Finding my way

The first temple I stumbled upon in Taiwan

I've been in Taiwan a full week now, and I am feeling more settled. This is relative, as I still use a photocopied map with lots of scribbling on it to find my way around, hah. I've been lucky, having coworkers willing to walk me across the city to find a plant for my cavernous apartment, to loan me a cell phone, to take me to their favorite restaurants, and score me a free week-long trial at an awesome gym. These are huge in learning my way around this new city.

Now that I'm spending more time wandering by myself, I do a lot of walking, so street names and spatial understanding are vital. If you know me well, you should realize that this means I spend a lot of time mildly lost. Things look familiar and places stand out to me, but I am not sure which way is right or what street I am on exactly. But, every day I feel a little more confident and come home with the spoils of my success - a baguette, a pasta strainer, stationary, or paper towel... these may be simple, but every success is worth appreciating.