footwear seems to be the norm here. Plus, shoes that dry out on their own after you get caught out in the afternoon thunderstorm are genius.
These clouds mean a nasty, mid-day torrential downpour is about to happen,
and you have to leave for work. There is no escape. Wet feet are inevitable.
- Magic Bullet. Really, what was I thinking? That I would just buy a $40 blender when I had no income? That thing works miracles, and it would probably make me an awful lot healthier than I am now! Just think of all the fruit/veggie/non-gmo soymilk smoothies I can make - yum!
My $6 purchase from the fruit stand. Good smoothie material, no?
I'm sure I'll come up with a bajillion more things that I want to pack into my suitcase and bring back with me, so I may update this list over the next couple of months. Those are the ones that have been nagging at me for a while though.
Also, my apologies for not updating this blog as frequently as I would like. To be honest, I had been in quite a funk for a couple of months, and the only thing I would have been capable of sharing was how crappy the weather was, or how much I felt sorry for myself (for living in a tiny apartment with no kitchen, on the top floor of a 5-story building with no elevator, for example). Luckily for all of us, I don't believe in spreading the negativity, so you didn't have to read about that crap. I also don't feel creative when I'm down, so writing and photo-taking fell to the wayside.
I have managed to pull myself out of it, and on the plus side, my legs are stellar after walking up 5 flights of stairs every single day for the past eight months! I have a major, ghetto-living, confession to make too: I used plastic cutlery from 7-11 for 7 months. Mostly because ONE fork or knife costs at least $2 each in this country. What the heck!!!!?! What is up with THAT? Anyway, at the end of June I finally got fed up at feeling sorry for myself about eating with plastic cutlery at home, and went to the store to buy metal cutlery. About freaking time. Bonus: the store had brought in some cheaper versions, only $1 per knife or fork. And I have to say, that helped get me outta the funk almost as quickly as finding cheap, local avocados did! Til next time... here is the before and after shot of my cutlery collection:
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| Goodbye depressing plastic cutlery, hello functional metal cutlery and wooden spatula! |
