Brooklyn, the Couch & the Crash
I didn’t mean to end up in Taiwan.
At 24, I was fresh out of college, crashing on a friend’s couch in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, sending resumes into the void.
It was early 2009—maybe the worst time in modern history to be job hunting in New York. The city was reeling from the global recession & my inbox stayed empty.
I picked up an unpaid marketing internship at Sounds of Brazil and worked nights at a bar—chef, barback, party animal.
Most mornings, I’d catch the sunrise on my way home, riding the J train from Marcy Ave in Williamsburg to Kosciuszko St in the heart of Bed-Stuy.
Tucson, Limbo & a Growing Itch
I realized pretty quickly: I needed out. A reset. A new story.
So I moved back into my parents’ house in Tucson, Arizona. For six months, I worked, saved & stared at the ceiling. I knew I wanted to see the world—but I wasn’t sure where, or why.
Asia kept tugging at me.
The Gift That Sparked It All
The seed had been planted the summer before. My graduation gift—a generous, loving send-off from my proud parents, as the first in my family to earn a college degree—was a trip anywhere in the world.
All my friends went to Europe. I chose Japan.
Why? Because I wanted a story that didn’t sound like everyone else’s. It helped that one of my closest friends had a brother who’d been living in Japan for over a decade and had offered up a month-long apartment rental to anyone who wanted to visit.
Six weeks in Tokyo & Kanazawa with some of my best friends cracked something open. And let’s be honest—what 25-year-old wouldn’t be enraptured by countless izakayas, the Fuji Rock Festival, incredible nightlife & beautiful Japanese women—all set in one of the most modern countries in the world, with a deep cultural history as its backdrop?
Asia’s allure fully stole me.
I didn’t know what it all meant yet. But I knew I wanted more.
China: Testing the Waters
Fast-forward to April 2009: I bought a one-way ticket to Hong Kong. My friend Davy & his family welcomed me into their home while I figured things out. Soon after, I enrolled in a teaching certification course in Harbin—a "small town" by Chinese standards (just over ten million people) in northeastern China.
I didn’t know what I was doing. But I was doing something. And it was a start.
Harbin was gritty, industrial & a crash course in culture shock. When the course ended, I returned to Hong Kong & began to plan. I had a shiny new TEFL certificate & no idea where to go next.
China wasn’t calling me back. Mandarin, though—that still felt like a smart investment. I had studied marketing in university & I figured learning the language could be a valuable asset down the road.
Taiwan: A Name, a Map, a Feeling
Davy said, “Why not Taiwan?”
I knew next to nothing about it.
A few Google searches later, it looked like paradise. Mountains. Ocean. Friendly faces. And Mandarin to make it feel like I was still heading in the right direction.
So I packed a bag & booked a flight. I met with a placement agent and, over the next few days, we worked our way down the island:
Hsinchu.
Taichung.
Changhua.
Yunlin.
Douliu, Yunlin, to be precise.
I didn’t know it then, but that’s where everything would begin.
Confused Tongue, Clear Heart
I knew precisely zero Mandarin. On my first day, someone greeted me—and I instinctively responded in Spanish. My brain panicked and reached for the closest foreign language it had.
Somehow, though, Taiwan felt like home.
I couldn’t explain it. Still can’t, really. It was nothing like El Paso, Texas, where I grew up. And yet, there was something about it—something warm and familiar.
Staying Put
I thought I was just passing through.
But I’ve now spent the better part of a decade here over the last fifteen years—mostly in Tainan.
It’s the only place I’ve ever lived that comes close to the feeling of home.
And it all started with a one-way ticket, a generous gift, a recession & a gut feeling I couldn’t ignore.
And, boy, am I glad I followed that gut feeling.
We're much alike, you and I. Different life paths, but similar views on many things.
Brothas from anotha' motha', Tofu!
Wow, what an incredible journey—really enjoyed reading about it! My own travels abroad have only ever been for vacations, so your story of settling down in a new land feels like a whole different level of adventure and transformation.
By the way, I absolutely love the artwork—such a great vibe to it! May I ask how you created them?
Awesome, man! I look back and try to pinpoint what, exactly, drew me to Asia and so immediately left me with a feeling of home and I just can't put my finger on it. I will say, though, that I've quite a few expat buddies that have shared similar tales of their lives in Formosa.
That said, there's a whole slew of your Praetorian buddies out here in Asia that, I'm sure, would be happy to host ya on your next vacation :)
And I'm glad you dig the artwork! I think we'd be hard-pressed to find an art style that better encapsulates the feeling of Asia. I made all of these with Midjourney & wow - they have really upped their game since I'd last generated anything with them!.
Thank you for sharing, Beaker!
Indeed, life sometimes what has become a dream is sometimes far from reality. But the reality of life continues to be fought for. Thank you. Happy days.
Happy days, indeed! Thanks @hsidik !