our last night in Taiwan

our last night in Taipei, we took a taxi to the night market. row after row of neon-lit stores and booths, rain-soaked shopkeepers and shoppers alike. pastries filled the windows of carts, and a young man rolled and stretched balls of dough before throwing them onto a dome-shaped griddle, where the nan bubbled and browned. i bought a round of the fresh bread, along with a vegetable roll, and my colleagues and i retreated down the side streets in search of a place to sit and eat. we ducked into a dessert shop, and after ordering some drinks and sweet ice, we all quietly tucked into our foods: us with our tandori rolls, him with his Taiwanese fried chicken. everywhere we go, the women swoon over roger. just as our bowls of sweet ice arrived, he started to wave at a young couple on the other wall. they laughed and graciously ignored his teasing, but his quick movements caught the eye of a mass of uniformed schoolgirls, seated in throngs in the middle of the shop. raising a spoonful of plum ice to my lips, the air was pierced with the collective shriek of a dozen thirteen year old girls in love. immediately they descended on our table, each one throwing herself at him, posing with a big grin and a peace sign, nearly oblivious to his reaction while friends snapped picture after picture. like a single-minded school of fish, the girls suddenly turned in unison and saw us, wherein they emitted another shriek and thrust digital cameras at each other to capture the moment. connie and i fumbled for our own camera phones to record the excitement, and then took turns posing with the group en masse. glenn, who had gone searching for louis vuitton knock-offs while we sat down, saw us enfolded in a gang of white and blue uniforms and the cries of “One more! One more!” and rushed into the shop, thinking we were being jumped. when the excitement subsided, we settled back into our dishes, residual chuckles escaping our lips and reviewing the snapshots we’d taken just a moment before. when the girls left, it was again a production of “Welcome to Taiwan!” and “Bye!” “Bye!” It took them another few minutes to leave the shop, and the last stragglers waved for one more picture before disappearing into the rainy night.



clinking my spoon on the side of my coffee cup brings back the spring, when i was alone and excited and in the throes of an adventure. the swell in my heart of chinag mai, i love it.