Taiwan Day Zero!

My favorite food in Taiwan Dan Bings

Hey guys! I’m here! I made it passed my 14 hour flight and am in Taipei now. I arrived at 6:10am and was able to take the Guo Guang bus to Zhong Guo Zhong Xiao stop and then hop on the MRT to meet up Sarah who is my temporary Taiwan host. Thanks Sarah!

I had some complications at the airport with immigration because I am staying here for 2 months and I was planning on using my Taiwan passport, but since I don’t have citizenship I still had to have a visa with my Taiwan passport in order to stay for more than 30 days. In the end I had to use my US passport and NOW.. I have to either get an extension visa or leave the country within 30 days and then come back.

LEAVE THE COUNTRY? Yes, if this happens I will be coming to Hong Kong around December 3rd. Mark your calendars. I will let you know if I book a flight to HK or not. Either way, I feel like its a good thing if I’m “forced” to come to Hong Kong, that could be a sign and either way it would be plain fun.

Yesterday was Day Zero because I just got here and it wasn’t a full day. (Plus I just watched “Lelouch vi Britannia – CODE GEASS” – some of you may get this if you’ve seen it) On my first day here the first thing I did was get my FAVORITE food – “dan bing.” It’s an egg breakfast food. SOoooo good. I also bumped into someone from UCLA within my first 2 hours of being in Taiwan at the dan bing place. It was very coincidental! I just happened to be wearing a UCLA wushu shirt. Also two of the friends who were eating at the dan bing place happened to be on the same flight as me.

On day zero I ate with Sarahs family and family friends. I met her cousin Yingling. We dropped by to visit Coach Zhang Shi Bo at the Taipei sport school. I bought a metro card. For lunch Ying’s mom made some food and this one dish with peanut butter sauce was delicious! At night we had Japanese food and also met Sarah’s other friend David who picked us up to go to dinner. The Japanese food was good and we had really fruity tasting cabernet sauvignon merlot from Chile.

WHY AM I IN TAIWAN?

A lot of people have asked me why I am going to Taiwan. I want to answer this on my blog to clear my own thoughts, set some goals, and answer why I am here.

1) It’s a vacation – I just finished World Games and have been practicing a lot for Team Trials, Worlds, etc. This is a much needed vacation as well as a recharger to get me rested up mentally to prepare to start up my own business hardcore when I get back to the states.

2) Explore work/entertainment opportunities in Taipei – I want to do acting and action films so why not explore those opportunities in a place that I love… Taiwan. Aside from Hong Kong, I want to see if I can get any acting or film work while I’m here. If I am not able to get such work in the short 2 months that I am here, at least I hope to meet some cool people who can point me in the right direction next time I come back for longer.

3) Decide if I want to live here longer – I have always wanted to live in Asia for a year. This trip I plan on gathering information like “where will I live?”, “how much does housing cost?”, “what work can i get?”, “what legal procedures do I have to go through?”, and most importantly “do I like it enough to stay for a year?”

Additionally, meet more people so that I’m not a loner if I do move here. haha

4) Improve my Chinese – This trip I want to step up my reading and writing game. By nature of being here and using chinese, I think my speaking ability will improve, but mainly I want to be able to read things a lot easier and be able to take my chinese speaking ability up to a business capable level. 2 months may not be enough, but I can definitely take my chinese ability to the next level beyond the average ABC.

5) Gather information for my business – I want to find a source for different types of teas and tea tin manufacturers while I am here. Taiwan is quite well known for high quality tea. Also, if there are any fabric supplier or clothing manufacturers I have a pattern already made that I need mass produced so I want to find a place that I can do that in an affordable manner. In the end clothing, I feel might be still done in China, but definitely the tea and tea tin sources I could look into while here.

Also, should look to see if there is a market for vitamins as I have a supplement brand that is going to be big on the horizon.

6) Practice martial arts in general – Even though I may be taking a break from competitive wushu it doesn’t mean I am done with martial arts. While I am here, hopefully I can practice some sparring, learn other weapons in that I don’t usually use in wushu, and learn some tai chi. Taiwan’s tai chi is first class even in comparison to China. Since I’ve started learning Tai Chi, I figure I might as well see if I can improve it while I am here.

6) Miscellaneous – Spend my birthday and new years abroad! Have a blast. Meet up with a whole bunch of various friends that will be coming here. Learn great spots to party and to eat. Watch the Taipei 101 building ignite on New Years. Visit old friends that are in Taiwan.

To Do:

1) find housing for a few friends who plan on coming for a week

2) find tea sources

3) find apt costs/living locations

4) take an acting class

5) learn tai chi

6) improve reading ability

7) explore film industry / drop by film festival

figure out legal process to live here for a year (citizenship / work visa)