3 months of non-stop training, this three day weekend consisted of endless laughter, rolling in 34 degrees with 80%+ humid weather, endless chanting, and a lot of dancing. The energy, the love, the support, and the vibes felt almost surreal.

Taiwan has Dragon Boat competitions going on all over the country. Even for Taipei alone, they have 2 different, one in Taipei and in New Taipei City. Our team competed in Taipei for 3 days long consisting of different categories of teams racing in the competition including men, women, mix teams, high school, small boats, and even senior citizens category. Our team had two teams, one for men and one for women. The men team competed against 45 other teams while women on only had a competition of just 10 teams.

In order to get the full, yet complete experience of the Dragon Boat competition, we were required to attend and stay for the entire day each day of the festival even if we didn’t have a race till the end of the day. The days generally consisted of meeting at school around 6:30 am, loading our shuttle bus with essentials, and heading out to Dajia Riverside Park. One of our teammates headed out early in the morning to reserve a spot for us under the tents. And we would finish around 5pm, clean up, and be back at school around 6pm. “And do it allllll again!” – Katy Perry

During the actual festival, it involved a ton of waiting, but to kill time, we were just hanging out like one big ‘ole extended family at a family reunion. Music was jammed to, the card games came out destroying people’s reputations, a football was passed around, tons of pictures were taken, and let’s not forget eating tons of fruit, snacks, and bento boxes and lots of naps. It was long days full of nonstop high paced energy and ecstatics moments.

Normally one hour before our race, we stretched, practiced our racing pace, and given the typical pep talk on what to expect and what we should focus on during the race and would proceed to the start line.

The race itself was at a specific location on the river in which we have to row to and wait till the start. They set off each race with a shot of a gun and depending on the river’s current speed and direction, the race could be as short as 2 min to no more to 3 and a half minutes, sometimes close to 4 minutes.

There were not only races running all day, but also a ton of events going on at the main stage, a food truck area for local food and local vendors selling their merchandise. A lot of us were pretty hot and sleepy so we did not bother so much with the additional activities.

The best part of this entire process of the amount of support was given to one another, the slightly obnoxious yet carefree chants coming from our teammates really helped us push through our races. I felt the energy in the air. You would watch the other teams, and they saw how much energy we had, some recording away on their phones, and others looking in almost envy. This type of community is what I crave for. The people, the bonding, community, the warmth, love, and affection, was very well present. The amount of time we spent together stimulated our team to connect and learn more from one another and become closer. Even us from being from different parts of the world with different backgrounds didn’t limit our perseverance. The feeling itself felt so much like home.

When people ask if I am homesick, the answer is always never, for a home can be created anywhere you stay. And these past few months came and went in a flash as if I was floating on a cloud. I just hope that if I stay in Taiwan longer, I can continue to be a part of this kind of community.