A New Set of Wheels

One cultural obstacle for me in Taiwan has been getting accustomed to the seemingly nonsensical traffic. I usually feel at ease riding behind Allen on the scooter, but when it comes to driving myself, even the thought is intimidating. Due to Kirstie's nap time and a new school schedule Allen is no longer able to drive me to class, so I have been walking the twenty-some minutes to and fro every day.

At first I was thinking, a 45 minute brisk walk is great daily exercise, but after the third day of carrying a bag full of books with sticky clothes hindering every step and hot humid air teasing my parched throat, I decided there must be a better way. Either I wear a swimsuit to class everyday or I get a bike.

Okay, so I needed to get a bike. Many thanks to the children at Riverside Christian Church who saved their pennies so that I could buy one. Allen took me that week to the Giant store and I picked out a pink bike equipped with gears for riding in and out of the parking garage and a basket for shopping at the market.

My first trip was riding it home from the bike store. Allen followed on the scooter, shouting out commands about where to turn and when to change gears. Traffic laws in Taiwan make left turns quite a complicated feat, so following Amy's experienced advice I got off and walked my bike across any intersections. As I turned into our neighborhood a huge smile snuck onto my face. I immediately tried to shoo it away but it just wouldn't leave. Ugh, I felt so goofy as if I was announcing, "Everyone look at me! The foreigner has a new bike! The foreigner has a new bike!"

Once safely home Allen encouraged me by saying that I looked like I owned the road, but truthfully, next to motored shopping carts bikes are the lowest vehicles on the traffic totem pole. So maybe I don't own the road but I am one small step closer to really "living" in Taiwan.