To Good Friends

“Bobbyeday”

“your dress is a real talking point tonight”

Been here over two years now and just  goodbyed the people I came with, Will miss them. But don’t feel sad.  Going to their wedding party in two weeks in England. This is my condensed story so far.

Coming here with them was a bolt into the unknown.  On the first night, I was excited like a kid and culture-shocked  by the chickens being hacked up on the night-market. I was stinky-tofud into a cacophony of sensation.

The next day though it all subsided pretty rapidly as we breakfasted at Mcdonald’s; Jetlag over. Slam into the city of convenience. Honeymoon period over? No. But it would be soon when we started to bang in the CV’s on every street corner.

Job-hunting was a biatch. I was offered two well-paid kids gigs in well-known cram schools but I had never not done that so I said no. Luckily I got a job offer from a predominantly adult school and I took it. When that phone call came, about ten days after the demo, it was one of the best highs of the past long time.

Two years later and I’m still with the same company. God knows how. It’s the longest job I’ve ever held down, minus washing dishes in a pub when I was 16. I used to climb inside the sink. It was wet. It’s wet with heat in Taipei too…

…Three hot summers here and I am used to them. It takes a while to acclimatize but life is good. Pinpointing why is hard. It could be the people. The friends I have made. The grit of the city mixed with total decency and politeness. The eventfulness.  It is what it is. It’s good.

I’ve totally rewound this blog and wiped the content . When I started it I blogged about dogs in prams / strollers and then I ran out of things to say. Now I have more to say. I feel I have evolved in Taipei more than in any other place. Thanks to my friends who brought me here. Will miss you. Sometimes just staying with what you know can bring on the next chapter.

Marcus Walsh