11 Comments
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Raquel Rojano's avatar

catching up on the lucas substack - feeling inspired to take a gap after my rotations 👀

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moyoo :]'s avatar

BROOOO I'm so proud of you!! Making a house a home in every season you find yourself in is a quality skill, keep it going 🤧👏🏾💯

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Phillip Tang's avatar

You’re living the dream brother

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Kin's avatar

Loved reading this! As someone who grew up in the U.S with family in Taiwan I’ve always wanted to do a longer term stay in the country my parents were from - now that I’m working a 9-5 right after graduating it’s a bit tougher but this inspired me to perhaps do something similar in the near future :)

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moyoo :]'s avatar

Also the bit about "an out-of-tune melody, but a melody all the same." - too beautiful I nearly cried 😭

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srinidhi madurai k.'s avatar

This inspires me to travel more. Living somewhere cheap and experiencing the daily lives of locals is way more rewarding than staying in hotels and going to monuments. You worked hard for this, and people rewarded you with their kindness. Love this.

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Tamara's avatar

i would like know more, like, about the country and all the things, i’m interesting in travel, but i’m scared too, and i have interest in taiwan

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Jacinda's avatar

hi i came across your piece and have found a deep warmth in your writing, esp since I am somehow also doing “post-grad without a real plan in Taiwan alone because I know I have relatives in the country” at the moment :0

but somehow quickly got sucked into a 9-5 + waitressing on the weekends, out of fear, and am feeling dimmed. reading made me feel more reassured resisting my anxieties to always be working in survival mode (for money)! and find time for my art in the pockets of slowness that this land has to offer! thank you for sharing 💌

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gabby's avatar

was there a sink in the studio for you to brush your teeth? did u ever sleep in until the studio opened?

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Lucas's avatar

Haha yes there was a sink next to the bathroom that I used. The studio opened around noon, so typically I was up for quite a while by then.

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mikoto's avatar

this is so cool! I also did a fair bit of traveling during college/right after through internships and programs, but now that I'm back I definitely miss it. I definitely want to do something similar again in the future! I've heard of people talk about taking "creative sabbaticals" which is something I definitely want to do, I don't want to save travelling and exploring until I'm retired.

Also I really appreciate the transparency and financial breakdown! Super helpful and thanks for sharing

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