So, I was again able to hang out with my 妹妹, Misako, yesterday. My time in Taipei is drawing to a close. While I would categorize it as a failure for my plans, due to my illness here, I have to say that I enjoyed my friends in this city. Masako and I have been friends for around eleven years and we have some important similarities: the most important one is the love of books. On our meeting Saturday, we went to two bookstores and enjoyed ourselves immensely. She is currently employed by a cultural institution associated with the Japanese government. She works quite a bit, so it is a treat when I am able to see here. We are hoping to go out again in two weeks, after she returns from a trip to Tokyo.

We also went to Taiwan University. It is an unusual campus, with a mix of old and new. There was a semi protest going on there with yellow ribbons carrying protest slogans wrapped the central area. I admit to finding this a little unusual, as my entire Asian university experience has been on campuses in China. Protest is not exactly tolerated there if it goes against the government as this one did. It was very interesting. To be honest, I don’t pay much attention to local politics so Masako had to explain it to me. “-

I have no pictures because my phone’s battery has the life of a snowman in a volcano. I am going to have to replace the battery. I tried to have it done here in Taipei, but I can not find anyone to touch a Huawei phone.