Two Nadia Pero Videos

Taiwan Part 1

CHAPTER 1: First Flight

My eyes creaked open to a shaded economy class seating section. I looked around with the jarring confused mixture of no sleep and knowing I was going somewhere I've never been before. Not some new friends house or a new job, this was somewhere truly different, somewhere at least within my own mind, magical. Children were sitting in front of me, three of them lined up like stooges. They were all hitting each other back and forth in some sort of ritualistic joke between what seemed to be brothers. They were careless, they didn't seem to notice that they had flown over Las Vegas, one of the mystical cities of American lore, or the fact that they were thousands of feet in the air. There was no danger for them it seemed, they were not bound to the pragmatic thoughts and ideas that I was in that moment, they were free. Even though being 23 at the time I felt as if I needed some sort of mothering from the unknown. Some gentle soothing female voice surrounding me, telling me it would all work out. little did I know that China Airlines offers that very thing, perhaps they don't precisely say that “everything will work out”, but the voice sure sounds like it's trying to say something to that effect. I was heading outside of the country for the very first time, I felt like it was the first day of school all over again, looking around at all the people, wondering what they're thinking about, wondering what their hopes and dreams are. I hadn't left the State of Utah for 5 years except for a weekend excursion into Denver. That trip to Denver had been the most exhausting and rewarding weekend I had had in my adult life, that was about it as far as travel went. Not much I know, but when you're living in Logan, Utah you don't have much in the way of excitement or exhaustion, simply trying to not let the stillness drive you crazy. It's always far to easy to deal with everything, everyone knows everybody in a place like Logan. I was mostly excited for that very reason, I was going towards an island that most of my fellow Utah citizens cannot properly place other then for the products they wear that have a tag with TAIWAN typed across the bottom. I was heading towards a place where I knew no one, it was liberating. Despite this my stomach churned with unease. My mouth was dry from not sleeping the night before. I didn't feel a need to eat or drink much of anything, I had an ipod in my backpack with all my favorite songs but I didn't feel a need to listen to them. I had books I had intended to read that I was leaving alone, only grasping the arm rests earnestly... waiting... wondering.

CHAPTER 2: LAX

“Welcome to Los Angeles, We will be landing in approximately 20 minutes, please have your seats moved to the upright position, and trays folded up right. Turn off all electronic devices such as cell phones, computers, and personal entertainment equipment and prepare for landing.” This was the first thing I heard as I awoke once more from a shallow sleep. Another first, I was arriving in L.A. How exciting! How terrifying. I was confident but sure of nothing, my stomach was beginning to settle and I started to feel a semblance of purpose. Finally something to do other then 30 minutes of sleep in short bursts. We started our approach and as always I was grasping my arm rest, picturing in my head the cabin splitting open, as if the people who engineered the plane had somehow forgotten one screw in the making of the plane. ku ku ku ku ku ku ku ku ku keeeeeeer ku ku keeeer ku keeeeeeeeeeeeeee rings through my ears as the plane hits the the pavement. I loosen my grip slightly and start running through the itinerary in my head “passport... money... computer.... Have I knocked my computer around to much?.. I sure hope I remembered mouth wash, God I hope the bus thing works out when I get there”. My tooth began to ache. I had avoided spending any money on getting my first wisdom tooth removed not only because America's health care system is a complete failure of morality, but also because I refused to put to much money towards anything other then my trip to Taiwan, I was skating on low funds. My trip was not for the purpose of school, career, or language practice alone so don't think it was a dumb decision immediately. It was more then anything a spiritual healing for my mind, and perhaps my body considering how much water I'd have to drink. I'm not a religious man but I do believe in something beyond our knowledge. Whether that be the mathematics of the universe or the invisible hand of a creator I'm not sure. I'm sure as hell over the notion of a white bearded father figure who only has ten rules and those rules apparently justify omnipresent parental abuse. So back to the tooth, the thing I had avoided in order to go on a “spiritual journey”. I popped two ibuprofen pills and closed my eyes, thinking of how low I was getting on my supply of pain killers. Just how the hell I was going to get Taiwanese pain killers “were they the same? Of course they are, every human being has pain, but how do they deal with pain? Is it the same psychology? Is it measurable? And if so can it be generalized to a culture or is it only and always the individual who defines the level of pain?” I like to think that the person who defines pain is the individual. Call it justifying a coping mechanism but it's the only way I can get the throbbing to slow with out spending much needed money. Perhaps it's all I need. We docked and I entered the make shift hallway with all the attendents exhaustedly saying thank you for flying, (there's no way their thaaat thankful.) I wandered cautiously into LAX and was already astounded by the sheer size of the airport. I began thinking about all the celebrities that were only a mile this way or that and had a slight giddy school girl moment, it subsided quite quickly when I looked out the window at the air outside. I was in Los Angeles for the first time, and of course the first thing I noticed was the smog, it was a warm day and no rain but It seemed as if it would rain any minute because of a thick gray haze hanging over the city. I turned to someone and asked if they were expecting any rough weather in L.A. and they gave me a puzzled look as if I had stated a riddle they barely remember from years before. I began trudging towards the the baggage check in and everything else and slashed my debit card through the electronic check in. “ticket not found” read across the screen, I began to panic. “oh god! I don't want to be stuck in L.A. I'd rather be stuck in Taipei where hardly anyone speaks English then be stuck in L.A.!” What can I say, I like my wallet, teeth, and dignity. I soon realized that of course there was no ticket to be found, I would be taking a different plane service, I checked my papers again and there it was, China Airlines. Even the name sent chills down my spine, thinking about where I would be in a mere 14 hours. I started heading towards their baggage claim instead. My ass hurt, It was already starting to chafe from the heat. “damn, how's it going to be once I get to across the pacific”. I strolled slowly, each swing of the leg slightly stinging. I was glad I only had a few bags so I didn't have to worry about large strides. I exited the Delta check in and took two hard rights towards the international flights. I went inside and already felt as if I was entering a completely different world. This was the first time I actually had been in a place where I was the only white person I could see, it was fantastic. I expected to be disarmed by this or somehow stressed out like some of my friends told me I would be. but all I felt was a sense of peace, knowing that I wasn't going to swing into jethro spit Mcmullet at any minute. It was the first time my Stomach had started to settle.

CHAPTER 3: THE JEWISH GATHERING & CHINA AIRLINES