Interesting people passing through

There have been some very interesting people passing through this guesthouse, the Taiwanmex: First, there was the guy from New Zealand who moved to Australia when he was 16 and then to Singapore when he was 18 and to Vietnam during the war, for a construction job. I asked him if he was scared to be there then: "No, I come to life in those kinds of places." He has worked in Bangladesh and Indonesia and most recently, in Afghanistan, right after the fall of the Taliban. It was very interesting talking to him. Man, did he have opinions. A tragedy brought him to Taipei, about which I will remain silent, for the moment.

Then, there was the Algerian merchant from Canada. He began his life journey in Algeria, then moved to Spain, then to Florida, to Queens, and finally to Montreal, where he owns a store that sells jewelry from Asia. That is what brought him to Taipei; he came to buy jewelry, but he also liked to watch HBO movies and enjoyed the flan at 7/11. He even got me eating it.

Then, there were the young Swedish ladies who, before arriving in Taipei, crossed Russia on the Trans-Siberian Express, and then descended from Beijing, and by now, are probably in Vietnam.

Last night, I walked from here to the Grand Hotel with a Finnish student who is doing an internship in Taiwan and gave me my first lesson in the language of his country (he said: "We bend words"), and a Computer Science Ph.D. student from Leipzig Germany.

Then, there was the Korean woman who screamed when the little cat, exploring the hallway, passed by her room. Then she screamed again when the cat passed by, only moments later.

Then, there was Romeo from Hong Kong. What brought him to Taipei? He arranged five dates with Taiwanese women over the internet. His name really was Romeo.

Then, there was the woman from Minnesota who speaks like she is from Beijing even though she has only studied Chinese for two years. About her, the proprietress of this place always says, "Ta hen lihai!"

There have been many more and, no doubt, will be many more. Who will be next?