During Agora Days, I went to Taiwan to visit family, skipping the four days of student-taught classes. This meant that on the Friday before Agora started, when everyone else was looking forward to a fun week of no homework, I was anticipating a daunting 14-hour flight.

We left early Saturday morning but got to Taipei, the city in which we were staying, late Sunday evening. After enduring those 14 hours of lousy airplane food and cramped quarters I stepped off the plane dismayed that I had lost so much time, but tired enough that that the evening arrival made adjusting to the new time zone fairly easy.

Before this trip I had been to Taiwan two times before, but I realized that I really didn’t remember much from previous visits. Everything seemed to be a new experience.

Simply riding in a taxi became an exciting journey, especially in Taipei where most of the taxi drivers drove incredibly fast and were constantly weaving in and out of cars both on the surface roads and on the expressway bridge that connected the different areas of the city. At one point, our taxi driver drove at least half of a mile in between two lanes.

Also, there was always something interesting to look at during those taxi rides. Big streets were crowded with shops and restaurants. People were walking everywhere. Outdoor markets featured the chaos of buying and selling food, bartering customers, loud shouts, yummy smells, and some interesting looking delicacies.

In addition to the bigger markets, little food stands were scattered all around Taipei. The people at these stands cook the food right in front of you, and it was really nice to have access to a fresh meal or snack whenever it struck my fancy.

Another interesting thing about Taipei was the lack of residential areas. There truly was no place to escape the hustle and bustle of the city. My mom later told me that the people in Taiwan have no distinction between business and home, and that is why shops and food stands spread throughout the city.

Taipei also featured some interesting English on restaurant signs and doors. There was one shop named Kudo, and its sign told people walking by that it was for curious women. This sign made me curious, so assuming the store was for me, I went inside and looked. Much to my disappointment, I found the clothing in that store incredibly normal. I now spend lots of time wondering exactly what a curious woman is.

The apartments are another story in and of themselves. Every apartment had a little terrace where the washing machine was located and where tenants hung their clothes up to dry. Many of these terraces had bars to prevent theft, but these incredibly unattractive bars basically ruined any chance at a pleasant aesthetic. Many of the apartment buildings were also very grimy and old, but I guess the cleanliness of the building is not as important as the building's ability to withstand Taiwan's regular typhoons.

During the week I was there, I also got to experience life in a Taipei hospital. Unfortunately, my grandma had to undergo a procedure that required her to stay in the hospital for three nights. Let's just say that the time spent in the building was "enlightening."

The hospital had to provide service to many people because it was in a big city. Plus, in Taiwan, everyone has access to health care, which meant even more people filled the hospital daily. To fit the needs of the crowds of people, the staff had to be incredibly efficient.

People weren't given some of the privacy that we have come to expect in our hospitals in the United States. Near one of the entrances to the hospital was a counter with four or five people being helped or being given shots by the medical staff. Near counter was a large waiting area, and everyone there could hear the medical problems of those being helped.

One day I walked by that counter and I saw a baby just lying on the middle of the counter with five nurses trying to give it a shot. The infant was crying its head off, yet most of the people in the waiting area were completely ignoring this spectacle.

Despite the all-purpose counter, in many ways the Taiwanese hospital was not as efficient as an American hospital. My grandmother was in the hospital for seventy-five hours for a procedure that would've taken one day in America. After being admitted we had to wait five hours just to talk to the doctor, and even then we only spoke to a resident.

Though I spent three days in and out of the hospital, seeing my family, eating an abundance of delicious food, and visiting the world's tallest building, Taipei 101, made the trip incredibly worthwhile. I'm pretty sure that I'll be able to remember a lot this time.