Asian Affair

Asian nights

by Daniel Reid

I love the glow of Asian nights,
Streets ablaze in neon lights;
The heat and noise of throbbing crowds,
The swirling sea of gaudy sights.

I love the smell of Asian nights,
Kitchen smoke and pungent spice;
The mingled must of sweet and sour,
The heady scent of sweat and flowers.

I love the sound of Asian nights,
Temple bells and cocktail ice;
Shouting touts and chanting monks,
The siren song of tender vice.

I often dream of Asian nights,
With all her charms and soft delights;
If I could have one wish today,
I’d be in Asia’s arms tonight.

What do I love about Asia? Why do I have this strange connection with it? Ever since I met my first Asian man, his name was Kay, when i was 8 years old, at Joyce Connor's house, I've been enthralled with this culture. As I sit out in front of Bert's Music Cafe I ponder the Asian world.

Do I love Asia for it's rickety, exhausted scooters flying by? No, I don't think so. Is it the many colors and designs of face masks and moto helmets? Maybe. How about all the random noises of garbage trucks, Wa Guay Men at 7 AM and dogs barking outside of my window? No, definitely not. And it is certainly not the 90 degree humid weather at 8 AM!

It might possibly be all of this randomness mixed together with beautiful rice paddies, international friends, TAO temples, freedom, lack of enforced laws, intricate characters printed on everything. It also just might be my students and their passion of learning English and discovering culture, the tropical flowers and lush mountains. The conglomeration of all this randomness and the hoards of people packed in like sardines might be another reason why I love Asia. Whatever it is, I feel strong about it.

Something has been telling me ever since I got there that this is where I belong at the moment. That's why I made the decision to not go back to the States, why I took a trip to the Philippines and why I continue to make a way of life here.

I've also come to learn that I can always rely and know that change will always occur. I will keep my heart and my mind. But now, I need to go to work.

Photo: Daraga, Philippines

I have always viewed my life like a journey up a mountain. Today, I rode my bicycle up Bai Guo Shan, shan means mountain in Chinese. It was a very difficult and tiring ride. As I was slowly rode up this challenging shan, I had a lot of realizations.

I realized that when I ride my bicycle up a mountain, it is a very slow process. I have to work very hard, the sweat rolls off my body, even my arms! We cannot go up mountains very quickly. Even if we are very strong, climbing up a mountain is still in the slow category. No matter how hard we try, the mountains makes us aware of each pedal stroke, each step along it's path. We cannot rush.

So as this idea was brought to my attention, I realized that we cannot rush this journey. If we rush, we will burn out and not make it to the top. We need to take it easy, climb the mountain at a steady pace and enjoy the scenery as we go by. Bonnie said "Climbing a mountain is not an easy thing." I don't know why I ever thought it was!

As we continue the mountain of life, we need to be aware that it's not always going to be easy. Parts will be difficult. At times the mountain will flatten out a bit and give us a break. But remember, that the switchbacks will come and keep us always reaching for the top, forks in the path will arise and we will have to make a choice.

The future will always be unforeseen, this is why we must focus on what we have, TODAY.

What I've been waiting for!

I have this amazing friend! She is the most beautiful person! Her eyes are like blossoming flowers, full of energy and a love for life. She is a strong and courageous woman, never afraid to speak her mind. She is the person I have been looking for, for a long time in my life. I feel so fortunate to have been able to meet her and share life with her. She brings a spark to my mind, body and soul. After spending time with her, my world feels completely positive! No man could ever make me feel the way she does.

I am so happy for the both of us. We are passionate dreamers and creators. We live each day to bring our dreams into reality. We are not afraid to be the women we were born to be! Laura Michelle Andrew paints my world in Technicolor! I thank the universe for bringing us together!

Saving Face

What are we saving ourselves for? The time is NOW. If we have a desire to do something we need to let ourselves do it.

We need to stop saying "We will do it next time." There may be no "next time." We only have "this time." This moment.

Gather your friends, family and enemies...unite, embrace, educate, communicate, defeat ignorance.

Let's learn from each other, put our egos aside. I've had to try and do this a lot recently and wow! It can be very difficult to put our egos aside, bite our tounges and just listen with open ears, open heart and an open mind. Something good for us all to practice....

Old Man

Old Man take a look at my life, I'm a lot like you were......

What I have come to realize is that we all are more alike than we are different. Bonnie would always ask, "If we are mostly made of water, are we mostly the same? Something to think about."

