Searching for a home

The past week has been a whirlwind. We met up with our family - Trae's cousin, Jeff, and his partner, Jean, and kids, Kerai and Enzo. And wow does it make a difference to see familiar faces - especially ones that know how to speak Mandarin and navigate the city! They helped us to get transit cards, search for apartments, order in restaurants, transfer trains, and greet people respectfully. We learned that Grayson gets bad headaches and then vomits (on the very quiet very clean metro) when dehydrated, and that Poppy has the best time when Grayson is down and out and leaves room for her to have all the attention of her cousins. We learned that the arcades are rigged but still worth hours of our time. Jean taught us that every purchase receipt includes a lottery number with a bimonthly drawing to encourage businesses to give receipts (and pay their taxes). Jeff taught us to always stop and eat any pastry filled with meat that we happen by on our walks. Kerai taught us that "ma'" at the end of any statement signals a question. And Enzo taught us to always read signs - after a sleepless hotel night in which it sounded like our upstairs neighbors were jumping from high ledges onto the floor directly above us at all hours, Enzo found a sign for a Gold's Gym on the floor above ours! All hours, weights dropping. They brought us to Creative Park - a former sake distillery turned free art space with performances and exhibits and craft goods - a place we will definitely frequent.

Finding a place to stay has been a challenge. We have found a neighborhood that we like a lot - the Da'an District. It has a very large Da'an Forest Park (like Central Park with roller skating, playgrounds, basketball, amphitheater) and little alleys with restaurants and shops. The name means 'Great Peace', and it offers wider sidewalks and a bit more residential feel even though it is in the middle of the city. However, most landlords in Taiwan do not want to rent for less than a year. After receiving rental rejections, we started writing a blurb to potential landlords to put our best foot forward. It included that I am a professor, that the kids are "exceptionally quiet and well behaved" and that Trae is Japanese (which apparently signals cleanliness). We are keeping fingers crossed as one place has tentatively accepted our application and we are hoping to sign a contract tomorrow.

All in all, a bit of an exhausting period of our trip, moving hotel to hotel with giant suitcases, sleeping in windowless rooms with dumbbell thunder above, uncertainty and a lot of sweat (upper 90s with lots of humidity). And still, so much joy in the generosity of our family and exploring new foods (fried mochi, scallion breakfast pancakes, bubble tea, mango shaved ice, wonton soup) and sites in the city.