International Art Street

I am still wishing I was back in the Philippines ha! (I even attempted making adobong manok...) So today in attempts of trying to find the fun in Taiwan again I went to International Art Street. I had tried to find this place a little while ago, but in typical Abi fashion I got lost and ended up going elsewhere. Though when I got home I looked on a map, only to see I had done another usual Abi thing and took a right instead of a left and in my lost state I was in fact very near. So today, completely sure of where I was going, I made my way there. 

It's just a street that has a few cafes and restaurants of different cultures and your general clothing and homey stores. It was ok. But just ok. I did find a cute place that had a red telephone box outside of it and looked kinda country cottage like, so I went in. The owners were friendly and Puff the Magic Dragon was playing in the background. Cute. 

One thing I find slightly amusing shopping in Taiwan, is when you enter the store the worker will stand up and kinda follow you around. They don't say a word but if you have a question they are right there. I've now learnt when I'm shopping I tend to be a little unpredictable...I will be walking one way, spot something out of the corner of my eye and quickly change my direction to go check it out. Well when you have a small Taiwanese person following you around this poses the slight issue of always bumping into each other. 

As I walked through the street there was mosaics on the ground and paintings on the side of the walls. Music playing through the streets. Nice to see a slightly more creative side of Taiwan. 

It dawns on me every day that I'm another day nearer to returning to England. And it freaks me out! Which is crazy considering as much as I like Taiwan it doesn't feel like home. I think what freaks me out the most is that I have become used to a 'if it's not broke don't fix it...and if it is broke, patch it up and keep using it up anyway' mentality and I enjoy living an extremely simple life, even if it means being a little uncomfortable at times. So to return to a materialistic country is just going to seem so unjust. When thinking that what Brits earn in one hour of work is well over what a Filipino will earn in one day, it's gonna take some getting used to. And the thought of going to a supermarket and being able to buy all the types of cheese I can imagine, just blows my mind at the minute! And just the idea of driving a car, sitting in a little box, being on the wrong side of the road, the wrong side of the car...I'm looking forward to that challenge! They say that reverse culture shock, returning to your home country, is sometimes worse than general culture shock. Well, we will find out soon enough! For all I know, it might not be as bad as I imagine. I am excited to come back and see everyone though. 

Throwing out a real curve ball with my tune of the day today...Nicki Minaj feat Rihanna - Fly. 

funny chaps outside the store...