Changhua 10/4

This is really a story of my first real day with a scooter, but as I went to Changhua, that's what I'll title it.

I woke up early like I do on Saturdays, went to school and taught from 10-12. I had just picked up my scooter the afternoon before right before I had to teach from 4-9, so I never had a whole lot of time to get out and stretch my road legs until this moment. I had no idea where I was going, I just got up and drove, and it felt wonderful. I had been living for about 2 1/2 months walking everywhere I cared to go, and this was a level of freedom I hadn't felt since I was in America.

Generally following whatever turns I felt like led me to the busiest road in Taichung, which in recollection I realize isn't the best way to learn, among about 15 other scooters zipping 40 km/hr in 60m stretches between cars and buses and about 3 inches between all of us. Oh well, I made it through, and I got very deep satisfaction when for once, finally, I got out of the density of the middle of the city and actually had green on both sides of me. Then I ran out of gas.

I won't go into all the ways I have to justify it, I just missed the fact that scooter shops will leave as little gas as possible in the tank so they don't have to pay for it (but they'll give you so much crap for free when you actually buy the scooter, which is weird). Anyway, there I was, wheeling my empty scooter down the busiest road in Taichung (I've come to the understanding that I just have to give up my dignity most times I'm in public here). I finally make it to the gas station, the attendant comes to pump my gas, I point at the grade I want, and he's done in 15 seconds. This blows my mind, because I'm used to pumping for 5 minutes and it costing $80US. Here, I pay $5. I rode back to my apartment in suspicious disbelief. Time for a nap.

When I wake up, its night. I decide to go for a joyride, so I start driving, intending to follow a road to its end, then picking a direction and going. Problem is, the road I pick doesn't seem to end, but rather goes in numerous turns and twists and swings where I just have to remember to always do what the person ahead of me does. Before I know it, I'm surrounded by farmland and honest to goodness starlight. The English road signs tell me the road I'm headed is toward Changhua, and I remember my friend Ariel lives in Changhua, so I follow, and after about 30 minutes in which I develop my new hobby- learning Chinese by way of street signs- I make it into Changhua proper. Outside of seeing my first live Betel Nut girls, there's not much to say about Changhua. I take a random turn and find myself running into a big closed temple and, knowing that Changhua is home to the world's biggest Golden Buddha, I assume it's behind the steel shutters.

I stop and call Ariel. Turns out she lives pretty close to the Buddha, but is just out of the shower and is effectively out for the evening (I should call ahead next time). I pick up a Pepsi (Saturday ritual, ask me about it sometime) at the Family Mart and turn back around and drive home the way I came. One might say I did nothing with my first day of freedom, but I disagree.