Being Speechless in Taiwan Made Me Realize Something!

We started our day with a beautiful weather. Before coming to Taiwan, they said that the weather was not nice since it was raining almost everyday. But luckily, it was sunny. Too sunny though, I was happy that we visited at the right time with a good weather.

We went first to Longshan Temple. This temple was founded in 1738 by Han immigrants from Fujian.

There were a lot of people, but according to Paula, it was not that crowded like most of the days. I guess luck is on our side.

The temple has a great architectural structure that shows history and culture in Taiwan. I always like old architecture because it carries a story of the past. I might not know the whole history of the place, but how I see it, it does tell a story.

We took some time roaming around the temple, and we were simply people watching. Some were praying and throwing stones, some were offering food, and others were tourists visiting the temple just like us.

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Then, we walked to the nearby in Xichang street where there are a lot of stores selling organic spices, plants, and herbs. I think all of that are for medicinal purposes. Or maybe as a food ingredient? I don’t know much though, I just assumed.

We stopped by at Monga Dizang Temple and then in aa milk tea shop and had a little rest since it was really hot, hotter than the Philippines.

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My boyfriend Hernan, likes milk tea and I think he drank milk tea in Taiwan at least three times a day. He was the one who announced that we should drink milk tea everyday. Actually, he was very excited to try Taiwan’s milk tea since they are very famous for that. He even practiced how to order in Mandarin.

TIP: Try Taiwan’s Milk Tea. I’m not a tea lover but I definitely recommend Taiwan’s Milk Tea because I can barely taste the bitter tea flavor!

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Our next stop was Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.

I have to say this, I’m not good with history. Visiting this place without knowing who it was for, was a total bummer. I felt that I needed to step up my game if I really want to know the country I’m visiting. History is one of the biggest impacts on how and what is a country today. I felt so disappointed with myself. (Especially now that I’m writing this because I do not want to just copy paste what google is saying about this place to share with you.)

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I think, it was also okay since this memorial hall is open for everyone to know who Chiang Kai-shek is, what he did and who he was. The museum was properly divided and nicely coursed through every timeline of his life. Even the history of Taiwan was also showed there.

Another highlight of this tourist spot is the change of guards. Guards will stand in the monument, and they change every hour. It was very impressive how they do that. Their dedication was really amazing.

Since it was almost 4PM, we decided to have late lunch. We went to a famous Taiwanese Restaurant called Din Tai Fung. They have this very famous delicious dish called xiaolongbao. It is a dumpling with a soup inside. It was flavorful!

Our entire meal was savory and while eating, I was contemplating with myself that I can actually live in Taiwan and eat these kinds of food every day.

We also had this chocolate dumpling, that tasted sweet but not too sweet. It was just perfectly balanced. (I hope you know what I mean)

Hernan loves languages. He is very eager to learn Chinese. We went to a bookstore where they sell second hand books. It was a nice place and they have numerous books available, but mostly it was Chinese books. We didn’t find what we were looking for so we headed to a bookstore (this time they sell brand new books) where they sell the same books that Paula have for her Chinese class. It was really big and heavy and Hernan paid NT1900 for the two books. Pretty sure he was very happy about it because he already started reading Paula’s book the night before, and now he got his own copy.

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Then, we took a look of National Taiwan University. The school is big and I like the way going to the building. It is full of trees and I was imagining biking on my way to the building and having classes. In case you do not know, I have a very active imagination. And for the record, I do not miss school. HAHAHA.

P.S. I just found out that the origan Meteor Garden, a Taiwanese drama, was filmed in this school!

Since we only had a limited time in Taiwan. We didn’t go to Elephant Mountain. But unexpected things happened, we went to Shangri-La Hotel in Taiwan by an invitation of a friend of our host.

We had the same view in Elephant Mountain without hiking and sweating ourselves!

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We met new people and they talk a lot! I was a bit shy and I can hardly understand them. Because out of 7 people, I’m the only one who doesn’t speak Spanish. (Poor me)

I was speechless in Taiwan. Literally and figuratively.

I do not know how to speak Spanish and Chinese. I’m roaming around Taiwan with a girl who speaks the top 3 widely spoken languages in the world, and a boy who is not just passionate about languages but also a polyglot.

I’m not insecure. Really! (You know that I’m being sarcastic, right?). But in a serious note, in silence, we can understand and realize great things, and that’s exactly what happened to me not just during this day, but during my entire trip in Taiwan.

I realized that language is actually a beautiful way to connect not just to people but to places as well. The more I travel, the more I meet new people, the more I see how beautiful every language is.

They said, to learn a new language confidence is the key.

But, I don’t have the confidence. For example, I’m learning Spanish now and I don’t have the confidence to talk to people who speak Spanish while we were on top of Shangri-La hotel and during our dinner. I’m pretty sure that was my chance to practice, but my confidence was nowhere to be found. This is what I need to develop if I want to learn it so bad.

Yes. I am a bit slow, but I will have my own pace since it’s not a competition anyway. I know that I can do it as long as I am dedicated, patient and persistent.

For those who are learning and want to learn a new language, like me.

Here’s a beautiful quote by Kató Lomb “Language is the only thing worth knowing even poorly.”