Infrequent Nights

The smells of Taipei are exotic, plentiful, and varied. As one walks down the street he is bombarded with scent after scent. There seems to be more distinction between smells here than most places I’ve been to. Each small restaurant, shop, and home exudes its own particular aroma. Sometimes I try to imagine Taipei from the perspective of a dog, or other creature with a hyper-sensitive sense of smell. I imagine it as similar to a Jackson Pollock painting. There seems no order to the succession of smells one is confronted by; first an enticing aroma of frying garlic, then the awful stench of (the aptly named) stinky tofu, followed by an aroma of sewage emanating from God know’s where, and let us not forget the omnipresent smell of exhaust fumes. The procession goes on unabated as one strolls about the city. The smells brush past one's face like a brightly colored paintbrush, creating a chaotic scent-scape of massive proportions.

Garbage collection adds its daily dose to the odoriferous environment. The trash system here is rather complicated compared to what I am accustomed to. It is collected seven days a week. Different types of refuse are collected on different days. One day will be plastic bottles, another will be soft plastic (ie. plastic bags) and paper, and so on. “Wet Garbage” as they say here, is collected every day. One is to put his garbage into the proper bag, and then wait on the street side with his neighbours for the arrival of the garbage truck which comes at approximately the same time every evening (10:35 in my neighbourhood). This brings out young and old to stand together, smelly bags in hand, in a communal happening which, for a short time at least, can stink up much of the surrounding environs. When the truck arrives people either throw their own trash into the truck or hand it to one of the garbage men to dispose of. Leaving your refuse on the sidewalk for the garbage men to collect is sternly frowned upon. I rather like the routine. It is another aspect of Taipei which adds to the sense of community, and brings life to the streets.

I reckon it is my past as a street performer which makes street life so attractive to me. I feel that life, action, and community activities on the streets of a city help people to remember what they are: people. We are one of many, and all around us are others like us. Cities without vibrant streets allow us to cocoon, and withdraw from our communities. Active streets are healthy for not only the community at large, but for individual well-being. Even if the action is that of bringing out the garbage together.