Stamps
Taiwanese people love their stamps. I was first alerted to this when I read on a blog that each MRT station in Taipei has its own unique rubber stamp. I went to look for them, and once I started, I couldn’t stop. I bought a little booklet with blank pages and began my stamp collection. Visiting each new MRT station was like a treasure hunt now, especially the larger ones with multiple exits. But it didn’t stop there. Once I was paying attention, I realized that nearly every attraction, every place of interest in Taiwan has a stamp. And I began collecting them, filling the pages of my book. Now that I’m at the end of my grant period and looking back over the last 8 months, it’s laughable how close I was to turning down this opportunity. I had been accepted to medical school just a couple of weeks before, so when the Fulbright email came, I was filled with emotional turmoil and angst rather than the expected joy and excitement. Going to Taiwan for a year would disrupt the careful flow I had been building towards medical school, and it would also be the longest period of time
