I am enraptured. The sunset sky of last night was invigorating: a pastel concoction of pink and orange, dotted with foam clouds graying with foreshadow of the coming nightfall. The atmosphere fell heavy upon the erect buildings, much like a drawn curtain though without the corrugation. The division between man…
THE BLOG OF PHIL ROSEN
There is a popular, atrocious smell that I became familiar with at the Shilin Night Market in Taipei: stinky tofu. The malodorous, fermented blocks of bean-curd invaded my nostrils like they harbored a personal vendetta. Long before my eyes beheld the tofu, my nose was made acutely aware of their…
My first encounter in Taiwan was at one o’clock in the morning with a man behind a wall of flames and smoke. He was Taiwanese with a toothless grimace and coarse aspect; his old age left him hunched over though not without dignity. He seemed to be standing more so…
The word ‘education,’ when searched on Google, lists this as the first definition: “The process of receiving or giving systematic instruction, especially at a school or university.” This definition fails to capture my own time — my formative, beautiful, illuminating time — as a university student myself. When I reflect…
Phil’s Next Stop is my ripe, overeager child that has just emerged into the world. It has grown and developed on its own in many ways disparate from and beyond my initial intentions, though it of course still needs and accepts my attentiveness and care. I do my best to…
Like three loyal, over-eager and unabating puppies, Commotion, Vibrancy, and Loudness follow me closer than my own shadow, each simultaneously vying for attention and rarely taking turns or resting. They draw my focus regardless if I want the preoccupation; they test my patience during moments of vexation; they provide excitement…