We went on the Maokong Gondola, which I thought was going to be one of those short cable car rides to the top of a hill, but it was a rather long (about 20 minutes) ride to the top of Mt. Everest (or at least it felt like it.). If you’re brave enough, you can take the glass-bottom bar. There are four stops along the ride, and it only cost $50NT ($1.50USD) for a one-way ride all the way to the top, and once you make it to the top, you can walk around in Maokong or take it back down and stop in the zoo for a tour.

On Friday night, we decided to take my 20-year-old brother out to the Taiwan Beer Factory, which was hopping by the way, and after a couple of drinks, a bit after 10pm, we hailed a cab to head back home. Just as we’re about to merge on the highway, the entire back side of the cab was smashed in, and my brother and I were thrown against the front seats, hitting our heads with glass shattering all around us. Some car had hit a scooter, dragged it along for a few meters, then slammed into our cab (which also ended up hitting another car due to the force of impact), and continued on to bump into a third car before finally coming to a stop a ways ahead.

The police and ambulances got here pretty quickly. They took us to the hospital and had us checked into the ER, x-rays taken, seen a doctor within 15 minutes. The scooter guy hit his arm and all his skin was rubbed off for being dragged along, but he was okay. The driver of the rampant car was pretty injured.  Our x-rays were fine, just a bump on the head and some scratches from the glass, and soreness is to be expected.  We had to stay at the hospital for a couple more hours for observation and the paperwork to be settled. Luckily the fees weren’t bad; I have health insurance so mine was just $300NT ($10USD), and my brother’s, as a tourist, was about $1100NT ($40USD) for x-rays and doctor’s fees.

My poor brother, he has the worst luck with cabs. The last time he was back, he got clipped by one when walking in an alley, and this time, he gets beaten up in one. It’s also scary that seat belts are not required here in the backseat, just in the front, so a lot of cabs don’t even have them even if you wanted to buckle up.

Then Saturday night, the dinner of my parents and the boyfriend’s parents first meeting took place. It was stressful, but at least we got that first meeting over with, and both sides approve of us and all is good in the world.

My allergies have also gotten ten times worse due to the humidity and the mold in all the old buildings so I’m always getting sinus infections.

And let’s not even get started on stomach problems. I always seem to have monthly stomach problems, and if it’s a bad day, it’ll result in a stomach virus like it did a couple of days ago, but thankfully that passed quickly.

But that’s living in a country without health codes for you. Boy, do I miss those pieces of paper with a big number hanging in restaurant windows, telling you that their place is fit for human consumption. I need to hit up the night markets soon so I can build up my immunity again. (Just saying that sentence kinda disgusted me a bit.) If you completely forget how tasty night market food is and really think about how clean they keep everything, you might not eat there ever again. But the tastiness level of those candied tomatoes and blood-on-a-stick easily lets you forget about all those insignificant details such as how often they wash those cutting boards and how much foot traffic goes by their stand hanging out in the open air.

Readjusting to a whole new climate and bacterial system is tough on a body. I suppose another factor of me not taking vitamins or not exercising at all doesn’t help, which is why tomorrow I’ll be hitting the gym after the winter hiatus. (Not only for health reasons, but also for the fact that I’ve been told that I’ve gotten fat by about half the residents in Taipei this week. Especially from the lady who does my nails whom I haven’t seen in a few months, and she even narrowed it down to “gained at least 2-3 kgs”. SIGH)

But no, despite it all, I’ve spent the past 24 hours in bed writhing with chills and fever and aches.

I was discharged yesterday around noon. I paid my bill (which was $7000NT/$210USD for a 10-day hospital stay is not too shabby), got my meds, and bounced. I hauled all of my stuff into a cab, went home, took a nice long hot shower, shaved, threw some non-sweats clothes on, and went to work. I taught my two classes, but I canceled my tutoring because I knew I would be a bit too weak and tired to work all day.

But I’m HOME in my own big beautiful soft bed. And the weather is wonderful. And life is good again.

With all this free time on my hands, I’ve seen lots of movies. I can’t believe I’ve never seen Remember the Titans. It’s one of those movies where everyone used to talk about it all the time and referenced the soundtrack that I could’ve sworn up and down that I’ve seen it before this week. Anyways, it was a great movie. He’s Just Not That Into You was cheesy but appropriate for the book it was playing. And of course, goodies like Pan’s Labyrinth and Bella helped pass the time too.

Although I do miss watching movies in a theater. I was supposed to go see Fast and the Furious 4 this past week. I also miss wearing clothes that aren’t sweats and a t-shirt. I miss being able to shower with two hands and doing it daily. I miss putting on makeup and getting pretty. I miss riding the bus and being able to buy things. I miss sharing the bathroom with only one other person and not ten others. I even miss my students. This “vacation” has gone on too long. Wish me luck for Tuesday!