Notes from Taiwan
Sunday, July 29th, 2007I feel like a boiled chicken.
Got into Taipei last night after an even-longer-than-it-should-have-been (which is already long) flight. My host, James, and his girlfriend, Hanna were at the airport to meet me - a welcome gesture. We got back to their place - turning into their street made me feel like I had arrived - narrow street filled with scooters and Mandarin text. But even at night, it’s hot (30 degrees at 1am)…
I needed a beer - James provided. On his balcony, with a view over Taipei 101, he gave me a run-down of this country’s strange ‘non-country’ status, the historical context of this (we went back to Confucius), and the political Blue/Green split (Green are currently in power, Blue are the party of Chiang Kai-shek, the person who originally presided over Taiwan’s break from Communist China). Hanna joined us for a bit - she’s Taiwanese - and she could give a further insight into this country’s pretty dramatic political story. I’m looking forward to finding out more.
It’s the next morning - well, it’s lunchtime, but I’m jet-lagged, and apparently the Taiwanese don’t really do mornings. And eh, it’s hot, ridiculously hot. I seriously feel like I’m sitting in a sauna - though, it’s a different, sticky kind of heat. My computer is over-heating. I know how it feels.
Oh yes, and I’m here for Wikimania. Woo yeah! I’m going to be discussing Wikiversity - a presentation and a workshop. I’ve actually written a short piece for the Guardian Weekly’s new website - and done a short interview which might be turned into a podcast. Wikimania is always just so much fun - meeting Delphine today - this is going to be great… 
(Anal Post Script: This is being posted the day after it was written..)