When It Rains It Pours….

Date: Sunday June 13, 2010 Taiwan Time: 1:00 pm California Time: 10:00pm (Saturday)


My blog for this week is entitled “When It Rains It Pours….” I mean that both in a metaphorical sense as well as in a literal sense because in Taiwan it doesn’t ever rain—it pours! For those of you who have not been fortunate enough to visit this lovely and diverse country of Taiwan, you probably have never experienced rain in its fullest sense or entirety.
When I first arrived in Taiwan, I had the privilege of staying with a local Taiwanese family for a few days until I found a more permanent place of residence. This family also happened to be a member of my faith, so I attended their local Chinese church (which was quite an experience to say the least!). Everyone there was so kind and welcoming and helped with translation as best they could since the whole meeting was in Chinese! This continued on for a few weeks until I found out there is an English-speaking church that meets in the next city over (about thirty minutes by scooter). So today (Sunday) was my first day attending this particular church. I had gotten directions from the church leader and was pretty confident I knew where it was. When I left Hsinchu, it was party overcast but really quite pleasant otherwise. When we talked on the phone his directions were quite straightforward as I was to turn onto this main road and follow it until I passed a McDonalds at which point I was suppose to make an immediate left. The church meeting started at 9 that morning so I decided to leave at 8:30 to give myself plenty of time (or so I thought). As I’m driving down this major road on my moped (wearing a helmet, black heels, and a skirt), I pass by a McDonalds and make an immediate left. Everything was going fine, I turned into the first building, parked my scooter and looked at the time—it was five to nine, I even had time to spare! I walk into this building and push the button to the third floor. As I’m waiting for the elevator I look around and think to myself (this doesn’t really look like a church but maybe I’ll find other people on the third floor). I get into the elevator and start doubting myself a little, thinking if this is really where I should be. I get off on the floor and notice two double wide doors so I’m thinking yes this is it! So, without giving it much thought, I pull open the doors and walk in to find about thirty Taiwanese business men sitting in conference chairs just staring at me! I have no words (even if I did it would be in English so they might not understand me) and immediately turn around and book it as fast as I can out the door! Okay so by now it’s after nine and I have apparently no idea where I am suppose to be. I frantically call my church leader praying that he picks up and luckily his wife answers the phone. After explaining where I am she explains that I need to turn at the second McDonalds. Of course being on a busy road there are quite a few McDonald’s, as all the streets in Taiwan are filled with McDonalds, KFCs and 7-Elevens! So I get back on my scooter and continue down the road, only this time it’s starting to sprinkle. After a few more agonizing minutes of driving I finally arrive at my destination (a little wet) but only about a half an hour late! The rest of the meeting goes well; I meet some members of my faith who speak English (although most are actually not American or English). There is a Filipino family and some others who are from Argentina and Paraguay.
When the meeting was over I started my drive back home to my apartment. The only problem was this time it was raining but not just raining, down pouring! If you have ever heard of the expression “raining cats and dogs” or “pouring buckets” I’m convinced these phrases are derived from Taiwan. I have a purple rain jacket (not really a rain jacket so much as a plastic coat with snaps on it). Well this is intended to keep you dry as long as it’s raining only a little bit otherwise it’s completely useless. In Taiwan, it doesn’t really rain vertically but rather horizontally so that the wind and water whip you in every direction, making driving a scooter nearly impossible. On my drive home, I pass over a large bridge and many small bridges and lower lying areas (sort of like ditches). By the time I cross some of these they are completely overflowing with water which is also gushing onto the street. Remember at this point, I’m still in heels, wearing this useless bright purple plastic tarp, have a black skirt on and am driving cautiously forward, hoping by some miracle that I arrive home safe. My helmet does little to block the torrential rain so I can barely see enough to navigate my scooter through the flooded streets. Every time a car passes, I’m careful not be too near otherwise I get completely drenched from the tidal wave they create! Anyways to make a long story short, I eventually (by some miracle) make it back to my apartment complex, sopping wet but safe! After changing into dry clothes, I decide to eat lunch because I’m soaked and starving! But of course by this time it has stopped raining almost completely (just my luck right?)
While shopping at the local grocery store yesterday I happened to find a can of salsa which I am so excited about since I love Mexican food and miss it very much! Once I find the salsa I decide to pick up some tortilla chips to have for an afternoon snack. This proves to be such a daunting and challenging mission to accomplish. In Taiwan, you can always find a plethora of snack foods, especially different flavors of chips. In fact, there are a lot of unusual flavors that you simply cannot find in the United States. So as I’m perusing down the grocery aisle I am just overwhelmed but the sheer number of chip flavors, especially the Doritos brand. Here is just a sample of Doritos Chip Flavors that I found:
-Wasabi flavored
-Grilled Basin Chicken, Chicken Sizzler, Roasted Turkey
-Seafood (I think a type of shrimp with seaweed salt flavoring)
-Honey Ribs
-Flaming Cheeseball
-Pizza
-Spicier Nacho, Nacho Cheesier
-Winter Cheese (I didn’t even want to know)
-1st/2nd/3rd Degree Burn flavors (vary in spiciness)
-Late Night All Nighter Cheeseburger
-Late Night Tacos at Midnight
-Late Night Last Call Jalapeño Popper
-Toasted Corn
-Sweet Chili Heat
And my personal favorite….Cool American
These are all flavors of chips that I found at the local grocery store but alas, it proved to be impossible to find just plain tortilla chips so I had to settle with Nacho Cheesier. Which to be quite frank isn’t half bad considering my other alternative chip flavor options. So now I am sitting in my apartment listening to the soothing sound of a summer rainstorm and eating my salsa with Nacho Cheesier Doritos—life is good, real good!
This just goes to show you that you never really know what to expect in life and when in Taiwan, do as the Taiwanese do (keep driving and have a smile while you do it!)