How the sea began... long ago when our world was young

where to begin. with anxieties or hope? with slant expectations or first impressions? should i be perceptively articulate or unforgivably blatant? the first day, to say the least, was heavy with wacky nerves and brain waves on fritz. starting off with a cup of sugary espresso in our bellies (we will find you regular black coffee!!!!) we found ourselves drawn to the idea of 'Peace Park' for our first venture. the mornings here are steamy and flurried for the average jet-lager, where despite the heat daze, nostrils flared with pungent wanton air, you need to be strictly adherent to the traffic or else be run over by the pack of wild scooters racing down the busy streets. Peace Park was beautiful, with stone foot paths that the average masochist would love (but after the fact make the body feel amazing), eucalyptus leaves!!!, beautiful fountains, and apparently the Taiwanese are very fond of exercising so the park is full of several conditioning setups and even old men practicing slow motion martial arts. after, with tummy grumblings we felt peaky at the sight of hundreds of street vendors, yet desperately lost in the slew of chinese that makes ordering where, what, and how much beyond difficult. food was quite the problem my first day, where salty, sour, and rice, rice, rice seemed a popular theme. i am so happy that helen is a cook!! heading back to the hostel and feeling exhausted from the heat we decided to relax a moment and let our anxieties dissipate. the rest of the day was dedicated to our own reality check 101, which for helen and i included getting lost in a nearby temple as well as many a 'Taiwan Beer."

leaving home is always a leap.like those trapeze artists my mom and i spied before getting on the bus to New York. decidedly separated from your family, comfortable routines, and loves to plunge into an unknown takes more than just patience but courage in self. we will all need to remind ourselves. and though this sauna is not making coherence easy, it is at least making our skin look great!

megan