Thinking of goodbyes

One advantage of being white is that people spot you as a foreigner and engage you - either b/c they're Chinese and want to welcome you/practice their English, or b/c they're foreign and want to speak English with you. I realize this whenever I'm with my friend Dan. The other night we were checking out the new year festivities near his house (a very long street of booths and super crowded - like being a fish in a school and having no choice about which way to go - I almost got sucked in on the wrong side going the opposite direction). Granted they were salespeople, but it seemed Dan always got pinpointed to have an English sales pitch or an English translation for what they were saying in Chinese to everyone else (including me). On the way back to his house, we ran into his new neighbors. They invited us in for tea, but ended up serving us French wine (very good Bordeaux). He is from France, just southwest of Paris, and she works for the French Institute in Taiwan (ie pseudo-embassy). They are tri-lingual like my sister. She is Chinese and when she saw me she just started speaking to me in Chinese - I think I need to learn to handle that situation better - I just sort of blurt out "I don't speak Chinese! I'm a banana!" It's not that bad, but it's never really smooth. Anyways, Dan just got into grad school and will be leaving this summer. Eric already left to go back, and a few others are thinking about leaving as well. It makes me sad to see so many people go when I've only just got here. I hope others continue to come.

Taipei, where it's at.