MADRID!!!

I got to Madrid on Friday evening and it is just absolutely awsome here! Yesterday I walked all day through its narrow winding streets, peeking into bars and pastelarias and basically enjoying the architecture, which is my favorite. I always thought that for a place good for me to live in it´s got to be walkable i.e. it must have sidewalks on which one can walk and encounter other people. I feel that people, being social creatures, must be able to walk and see others, that it gives them a sense of security, even if the people they pass on the street are strangers. When I lived with my father in the American mid-west long time ago, when I was a teenager, I never felt comfortable there because I thought the cities there were built not for people but for cars: there were no sidewalks there and people were just basically driving everywhere (the only place where they would meet would be the local mall but then they would not look at other people but at the shop´s windows...). I felt that American mid-west was a culture of alienated people. So, coming back to Madrid, I walked and walked thought this highly walkable city. The amount of architectural details is incredible here. It´s Sunday today so the entire city is out, enjoying the restaurants and the wonderful weather of sunny 20 degrees Celsius. I am staying at one of the hostels in the center. It´s Sunday and tomorrow is May Day, another holiday, so I can´t do much in terms of settling but I have already sent via e-mail my resume to various English schools and other places so hopefully I can find some job soon and an apartment. I would definitely like to settle here. I don´t know if for ever but for now I would like it to be my base for exploring Europe - it´s possible that during the exploration I will find a place which I like better than Madrid and will like it to make my home por siempre. But this feels very comfortable for now. I always felt that Europe was my true home and it does feel like it, that I have come home after 9 years of travelling. Maybe it feels like it since I have this strong connection to Spanish-speaking people: I feel I understand them without words or maybe the fact that they are so relaxed and easygoing makes me feel this way. I find that I didn´t forget the Spanish I learned in South America and I can communicate with people and they are so thrilled that I am trying!

Internet cafes are rather expensive so I will write more about my stay in Qatar, about Hong Kong and extensively about India, when I get an apartment and my own internet. I miss you all my dear friends and I think of you often. I hope you will all visit me. I will let you know asap when I get a permanent address.

Hong Kong once more

I got back to Hong Kong yesterday and hoped to hop on a plane to Madrid right away but apparently all flights bound for Europe are booked for the next three weeks. I found, however, a smart travel agent who looked extensively for some possibility of departing earlier and found a flight by Qatar Airlines with a three-day stop-over in Doha in Qatar. I don't know anything about this country and I have to do some research on what the relation of Qatar is to American/Polish passport, what the woman is required to compulsory or voluntary wear... All I read so far on the net is that it's a "tiny oil-rich sheikhdom" where women enjoy more freedom than in other Gulf states. We'll see about that... I will write from there or from Madrid.

Easter in Taipei

Dear Friends, best wishes for Easter to everyone who celebrates Easter. I like this holiday a lot as it marks new beginnings, new roots, new sprouts, new ideas... I will celebrate the new beginnings with Nikki and Farhaan, and with their expatriate friends over Easter brunch tomorrow. However, the new beginnings will not be happening in Taipei. I have decided not to stay here and here are the reasons.

After staying here for a week I decided that Taipei is not mentally stimulating enough... I found many places during my travels which were amazing in terms of architecture and culture and in which I felt very comfortable (mostly in South America). In Taipei I feel boared already... The people are very nice, really really nice, but very quiet if not to say lethargic... It seems there's not much life here... not many cultural events... it's basically, like in Hong Kong, about business and shopping... It is easy to find a well paid job (the pay for English teachers is between $20-30 per hour and you can get as many hours as you can cope with...) and cheap apartment but I decided I need a place which will enable me to feel that I am mentally expanding. So, since I am so drawn by Spanish culture I decided to go to Spain. I will be going back to Hong Kong as soon as I can get on the plane and from there to Madrid or Barcelona. I feel that I need to be in a place which will offer culture as I know it or which is familiar to me. I basically miss Europe... The only thing which interests me in the Chinese culture is the Chinese medicine (and the Chinese martial arts) so I will have to find a place where I can study it in Europe, hopefully in Spain.

There are virtually no internet cafes in Taipei and the one I am using in Happy Family guesthouse is constantly occupied so I will write when I get to Hong Kong.

Taipei

I got to Taipei and I am staying at the hostel in the city center. The hostel is called "Happy Family" and it is a nice place. It is located in a "SoHo" type area - I've got the bohemian part of the city as I wished. Taipei seems a much more relaxed place (in comparison to Hong Hong). There's an occasional piece of garbage on the streets... It's neither too clean nor too dirty, which I consider a healthy state and more accessible than the spotless HK. People are dressed... normally, and more creatively i.e. not in the latest fashion brands. I like laid-back places. Nobody can speak English so it is hard to communicate. If I stay I will have to learn some Mandarin to make my life easier. I would like to stay here, yes indeed. Tomorrow I am going to start job hunting. Nikki and Farhaan are coming back to Taipei tomorrow so maybe I can use some advice from them. I will be in touch shortly with more news.

Hong Kong once more

Even though I found the internet heaven it was hard for me to visit it - I have been running around the city with the friends from the hostel. I will be leaving to Taiwan the day after tomorrow and once I find a place to stay and a job I will be in touch more often. And, I will write all my thoughts on India which are still in my drafts folder. I am adding things as I read more books about India.

To escape the glitter of the city centre and it's business-like atmosphere I went to Stanley beach on the Hong Kong island a few times with Traige aka Trojka from Holland and it is a very nice place. Hong Kong is like NY but it lacks what I call a bohemian district, like East Village in NY. There's the "old part" on the island but it is mostly old streets and little stores - there's no artistic atmosphere here. Everything is basically new: all that's built, worn, driven... It's incredible at the beginning to see this but it gets one tired... I heard that Taiwan looks more like mainland China so maybe I will find it more interesting? Let's wait and see...