Once again into the deep

Finneus here,

Good day to the readers, and sincere apologies for the delay.

I stand on the brink of a new adventure, spread far in front of me.. an entire year spent in the far eastern island of Taiwan, a tropical paradise inhabited by a wonderful mix of populations.. both indigenous and foreign, and mishmashed together under the auspices of the Republic of China. My understanding of how this came to be is tragically incomplete, though I have been told that this marvel of an island has been owned in (recent) sequence by first the Dutch, second the Japanese, and then most recently China (though debate-ably so).

This is all an aside however.

I arrived September 12'th on an unusually bright and humid morning, underslept and in possession of only my travelling clothes, a couple of books, and barely working knowledge of modern Mandarin only to find that there had been extraordinary mis-management of my checked baggage. As I write to you several days later, my baggage still has yet to fully turn up, though bits and pieces have found their way to me in the intervening days. This is an awful travesty, as my hygiene kit was in my travel bag, and it is an unacceptable scenario for a man to be anything other than neatly groomed and clean shaven.

One should not underestimate the power of a good shave, a trim haircut, and controlled nails. I daresay it behooves a man or lady of good standing to be aware of these things at all times as they are marks of civilized and upstanding nature.

However, undaunted, unshaven, I continue into the busy Metropolis of Taipei city. The city is a hive of crisscrossing alleyways, overhangs, and cement buildings, built over and over with the trappings of modernity lacquered over elderly bones. The humid nature of the weather makes it hard for lasting architecture as even the hardened cement seems unable to withstand the equatorial heat and water. Hundreds of tiny scooters flit like fish around larger cars, buzzing past the rolling sharks as they cruise down main roads, all whizzing past buildings either frighteningly modern or desiccated and reclaimed by jungle ivy.

It is a beautiful sight.. and the city itself is remarkably living, with trees and thick ivy seemingly built into the very fabric of every home and street. Days later I still marvel at it, I may marvel at it till my departure next year. I arrive in the city at a Hostel called the Camel's rest, and set myself about securing my room and setting my items to the dormitory. It is at this point I begin my search for a permanent home.

It is a story punctuated with hardships, though eventually I came to find my current room-mates. A motley band of scholars and adventurers. A dive instructor, who is a fine and boisterous young lady, a gentleman biologist teaching English in this country, and a Fullbright scholar who has taken it upon himself to translate modern Chinese poetry. Together we have descended upon an older apartment situated between National Taiwan University and Shida.

This currently is where I stand in my travels, waiting for classes to begin at University while scouting for adventures to have on this island, there are myriad small issues, but mostly they are inconsequential (with the exception of my damnable bag). There will be more shortly though, I promise.

Best to you all,

Finneus.