July 2, 2008 - Taipei Airport, Taiwan 6:00am

I'm sitting in a coffeeshop in the Taipei airport, and am somewhat suspicious about how I got here and if, in fact, I really am in Taiwan. I was all geared up for a) a torturously long and uncomfortable 13-hour flight, and b) a bit of culture shock and broadening of my horizons upon landing in this part of the world. As for the flight...I took a dose of “Simply Sleep” while we were taking off, and when I woke up I found out that we had only 3 hours left until landing. I watched two episodes of Lost on my laptop and was told that it was time to land. This news concerned me a little, since I looked out my window and saw no “land” upon which to “land”. But, sure enough, ten minutes later we were touching down. I am thankful that the flight was so blessedly easy on me, but I must admit that I feel a bit gyped thus far by my Asian adventure. During landing, I scanned the countryside for some evidence of “foreigness”, and despite my best efforts, saw only American-looking buildings and a friggin football field. Even the airport has all of its signs in both Taiwanese and English...and everyone speaks English...and they all look so American...AND they only accept American currency here. So, thus far, leg one of my brave little journey has consisted of a full night's sleep, two episodes of Lost, and now a latte and chocolate muffin in a cafe decorated with Michelangelo paintings and photos of Venice. Hmph.