Well, Bonnie, I've been thinking about this idea. We are mostly the same. The differences that lie between us are simple. Languages, houses, modes of transportation, religions, etc. But at the core of it all, we are the same. We all breathe, think, eat, learn, grow, laugh, cry, communicate. But most of all, we love. We all care about someone or something. We all strive to be happy. We all have a family.

As I sat in a traditional house in Taiwan one rainy night, I realized how similar we are. I was nervous to enter the house. Not knowing any of the language, feeling a bit insecure. But as I sat there in the living room with the family I watched what was going on. What was going on, was the same exact thing going on with any family. People watching T.V., parents and grandparents teaching the children how to talk, play and learn. Aunts and uncles sitting around chatting with each other, relaxing on a Sunday night. I thought to myself, this is exactly what my family is doing right now. Why do we tend to think that people from other countries, backgrounds and origins are so different? I guess another misconception floating around the world.

I try to imagine what it might be like if we all embraced each other with open arms, open minds and open hearts....what would the world look like? How would we feel? What would we hear? My senses are starting to tingle with an electric hope!

Switch it On!

Aliright.....it's time for Chinese again! I am back HOME to Taiwan. Crazy, to call Taiwan my home, but I do feel this way now...well for the time being.

As I drove the bus home from Taipei last night, I took it in through a whole different lense. What I used to think was ugly, dirty, polluted and full of too many people, now seems clean, and not so many people! Amazing how visiting a different country can compeletly change one's persepctive.

Our brain's are amazing machines inside of our bodies. They produce so many thoughts, ideas, actions and perform so many functions. Culture shock is a good trick for it to learn how to deal with. When I first got to the Philippines I had a bit of culture shock, English signs, English being spoken, being able to speak to people. I didn't know quite how to handle it. Now, it's just the opposite again. I am back in my silent world. Back to getting my pointer finger out when I want something to eat or drink. My mouth now has to learn to be shut again. But hopefully not for too long, in 3 months my Chinese should be much better.

I have two weeks left of my vacation that I am going to dedicate to getting my life off on the right foot here. Finding a place to live, getting that set up, relaxing, exploring Taiwan and making some art. I hope this finds you all in peace and thanks for following my travels. May there be many more to come for all of us and let's work together, focus our energies and keep the positive vibes flowing.

Peace and Love!
Jess

Mountain Mama

Well...Beach life....hmmm....

It's not the life for me. I'm currently in Borocay, Philippines. My first experience at the true, picture perfect beach atmosphere, white beaches, teal blue water, fruity drinks, etc.

It's been nice to experience this, but it also lets me know that I prefer the mountains. I find nothing more relaxing than just walking and walking for hours thru trees, where peace and quite are easy to feel. I love the sound of the ocean waves, but I've come to truly hate sand! Sand in my hair, stuck on my arms, legs, sand in my shoes, in my camera, ugh..... I love the way the trees protect me from the sun too!

I am still really enjoying my trip and I am learning lots about myself and about the Philippines. Though, I've decided to head back to Taiwan early. I'm tired of being in a country full of dishonest people. Everywhere I go people seem to be trying to rip me off or just get the most money out of me as possible. It gets real old, so do the shitty conditions of places to stay, food to eat, water, etc.

Living and traveling abroad and working on the Indian Reservations has made me realize how lucky Americans are and they don't know it! (once again!) I miss being able to turn on my faucet in the house and just drink the damn water out of it! I miss being able to turn the shower on and have nice warm water come out of it. People in American don't realize this, but most countries don't have these water luxuiries. Americans need to wake up and say "thank you" to the fact that water is easy for them to have, use and get.

Really...when I travel I've learned that I prefer to travel with someone. It's so much more fun to have someone to share my experience with and a shoulder to lean on. I needed to travel alone to do this for myself, to tell my kids one day that I was able to step out of my comfort box, take a risk and do something on my own, to hopefully inspire them to do it was well. But, Backpacking is a tiring affair. By the time I leave I will have traveled for about 20 days. That is enough for me. Also, if I was a male I would feel completely different. I do not feel safe traveling alone in the Philippines. I don't like the looks I get from the Pilipino men....it is scary....

Another realization is that I truly am a "homebody". My heart has spelled out for me what is important to me, one is travel, but most importantly it is being in a place where it feels like "home" where I can relax, be around good people and just take my time. What is amazing is that I feel like Yuanlin gives me this. I look forward to going back to Taiwan where I have a family of great friends waiting for me and plenty adventure around every weekend!

It's been good to step out of the Taiwan forest and be able to see all the trees in my life. I've accomplished everything I've wanted to get out of this experience and I feel successful. Stay tuned for more insights.....this trip will bring many more to my mind......