I take a taxi to work everyday. I sit in the back and stare out at the lush, green forests and deep blue waves that fold over each other like boneless puppies.

Lavender sprigs infest an otherwise uniform wall of foliage. The buildings in the south of the island are a mix of battered aluminum sheds, wooden slat houses, ceramic tiled topped manses, or other odd ends that squish together like a heaving bookshelf.

None of the wood looks cured. My fingers twitch every time I see planks that will curl and bend under the oncoming downpours of typhoon season. The pungent vapors of Thompson’s sealant tickles my nose for a second before time resumes. A passing moment from working on projects with my dad. More and more, I realize all the practical lessons he taught me as I stood in watchful silence.

The spring air holds warmth like a fuzzy swimming towel after a dip in a cold pool. It feels invigorating to clear the cobwebs from my mind as I once again walk mazy routes through my tiny section of the taffy stretched island.

Scratch meals weasel their way into existence in my newly clean kitchen. The vagaries of my recipes lend themselves to the musical flow of creation rather than a strict march towards some ideal culinary outcome. My oft-delicious hodgepodge makes for a suitable reward on days where it’d be easy to end my town wanderings with a stop into the Family Mart for a bento.

I’ve stopped to ask myself why I need a second year here— and it feels that I could provide a whole host of nebulous musings and chatter. But the underlining factor is that I still feel I’ve got some important things to learn— that what I’ve come to experience on this island has already impacted me in ways that I won’t fully understand for years (if ever).

Like reading the cribbed scrawl of a morning recollection of some half-forgotten dream, I know there’s an element of conscious rediscovery here.

As the winds continue to blow and pollen fills the air from the budding trees and flowers— I know that it’s not in the answers that meaning lies— but in the questions.