taipei sky

let me tell you, the thing that really made the 24+ hour ordeal that was my flight from boston to taipei worth it was the food. i think i was given a total of five airplane meals, four of them during the 13-hour stretch between washington, d.c. and tokyo. why my flight was routed through d.c. i have no idea. really though, i've never felt so empty so quickly after eating so much so often. i also probably set a personal record for number of cups of coffee consumed in a 24 hour period; more on that presently.

i had always known, both from looking at my travel itinerary and from firsthand experience, that the trip to the orient is going to be rough. i was halfway to being nocturnal by my departure date anyway, so on my last night in JP i decided to mostly forgo sleep in the interest of celebrating my last night with my roommates; i'd say at most i got about two hours, probably closer to an hour and a half. the flight to d.c., besides being pointless, went off without incident, and i was feeling fine. from thence i boarded the plane to tokyo, and that's when things started to get a little weird.

i spent the first of the fourteen or so hours i was on that plane (there was a delay after we boarded, of course) in an ethereal haze that the poetically or perhaps sensually inclined person might liken to sleep, but despite my random upgrade to "economy plus" (five more inches of legroom!) it was pretty much impossible to find a position comfortable enough to sleep in sitting in that seat, so i wound up tearing through the only book i brought within the first quarter of just this one leg of the trip, leaving me stranded with my ipod (dying quickly in the absence of a cable because i'm an idiot and always forget something) and a paltry array of united airlines-sanctioned in-flight entertainment. the verdict: win win and jane eyre are decent movies; family guy still isn't funny; house is actually alright, although i can't tell if it's because i like his character or the actress who plays 13.

by now i've touched down, connected with my surrogate aunt, received my teaching materials and a briefing of my full-time work schedule for the next two months (saturdays off! but sundays full damn time), and had an exceedingly awkward introduction to my incredibly generous host family and their immaculate apartment. i have a double bed, an air conditioner, desk (with drawers), bookshelves, bureau and wardrobe to myself in here, not to mention a great view of downtown taipei, plus an entire bathroom reserved pretty much exclusively for my use. not to mention laundry machines and full kitchen access... i was actually speechless when being shown the place (granted, my language abilities were impaired after two more or less full days in a sitting position without sleep) and can't help the idea that i've given the impression of being a blithering idiot. i could barely form any sentences in chinese when trying to talk to these wonderful people. i haven't met the kids yet, but apparently one of them wears glasses so i'll fit right in (?).

the humidity and all is getting to me so i should go to bed - tomorrow, it's a tour of my workplaces this summer, and hopefully a chance to find some of the old haunts from the last time i was here. also, tomorrow is hopefully another entry in this journal, or at least a solid plan to write in it at a later date when there is more to report. i cannot remember the last time i wanted so desperately and single-mindedly to sleep.