I realize I haven't written anything of substance for the past 3 months and just added pieces of information here and there.
Well, as the title says, we are back to California after a great 3-months period in Taiwan. Looking back at it, I think I was very lucky to stay in Taiwan for that long. People will argue that I didn't do that much while there in terms of going out, visiting, etc. To which I will answer: try not having a home for as long as we did before reaching Taiwan, combine that with intensive Chinese classes that takes 7 hours of your day, add the job search that takes your evenings and mornings and you'll easily understand that my spare time was mostly dedicated to activities that really mattered to me: spend time with Andy and Talii, eat (yes eat) and play soccer.
The Chinese class was intense. Very intense. But I am happy because we bonded really well with my classmates: no doubt I will meet the ones that are still there next time we'll be back. Actually, maybe the class was a little bit too intensive as I feel I didn't have much chance to practice what I learned in class. Somehow, after studying for 7 hours/day, I needed a break from Chinese and didn't feel like making the extra effort to go out and speak. Plus, Taiwanese are too friendly and nice: in order to help you, they always try to speak English to you and that was frustrating at times. Conversation wise, if you were speaking Chinese to me right now, I don't think I have too much to show for my trimester in Taiwan as I feel my vocabulary is limited and I am slow to build sentences. But I think I learned A LOT of grammar, and now I just need to start practicing what I know: probably hiring a tutor, like the one we had in Guatemala for Spanish wouldn't be a bad idea. I feel my Chinese is like my Spanish when I got out of High School: it just needs some conversation to let it run freely. Impressive how my Spanish progressed after we went to South/Central America !
But the highlight of our trip was definitely Chinese Year. I was pleasantly surprised by all the activities and fun we had. I had the whole week off and we spent our time between family and friends. For Chinese New Year's Eve, Andy, Talii, Lulu and I spent a wonderful evening eating, playing mahjong, exchanging red envelopes and lighting firecrackers in the street: that was so much fun !
On Chinese New Year's day, we met with Lulu's grandma, aunts, uncles and cousins and, after exchanging red envelopes we went out to a nice restaurants to have a feast. I really appreciated spending time with Lulu's family as I never really had a chance to do so to that extent before.
The rest of the time, we played a lot of snooker, with some success on my end, and mahjong, with no so much success, especially as I embarrassed myself on one hand, when the stakes were really high, I claimed I won when in fact, I confused 2 tiles and had to pay everybody the high stake: such as shame !
The other part of the Chinese New Year was spent with friends when we met with Karen, Patrick, Stacy and Matthieu who is currently working in Beijing for a year.We took the Maokong gondola, went to a tea house in the "mountains", went to Shifen where we wrote some wishes on a lantern that we then "let fly free" in the night sky: let's hope these wishes com true this year as we got really creative. It was very nice to meet with friends we didn't have a chance to see for so long.
Finally, our stay in Taiwan ended kind of abruptly as Lulu and I decided, one week apart, to go back to California as potential employers were pushing hard to meet us in person and as we realized this could be very important for our futures. Bye bye Taiwan, thanks for a great time and more importantly, thanks to Andy and Talii for their hospitality, their kindness and all the great moments spent with you: we will definitely be back !
So here we are, back to California, renting a room from Ming and Emily's beautiful home. Ming is Lulu's cousin and he and Emily, his wife, have been such a tremendous help for us while we were away.
Once I arrived to the place I used to call home for 6 years, I had quite an intense start as, during my first week, I interviewed everyday with potential companies. It went really well but now I have to wait for the offers to come in, one by one and figure out what I want to do, which is taking its toll mentally: I wish I could be done already and start planning beyond the next week. Actually, I am in a weird state of mind right now. It doesn't feel like I am back "home" and I don't think that, after this year of travel, anywhere would really feel completely like "home". One might argue that Switzerland would be what feels the closest to a "home" but let's face it, since I never worked in Switzerland and only spent my childhood/student years there, it doesn't feel like it is in synch with my aspirations: it is more like my heart is in Switzerland but my work is in California. It feels strange. Especially since, not knowing for sure if I will stay in California, everything I do feels temporary and I don't want to invest time or money in anything more geared for the long term. And it actually bugs me a little. For example, I would love to become a member of the indoor rock climbing place I used to go before we left, or maybe rent a cabin to go snowboarding in Tahoe. But right now, my mind is elsewhere, thinking of what could be and hoping to make a good future for Lulu and I don't seem to be able to focus on anything else. I guess it will be better in about a week once everything is settled and set in stone: then I will be able to plan for the long term, which I can't wait to. Lulu, on her side, signed a job offer and should be able to get going pretty fast. It looks like it is going to be an interesting job that will keep her on her toes.
But, besides these temporary feelings, and more importantly , I got to do things I dearly missed in the past year. One of the things that was truly great was organized by Patrick: a karting race. I didn't have a chance to drive a kart for more than a year and it just felt great. It reminded me that I should definitely do that more often. And what is another thing I am really excited about ? Hockey of course ! The NHL trade deadline went by and the Sharks acquired probably what they needed most: an All-Star defense man. It really is going to be an exciting end of the season and playoffs if the Sharks can compete with Anaheim and Dallas in the Western Conference. Of course I wasted no time in planning some time to attend a Sharks game and it beats watching the game on TV. Hopefully, when I get a job, I'll be able to buy my season tickets once again.
Well, that's it for now, I'll have another update as soon as everything is settled and I know exactly what we'll be doing for sure.
Random thoughts: amazing since coming back from Taiwan, Californian restaurants and their food seem very dull and unexciting. I know understand Lulu when she is all excited and jumping around when thinking about Taiwan food and restaurants. After a year of traveling, people keep asking what was out favorite part, and I would have to say that Antarctica wins the price. But without naming a specific, South and Central America were just amazing. Which leads me to introducing one of the next chapter of this blog: the Lulu and Pascal's trip awards. Coming soon on a computer near you...
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