Yesterday, for the first time, I wore jeans and a sweatshirt to school. And was chilly not just on the drive there, but as students opened the door and came in, clutching their jackets against the burst of cold air. It finally felt like, if not Winter, at least Fall.
Which is why it felt somewhat natural to start my Christmas shopping today.
There's a massive artisan market literally across the street from my apartment which sets up shop every weekend and, thanks to the hint of a chill in the air--I was torn between wearing a sweatshirt or taking it off, while the Taiwanese people around me were uniformly wrapped in heavy coats, some also donning hats and scarves--the sidewalks were mostly clear.
It was great, and I was able to grab several wonderful things for my family back home. As I walked along the street with Rachel, a street performer played Christmas songs on a violin, and that, combined with the odd number of booths which would have looked equally at home at my church's yearly craft fair at home, made me feel like I should be back in the States, sipping hot cocoa in front of the fireplace in my parents' house.
At the same time, though, today I felt more at home in Taiwan than I've felt yet. I went to Hanmin's Sports Day, which basically played out like a massive all-school track and field meet, and was greeted by dozens of my students from all my classes, in addition to some of their parents and several of my coworkers. I fit; I was part of the community, moving easily among the crowd despite the fact that I was the only Westerner in the crowd. I talked with students while watching relay races, hearing Louis proclaim his love for me in halting English as Anson (whose English is perfect) tried to bait him into telling me he wanted to marry me. Oh, 5th graders.
It was great to see all of my students enjoying themselves so thoroughly, and to get to be a fly on the wall in an entirely different situation. I love getting to see different aspects of their personalities, and getting to see some of them with their parents was wonderful.
After the festivities, I finally took the initiative to stop by the little helmet shop across the street, the one where I've been promising myself for months I'd stop and see about buying another good helmet, so I'll have two for visitors. Turns out, they have exactly what I've been looking for, and my broken conversation with the shop's very friendly owner was great. I didn't buy today, but I'm thinking I will on Tuesday--it only feels right to pay into the community where I'm beginning to feel so very much at home.
The chilly air helps, of course, as does feeling like I'm actually part of the community here. But still, with Christmas coming, I wish I were at home, with family, experiencing the season in its entirety. At least, failing that, I still get some beautiful little holiday moments here in Kaohsiung.
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