Friends from Afar

Emiko already checked in Grand Hotel Room 1201 when I received her email after I came home from the lecture on Food Safety at Anatonia Formosa Association Saturday afternoon, March 7th.

Emiko likes Taiwan. She enjoys Taiwanese food, scenery, and people. Emiko and I met two decades ago at a language school in chambery, France. We have kept in touch ever since. Emiko is more interested in the English language now. For me, I stopped learning French after I shifted my interest to Japanese two decades for at least three reasons. My parents-in-law spoke Japanese fluently. There are more Japanese speaking people than French speaking people in the world. Japan is close to Taiwan.

Last week, I borrowed the Story of Four Seasons by Eric Romer from Taipei City Library. After watching 4 DVDs with subtitles in French, I regained my interest in the French language. I found it easy now to study French with on-line Larousse dictionary by listening to real people pronunciation of examples. I considered living in France for some time in the future to bring back old memories.

Emiko invited two of her belly dance friends to Taipei this time. On Sunday, we visited the Gold Museum at Kinkaseki 金瓜石,  saw the sunset from the famous tea house in Kyufun, enjoyed the most delicious dumplings for dinner at Dingtaifung. On Monday, we visited the National Palace Museum, National Revolutionary Martyrs' Shrine, went shopping Ximen District, and enjoyed the most delicious beef noodles in Taipei. Emiko and I spoke Japanese most of the time. Only once a while, we conversed in English and French.

 Taipei is ever-changing lady. Everyday she puts on different veils to allure tourists from all over the world. Many thanks to Emiko, I could visit Taiwan from time to time as a tourist. For all scenic places in Taiwan, they are new to me every time I pay them another visit, because a lot of renovations takes place.

On top of that, during different seasons, I could appreciate different flower blossom. There is a Chinese saying, "the time isn't as important as the terrain, but the terrain isn't as important as unity with the people, 天時不如地利, 地利不如人和. It's the joy of meeting friends from afar that stays in our heart for the rest of our lives.