where the fruits grow

gaoshu is a township, or a cluster of small villages centering on central gaoshu. our house is on the very edge of town. before coming to taiwan, i'd been told that gaoshu was a village surrounded by mountains and rivers. this past week, i'd seen the mountains from a distance and heard a lot about the rivers (threatening to overflow) but my main impression was that this "village" was actually a bustling little outpost full of small trucks, scooters, and lots of shops selling fruit, snacks, tea, and rice cookers. i hadn't really branched out-- the surrounding areas were hit HARD by the typhoon, and many roads out of town lead to damaged roads and bridges.
today, i craved the biker's perspective. shu-shu joined me long enough to escort me past taiwanese president ma ying-jeou's motorcade (making the rounds of disaster sites around pingtung county) and over to the family compound. after having tea and meeting several generations of liangs, shu-shu's cousin offered to show me his farm.




cousin's daughters cindy and judy led me to the family farm on bicycle, and beyond that onto the most beautiful and lush ride imaginable. cindy named everything we saw: betelnut (trees are a skinny type of palm tree; seeds are chewable stimulants that turn your teeth red, give you oral cancer, and erode the soil), rice, papaya, guava, taro, banana, lime, cinnamon... and in the background, palm trees and mountains. the road we took was a paved-over abandoned railroad line, and it was so mellow, just winding through the crops and past tiny little villages consisting of family compounds and miniature temples. any concerns i had about being a country girl for the year faded away...
photos: me, my tiny bike & a field of rice; cindy next to gaoshu temple gate (with judy on bike rack); judy and her chicken; pastoral gaoshu