breaking news from Taiwan

Well, I managed to do what every young person is supposed to do while abroad: I lost my camera. I'd gotten a free pass on study abroad during my junior year, if only because I didn't actually bring a camera, but it seems you can't outrun fate. Rather than just stewing about it, I managed to come up with some kind of humorous responses, which I hope you'll allow me to share. Even if they aren't actually funny, hopefully reading this post will remind you when you think to yourself, wait a sec, Sam didn't post any photos from Taiwan! Did he even go? So, without further ado (and, roughly, in order):

-From the circumstances, I knew I couldn't say my camera "was stolen". That suggests scenes of robbery at gunpoint, or someone lifting it off my wrist as I pushed through a crowded market or something, both of which are just grossly far from the truth. Basically, I was in the train station by the lockers, switching out dirty clothes for clean ones, and I took the camera out of my day-bag to pack stuff in. When I remembered, hey, I never re-packed it, it was like ten minutes later and of course, no camera. I don't even think I could say "someone took my camera" and feel honest about it. This cannot be foisted off on anyone -- it's an "I lost" all the way.

-This is why I can't have nice things!

-I'm only really sad I can't share the food photos with everyone. I've thus far photographed everything I've eaten here (which, frankly, is rather a lot for like four-plus days), but I haven't kept a food journal, so I know I won't be able to remember *everything*.

-Oh, and there are a couple of just-ridiculous photos from Kaohsiung that I wish I could share as well. But that's really it as far as essentials. Everything else is Blurry-Night-Shot-of-Building, Strangely-Lit-Self-Shot, Stuff-That-Made-me-Think-of-Something-to-Say (like signs) -- replaceable/retakable/nothing I would call "unique" or "momentous".

-Susan Sontag (and Scott) will probably approve of how I take my trip to a greater extent now. I was guilty of "using photos as a shorthand/replacement for memory", which allowed me to basically run through everywhere and take a few photos instead of really experiencing it, of "using the camera to make vacation more like work", which forces one to be always looking for image-ready moments and better angles/technical conditions thus avoiding actual relaxation (which Sontag considers the subconscious bane of people from places like Japan, the United States, and Germany), and finally of "using the camera to place a filter between oneself and lived experience", which I think we all know what that means. Anyway, I guess I'll have to slow down a bit for the last couple days, which is probably for the best, anyway, right?

-Parting shot: so, actually, there are already a couple highlights from the trip which I failed to photograph. Like I forgot, or it seemed rude or weird or uncomfortable or the lighting was bad. Mostly it seemed rude. But, anyway, since I was going to tell you about those times anyway without photographic evidence, you were already going to have to rely on my faulty descriptions + your imagination, anyway. Just think of the whole trip like that.

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Camera-loss aside, (and now by writing about it I think I'm letting it go a little bit, so aside like for real) it's been a really good trip. I've been from the north end of the island to the south, tried almost every different type of night-market food stand, run around a bunch of train stations, had to improvise (I do love improvising), hot spring-ed, laughed out loud a lot, smiled at those people STARING at me like they always do (un-self-consciously? un-guiltily?). Also, actual breaking news from Taiwan:
-elections are soon, and all sorts of places and things are being politicized (more on this later... you know I love this stuff)
-the Kaohsiung MRT has one line open (except for the showpiece downtown station), and will be FREE to ride until early april