we are all connected by red strings of fate
i went to the xia hai temple yesterday. it's also known as the taipei matchmaking temple. you make a small offering, while burning incense and pray to the gods. there are hundreds of them there. some with large bellies, some with the heads of animals, still others brandishing weapons, while others are holding a more serene post.
but first, you make a prayer to the city god. hoisting up incense as an offering, you tell him your name, your birthdate, and as much as you can about the person you want to meet. some people were in deep prayer, praying with wholehearted conviction, while others saw this as merely a formality to finding a girlfriend. i, having no idea what kind of person i want to find, merely prayed that those who were there with me would find the ones they are looking for.
you go from room to room finding other immaculately carved statues of gods to pray to. some for good fortune, others for good health, but it is clear by the size of the rooms which deity gets the most prayers.
at the end of your journey (and about 10 american bucks), you are presented with a red string, which you take to the incense altar and move clockwise three times. this red string is supposed to help you find true love.
it is said that we are all bound by red strings of fate. these red strings tie us together to our soul mates. the line may be tangled, but will never break. though it may not be visible to us, it surely exists.
the legend goes on to say that you are to carry the red string with you wherever you go. when you meet your true love, you are to return to the temple. many married couples return to the temple and leave cookies there for the singles. these cookies are blessed, then eaten by those seeking their true love, and aids in luck.
i think this would be an awesome place to pick up girls while simultaneously angering the gods, methinks.
more reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_string_of_fate
going somewhere and being somewhere
a little over two weeks have now gone by in taipei. im still getting acclimated to the weather, and trying to get back on track for all the things i've decided to do here in taipei (ie, finish reading a few books, fill out my moleskine with sketches, etc).
i'm writing this post because i've decided to challenge a question to everyone with wanderlust in the world: how does one justify staying in a faraway place for only a week or so?
surely, you can see all the tourist attractions in a smaller country within a week. however, that doesn't mean you've necessarily been there. maybe you have in the literal sense of the word, but how can you have truly appreciated being somewhere else unless you've learned to appreciate the nuances of a culture - until you've adopted the scent and attitudes of a city that makes it so special?
i've been here two weeks, and i can't even begin to tell you anything about taipei. i'll certainly try if you asked me to, but i feel like my knowledge of taipei is so superficial. as if my understanding of this place is akin to peeling an orange with sandpaper.
but i'll keep buffing away at it until my time runs out. there's no time to waste!
i haven't missed san francisco at all.
i went to the fortune teller
at shilin night market tonight.
there's an area with 8 or so tellers at one end of the night market. while trying to decide on one, one of them decided to yell out something to me in japanese.
she was not chosen.
here are some highlights:
my window for a serious, serious relationship is within the next 6 years. if that doesn't pan out - or rather, i don't allow it to occur - then that window will never open again.
i am great at making rational decisions, but often i will need the advice of a woman to balance me out, and to be less hasty with them.
my mother will see some difficulty this year - don't argue with her.
my money will be made east. my personality belongs in the south. go southeast, young man. go southeast.
the next year will be a year of great partnerships, but i have to hastily use this to my advantage or i will end up working for or be a partner to someone else the rest of my life.
and he says i will be highly successful at anything i try my hand at - but i bet he tells that to everyone.
every store’s ad has a white dude
most stores in taipei will incorporate an anglo-saxon in their advertising material/collateral. the bubble tea shop down the street has no less than 3 white faces on a banner which only shows 5.
at first, i thought it was to try and lure american/european customers to the store. however, this idea was squashed when i realized that no one at the location spoke any english.
then the cynical side of me said that taiwanese people will feel better about a product if it was endorsed by americans.
then the logical side concluded it must be true.
middle class versus middle class
i've shied away from american products here my entire time in taipei. i've noticed that american products here cost as much as they do in America - sometimes even more.
an iced coffee at Dunkin Donuts is near ~$100 TWD (~$3USD). given that the raw materials, the labor, and leases are cheaper, what gives? local competitors are selling very similar products at about 1/3 of the price (you can get an iced coffee for $30-40 TWD), and i'd be very surprised if all the additional cost of doing business overseas ate up all of that difference. being able to pick up an entire meal for the price of a cup of coffee at starbucks, gives me a new perspective on the dispairites here in taipei.
the shopping mall at taipei 101 is a menageries of labels and brand names that are rarely found in such density in the US, except maybe at an outlet mall. the basement level is always the most crowded, mainly because that is where the food court is. the higher up you go, the more exclusive the retail shops get, and the sparser the people are. yet, with hardly any retail spaces up for lease, these shops must get a fair share of business. who are these people?
in the US, the malls are geared at the wide range of people we consider the middle class - often a shopping mall will have a combination of an old navy, the gap, or a banana republic within its confines. but with the average college graduate making only around $1000 USD per month here in Taipei, the "middle class" of taipei can only afford the simplest of choices at the large Taipei malls, save for a few select items a few times a year. very few people here own an ipod - the symbol of american disposable income. however, there is enough money floating around here for a mall that very few people would go to in America.
where is it coming from?