In the weeks leading up to my trip to Taiwan, I was being visited by cardinals almost every day. It actually started near my birthday in March as a cardinal flew into a bush I was sitting next to while I was sitting alongside a river. At first it seemed like a coincidence but after a while, as the sightings grew increasingly frequent leading up to my trip to Taiwan, I began to understand that it was by no accident. 2 days before I left, I was sitting in the usual spot at Ponce City Market where I sit and take breaks outside. Above this bench sprawls a large tree that provides the spot with shade. I was staring up at the tree, and almost as if something had called the bird to me, a cardinal flew and landed on the tree. Typically they are so fast and fly onward but this cardinal stayed in this tree above me for about 2 minutes. I just stared at it, trying not to lose it. They say that cardinals can mean that ancestors or loved ones that have passed away are coming to visit you, and I started to understand them to be my grandparents and uncle coming to see me.
Time here with my family is bittersweet now cause in the back of my mind I know that I won’t be able to spend as much time with them in this lifetime as I realized I would want to. I find myself wishing that we could be closer and that we could have more time… but its just the way things are that I have grown up and live in the US while most of my family lives in Taiwan. In my teens and twenties I was a lot more concerned with building my own life, having experiences, and finding my individuality… but now I’m asking a lot of questions about where I come from and who I come from… I am cherishing this time… through the broken Chinese and English…as a moment to just share with one another and to appreciate the time we do have together.
There has also been a consitent occurance of 333’s all around me. When I landed in Taiwan my uncle treaeted us to breakfast… and the total bill of the very firrst meal I ate here was exactly $333 NT. By the way, this comes out to a total of about 10$US… meaning that entire group of 4 people ate (and ate fully) for a total of about $2.50 a person…. just putting that out there for all of us in Atlanta who are having to pay $25 for a burger and a side of cold, wet fries with a 20% gratuity automatically added to the bill… it’s just… different lol. Anyways, back to the point. Even today, we went to Taipei to see the famous Taipei 101… and low and behold right there in the shopping center we went to was a gallery called “Gallery 333.” Wow, something is speaking to me.
Today we went to temple in Taoyuan City just outside of Taipei. There was this incredible dragon fountain surrounded by 8 golden dragon heads. Inside the fountain was full of amazing and huge koi fish. My aunt and uncles took me into the temple and showed me how to pay respects to the Gods. I took some time to thank God for my life and just for life itself… In life we can get stressed and bent out of shape about many things, but when you just sit and think about the miracle of waking up each day it puts everything into perspective. I just be thinking like… wow there is a lot to complain about… but maybe there is way more to be thankful about. I’m here, I’m breathing and I’m growing… what else could I really ask for?
It was very special to be able to go to the temple. I felt something in here… something that is still very much with me right now.
After the temple we drove to the capital of Taiwan, Taipei, and we went up to the tallest building in all of Taiwan, Taipei 101. We got to see the city from the sky through their observation deck drinking Boba tea as the clouds flew by like dragons in front of us. It was a cloudy day, as it is a rainy season right now in Taiwan, but every so often the clouds would clear up and we’d be able to see the beautiful view of Taiwans capital.
I’m pretty tired today. We’ve been seeing a lot of things and I’m still getting used to the time difference. And it’s only the second day! There are definitely more stories to be told but I’m gonna go to sleep now. Talk to yall soon.
Andrew