April 2026 in Taiwan
April: poodling down the west side of Taiwan, somewhere between the ocean + the mountains. Every week, people taking us in under their wing in their little corner of little Taiwan, which doesn't feel little at all.
Previous monthly updates in this series:
March 2026
February 2026
January 2026
December 2025
November 2025
October 2025
September 2025
August 2025
April 2026
Start: Taichung, Taiwan
End: Taitung, Taiwan
Written date: I don't know!
Chi in Taichung
Basically the same as with Brinda, whereby I was nervous to reach out to this animal advocate, then I did, and it was AWESOME. Chi is kind and strong and we talked about many topics - animals, dating, advocacy, cruelty, food, gender transition, changing relationships to our parents. Bell even came out to lunch with us one day! What a blast. Felt like I was always sweaty speed-walking from one vegan cafe to another, often to meet Chi <3
School Camp
Okay people, maybe you want to hear more about cycling!!! I am finding Taiwan to be gorgeously lush, sweaty, hilly. One afternoon, I was exhausted and pushed my bike into a village, demanding to Bell we go no further. Outside a school, a teacher invited us in for oolong and black tea, like that which provides the village livelihood. Then we camped at this school. Okay this is hopeless, there's so much say about this special experience. In the morning, the 4 kindergarten students crawled into our tent for group pics <3 <3 <3 The whole thing made me feel deep admiration for hosting and hospitality as a skill.
Sophie in Dapu
Like March, hopeless with sticking to 1 page. Sophie took us to the Dapu Philharmoniker where we saw participants making violins from typhoon driftwood.
That's it for April! I'm pausing the little section I'd put at the bottom of these, with a few links to what I've been reading. It's been feeling like smushing together two different things (the update, the links). Funny, I love this combo in others' weekly or monthly updates, but it's felt like a chore with mine. So no more. Bye!