It has been a while since I experienced a culture shock and Taiwan was last on my list where I would think I get one. People are nice and helpful, the public train and bus system works well, there is almost always someone who speaks English.
But when I visited the Fo Guang Shan Temple I came around something I wouldn’t have expected. As it was about to continue raining for the next days to come, I thought I might as well go for a meditation retreat in a temple. Plus, when would I have the next chance to spend a night in a Buddhist monarchy/temple? However, I was tired when I arrived and had a few problems finding my accommodation. A nice girl from Hong Kong helped me to find it at the end, but it was going all too slow and I started to feel the helplessness that comes along when visiting a new country where you do not speak the language a little more than usual.
I got to rest in the room before heading out to explore the temple and went to the main shrine with three extravagantly large Buddhas inside. I was still a little confused and almost went in with my shoes if it was not for the friendly lady who advised me to leave them outside. On my way back in she smiled and enthusiastically handed me a flower in a heart-shaped plastic container so I can “make a wish”. Still a bit puzzled I took the flower, went in front of the Buddha in the middle and looked up. The first thing I saw was a big, giant swastika on his chest. Now I know this is a sacred symbol in Buddhism, has a very positive meaning and is much older than 1933, but with my German background I still felt quite uncomfortable in front of it with the flower in my hand, trying to think of a wish. Looking around I also noticed the other two Buddhas looked exactly the same. I tried to focus on something else, like these giant earlobes for example, but I couldn’t quite manage. I finally managed to make my wish, return the flower to where it belongs and walked around the temple a bit. The Fo Guang Shan is one of the richest buddhist group in Taiwan and maybe the world, which you notice everywhere. There are tons of golden Buddhas in all forms and sizes, and an army of Buddhas, all with a swastika on their chest and their right arm to the sky, which you need to pass to arrive at the big golden Buddha statue, which looks the same just in large. It is just not what you are used to as a German.
In the evening I attended a buddhist prayer which was quite interesting, but because they chanted in Mandarin it was difficult for me to follow. The nuns were so kind to give me a book with latin letters so I could follow the text, but with my mind being that of a squirrel these days and the words being sung faster than the lyrics in Rappers Delight I continuously lost track, which drove the nun crazy who came to me every three minutes to update the pages of my prayer-book. Not the retreat I thought I would get, but interesting nonetheless. I still think I’m not made for buddhism.
What followed were two rainy days in Kaohsiung, one where I actually stood knee-deep in the water (which I later found out was a torrential rain, causing some serious flood damage in the area where I was). I did manage to find a nice coffee shop though where I spent half of the days, but the rain did not help to lift up my mood.
My last stop before starting a workaway on a tea farm led me to Sun Moon Lake, one of the most touristy areas in Taiwan. I usually try to avoid these spots as much as possible, but I heard good things about it and the weather forecast actually looked as if it was going to be a little sunny. Of course, that was a mistake and while I was sitting in a restaurant waiting for my most expensive meal in Taiwan so far, looking outside to see the streets getting darker and darker in the preparation for the next shower to come, I was as annoyed as a traveller can be. It was the moment when everything got on my nerves, from the rain to the language to the food to all the temples and joss sticks around that give me a headache and that annoying music played by the garbage collecting van that sounds like an odd ice cream truck. And then I realised that I was actually experiencing a culture shock. It wasn’t me, it was the culture shock making me annoyed like that! Finally knowing what was wrong with me I already felt a bit better. It would still be nicer to have a little sun around, but for one week more, I guess I can manage.
