Today's Downtown Adventure...

I have a fear of public transportation in America. I was fine taking the MRT in Taiwan, even when I didn't live in the city that had it and even though I didn't use it that often. But for some reason, getting around on public transportation in America makes me anxious.

I'm not afraid of creepy people I might sit next to. I'm not afraid of germy seats and railings. I'm not afraid of fights breaking out on the bus (saw a YouTube video of that).

I'm afraid of not knowing what I'm doing. I'm afraid of getting lost and not being able to get to where I need to go.

So, the solution to this should be to just go with no real time crunch and no real expectations. And go with a map... or iPhone.

So today I went with a map and no iPhone.

I didn't take any buses. I only took the MRT type of system that they have in this city. For some reason that seems a lot less intimidating to me than the buses. I did a little research in the morning and then went for it.

Piece of cake...

It was a 5-10 min walk to the station closest to me. The fare was $4.50 for the day. And I was off to downtown without much of a plan.

This was my plan:

• Enjoy the brilliant sunny and warm weather.


• Visit downtown's public library


• Go to Old Navy (if I could find it)


• Go to Daiso (if it was still there)

This is what I ended up doing:

• Enjoyed the brilliant sunshine by walking lots and sitting at a park overlooking the water while I ate my turkey, cheese, and spinach crape (and I managed not to get sun burned).


• Toured the Art Museum that happened to be free today. Always a good thing. Favorite exhibit... fabric and clothing from around the world.


• Looked around at an antique shop. I love those!


• Then I found Daiso, which is no longer opened, and happened upon Old Navy, which I feel like has changed since I went there two years ago (or maybe I'm just getting old...).


• Finally, I made it to the Public Library, which was the only thing that was for sure in my original plan. It was amazing!!! I have NEVER seen such a humongous library! I was blown away. The only creepy part was when I got stuck on the fourth floor [all alone], which was call "the Red Rooms." Everything from floor to walls to ceiling was true red. Creepy... could have been the scene for a murder. But once I found my way out of that I was just in awe. I love children's books so, of course, the children's section was on my itinerary. The Children's "section" happened to be a whole floor in this ten floor establishment. Needless to say, I had a good time there. I may or may not have checked out a few picture books...

Mostly I just enjoyed wandering and exploring downtown. Though I love adventuring with others, there is something very freeing about doing it all alone. It is me against the city! My goal was to see how little I could use my map and try my best to not look like a tourist. I think I did pretty well... minus that time when I was... never mind. You didn't think I was going to reveal ALL my secrets on this blog, did you???

Anyway, I made it home tired, happy, and much more confident about taking public transportation... or at least that mode of public transportation.

A New Neighborhood!

A friend told me I should start blogging again. And recently I have felt more inspired to write than other times. I think it has in part to do with my move.

Last weekend I moved seven miles south to a part of the city where a lot of immigrants and refugees have settled. This is very exciting for me! Just this morning I had my window open and I heard the chatter of Vietnamese out on the street! Tonight I met a young man and his female relative from the Congo who live in my neighborhood.

Before breakfast I stood out on our front balcony to watch the Blue Angels, who were giving us our own air show right above the house. My downstairs Chinese-Vietnamese neighbor was also telling me about the trash and recycling situation at the house. Between the deafening rumbles of the Blue Angels flying really close, she told me that the neighbors to the right of us are Filipino and those behind us are Chinese. Then she told me the story about a Filipino man who lived across the street in a house with a long dirt driveway. She said he won the lottery and moved his family back to the Philippines. "You might win!" she said to me. I laughed and said, "I guess I live on a lucky street!"

When I say "my downstairs neighbors" I mean just that. For the time being, we have a family of three (a young couple and their two year old daughter) living in the basement. We share the kitchen, which has been working quite well. Their daughter is the cutest thing EVER!!! Because this family is Chinese-Vietnamese, they speak Cantonese and Mandarin), her mom encourages her to call me "Jie Jie" which means "Big Sister" in Mandarin. Apparently, when she wakes up in the morning she asks where her dad is and then now asks where Jie Jie is. In the morning I hear her pattering feet coming down the hallway to check if my door is open because she can't wait to see me. As soon as I come out, though, she gets SUPER shy. So cute! This morning, though, she let me hold her for the first time. I liked that... even if she had a stinky diaper on! =)

The downstairs neighbors are very friendly. The mom stays home with the daughter so she is around quite a bit. It is fun talking to her.