Specifically Pacific
Yesterday was my last day in Taiwan before classes begin. The way I saw it, it could have been a day of rest, preparing for the weeks of class ahead, or a day of activity, taking advantage of one last day with no homework or looming classes.
The beach was three buses and a train away, about 90 minutes of transit. None of the other people Berk and I have met yet wanted to get up early or spend so long on public transit, so we headed out by ourselves. The beach was Wai’ao. It’s east of Taipei, a small surf-town between the mountains and the water. It has huge rocks and black sand, courtesy of Turtle island––an active volcano––off its shore. There are other beaches closer to Taipei, but there were two things I wanted to do yesterday:
- Splash around in some waves (in the PACIFIC!) ✅
- Try my hand at ocean surfing ✅
From my ten minutes of research, Wai’ao was the best beach for these two things.
When we got there, I wandered into a shop to rent a surf board, where I ran into a curly-headed white guy in his 20s who seemed to be working or living at the surf shop (?) and spoke Mandarin like a local. I so badly want to know what your story is.
I flopped around on the surfboard for a little while, looking like a goof, but managed to get up a few times. Then we broke for lunch: beach-pizza and pineapple-beer smoothies, which is somehow a better combination than it sounds. By the time I got back out to try to surf some more, it had gotten quite a bit choppy, and with the pineapple-beer smoothie weighing me down, and all the other surfers slowly getting out of the water, I got up one more time and then decided to call it. I splashed around in the waves for a little while longer, and then we started to head out. I’d love to go back for a weekend trip with someone who knows how to surf and be safe in the ocean.
All in all, it was lovely to get out of the city for a little while, and the day reminded me that I am not totally the city-boy I am trying to be (which my Tevas and hiking boots could have told you already). It also reminded me that sometimes activity IS the best form of rest. Had I sat around all day in my air-conditioned bedroom, or in whatever cafe, I know I would be itching and antsy today. Rather than feeling exhausted from four total hours of public transit and a day in the sun, I feel surprisingly recovered and rested.
So the motto for the week is: bias towards action.
The rooftop club, heading to the National Palace Museum, and going to the beach yesterday were all experiences I wasn’t totally sure about at first, but have ended up being some of my highest-lights so far. Going to try to keep cultivating these experiences by making “Yes” the default.
Misc.: my new favorite coffee-shop bathroom sign (ahead of Heartwood’s coffee-love-languages) says in very simple black and white:
“喝咖啡的時候，我屬於你。”
“When I drink coffee, I belong to you.”