Home At Last?

Life continues to grow increasingly normal each day. The network of ex-pats here provide invaluable resources for navigating the city and limits the ‘learn as you go’ experience that comes from moving to a new place. Largely thanks to Rick and Erin, a couple who lives in our neighborhood, Kaytlin and I abandoned some of the long bus-routes and citywide journeys for everyday products. For example, we used to travel to the 5-story, French-import grocery store to get things we could not find at the market--no longer! Turns out we have a grocery store within a 15 minute walk. I never found it because it is underground…naturally. Video rentals, trips downtown, home improvement projects, and soft-serve ice cream once required an afternoon of bus hopping and blistered feet, but now knock at our door.

The market outside our apartment:


In addition to the information provided by our native guides, our adaptation to the Taiwanese lifestyle contributes to successful living. Living like the Taiwanese while in Taiwan may seem painfully obvious, but like many things, recognizing what needs to happen and actualizing that need never come together. This week, however, Kaytlin and I ate all Asian food for a fraction of our previous grocery budget. Buying a rice cooker helped this process immensely. We bought all of our groceries, except for chicken, at the local market. I anticipate that a few weeks from now we will be 100% market fresh. We also know how to get to our jobs without accosting strangers or decoding broken English bus maps. We will be native guides before we know it. Ha.


Salt and Pepper Chicken (盐酥鸡)


Egg and Seaweed Soup


Gluten-free flatbread


Cold mung bean soup