It’s already been over a year since I’ve returned to the US from Taiwan. I often reminisce about the country,the relationships I’ve built, and unforgettable memories that I’ve created. I still think about the risk I really took to live in a foreign country with very limited capabilities to communicate in mandarin; however, wanting to enhance my language skills and passion to learn about different cultures, led me to this experience
There are many things that I miss from Taiwan, starting with the social life I had. I’ve met some of the most out-going and welcoming individuals living there; for example, my housemates— I had three in total; Steven, Melvin, Luis (pseudonyms). Steven is from Canada and worked in forensics but then decided to become an English teacher in Spain and then Taiwan. Melvin is from Spain and works using Taiwan world-leading technology to develop AI sophisticated enough to early detect cancer cells; and lastly, Luis is from the US and worked in Google but left the company to learn Mandarin with plans of creating his own business.
… So a Canadian, a Spaniard, an Asian-American and a Hispanic-American… it honestly sounds like a set-up to a bad bar joke.
Melvin at left. Luis at right Steven right behind me
We lived together in a spacious, high-end 27-floor New York style building. The building was so nice that it was used in the popular Taiwanese movie call “Yi-Yi” or One-One— rotten-tomato rated it above a 90 percent. At night, my housemates and I would take the elevator all the way to the roof to occasionally drink a little lq tell each other jokes and share stories while overseeing Taipei, the perfect vibe. I've learned some of the more interesting facts about them on the roof as they did with me.
Rooftop View of the apartment building.
We’d often go to night markets together to check out the many different restaurants and munch on the street foods. One of my favorite snacks I’d often get was the hot & cold bubble milk tea nearby the National Taiwan University at the Shida night market. The milk was cool but the tar at the bottom of the cup was hot, giving it a perfect hot/cold mixture. The spot was so famous and busy that the waiting line always coiled around the street.
Museum visits was a common thing we also did. The museum dedicated to the Taiwanese comfort women, the Taiwanese women who were forced into prostitution by the Japanese during WWII, had the strongest lasting impression on me— that's because it's a tragedy kept a secret globally. Japan has yet to apologize or even acknowledge that the event has happened. And like the Japanese government, some scholars deny the occurrence of the event because the comfort women who spoke out weren’t too many and the few who did passed away before the movement gained national attention.
I remember these underground hip hop parties I would go to. I met Kid, the host and planner of these parties, at a hostel. That was the first time I stayed in a hostel (and the second Hispanic I’ve met in all of Taiwan). My first impression of Kid and his girl was of their cultural aura that reminded me of the states. Kid is from the US, but his girl is born and raised Taiwanese but her style is American hip-hop influenced. Kid and I connected on FB after he told me about his parties. Later in the week, I reached out because he mentioned that he was going to host one of his gigs under a popular bridge.
The first time I went to one of these parties, I felt real hip-hop or ”urban.” There were a lot of blank canvases hanging on the fences and various artists tagging up, creating. I saw dancers, rappers, singers, designers, teachers, students, poets, a half-naked guy training with a whip and a fire hula hoop and everything in between. But all of the chaos, the freedom, the love, the real ness, made me feel truly welcomed and at home. The crowd from those underground parties were the most diverse group in all of Taiwan. The crowd at Kendings’ beach party was a close second.
I managed to build a good friendship with Kid while in Taiwan, and we’d meet up sometimes outside of his underground parties. I can confidently say that if I was back in Taiwan, connecting with him and getting involved with those parties would be the first thing I’d do and maybe even KRUMP again like he once asked me to perform.
KRUMP has led me to meet over 20+ Taiwanese Krumpers in my first couple of days there. It was great to have a decent-sized social circle even before leaving the states. I was directly connected to the leader of the Taiwan Krump movement from a friend who teaches him (check this post out to understand the Krump tree concept).
I’d meet up with the krumpers every Wednesday and Sunday to practice both my dance and language skills.
I’ll admit that I’ve asked them to help me with my homework…a lot. One of them told me I speak like a rigid, stuck up person because my language was so academic-sounding all the time. Of course, they taught me the curse words first. That besides the point because they taught me the cultural nuances!
Towards the end of my time in Taiwan, I participated in the annual Krump of Taiwan tournament event. They invited Beast aka Baby Tight Eyez- internationally known Krumper- to teach a workshop and judge the event. They also brought over two popular Philippine Krumpers, Adrum and Twin Beast.
I joined more dance tournaments toward the end of the stay in the country. The first tournament I did in Taiwan was an all-styles jam. I came in fourth place. I participated in another all-styles and placed semifinalist. Battle Ground 101 was the jam where I would break my losing streak. There were over 100+ dancers that came to show-out but I danced relentlessly and won first place. BG101 is still waiting for me to go back and defend my title since December last year...Either way, my dance life in Taiwan was amazing. I lost the 40 lbs I gained that year because of all the dancing. It also opened up the opportunity for me to model for the Chinese/Taiwanese clothing brand “Hater,” which we will leave for a later post!
SOME PICS FROM TAIWAN
For more pictures, check out my pictures/hobbies tab!
