Landing in Taipei, Moving South.

As I write this, I am traveling on a southbound train from metropolitan Taipei to the small town of Pingtung, Taiwan. Already I have discovered how much rain Taiwan gets this time of year. Right now we are approaching the beginning of the Typhoon season. The very name comes from the Chinese "tai-feng," and uses the same "tai" as the name for Taiwan. It's tropical, warm, and wet. Coming from southern California, where I have been staying these past two weeks, the different weather is an abrupt change for me.

I just arrived yesterday. Although my time in Taiwan is just beginning, my trip has already been enriched by the two weeks I spent in Pasadena. There, I stayed with my uncle, a sociology professor at nearby Occidental college, studying historic and modern transnationalism between China and the United States--the movement of people and money across national boundaries and the ties that bind people together across borders. One way to think of transnational studies is as the human side of globalization--how lives and relationships stretch across geography. It's been a rich period of study, and given me a lot to think about as I am now embarking on my own transnational journey.

Yesterday morning I was welcomed by a Taiwanese relative of mine who lives half of the year in Taiwan, half in California. I spent the day exploring Taipei with his sons and another cousin, each born and raised in America. Exploring the city together exposed many of the surprises or contradictions inherent in globe-spanning communities. Walking around, we saw the same global luxury brands that one sees in New York, Boston, and the King of Prussia mall outside of Philadelphia. Dior, DeBeers, Calvin Klein, each of these brands are the same that I also saw last year during my time in Nanjing and Shanghai. In Taipei at least, the effects of globalization are ubiquitous and dominate the visual field of the cityscape.

As my train keeps riding further, I wonder what Pingtung will be like. Already, my relatives have described the town as much more easygoing, laid back, and provincial. How it compares to the skyscrapers of the north will remain to be seen. When I find out, I'll write more.

Until next time,

-Eli