Loneliness And A Loss For Words

I struggle with bouts of loneliness from time to time. And this is coming from a person who has spent a lot of time in the wilderness alone, making art alone, biking alone, and living alone. I have a vivid imagination and I'm nice to myself, so I'm good company. Anyway, I have some Taiwanese teachers that invite me to badminton or some cycling, but it's not quite the same. Taiwanese people are very friendly, but they are cautious of making friends. The Taiwanese teachers are really just being friendly and trying to make me feel comfortable. I wouldn't call them 'friends' as most people would think about it (and I don't think they would call me a friend either). I've heard several Taiwanese people say that it can take several months of knowing a Taiwanese person before they will become your friend. A young student I struck up a conversation with at the bus stop last weekend told me how much he liked visiting the U.S. because people like to make friends. I'm not sure if Americans are any less cautious about making friends, but I still thought it was a nice thing to say. In any case, the other day I was riding the rusty bun buster along the coast. Or, at least, near the coast as the port has the best real estate in the area. On my way back, I stopped at a light and there was a foreigner waiting on his bike at the light too. Foreigners are rare, even in Taipei, so to see one at a light out in the sticks...well, I think we both had looks of wonder on our faces. We ended up talking for 30 or 40 minutes on the side of the road. He was a teacher at HESS (the largest private school system in the country) in a town nearby. We talked about culture shock, Taichung, our schools, what we did in the US, how we came to be in Taiwan, etc, etc, etc. I had read of this blabbering with foreigners on forums and blogs and such before I left, but it was strange to be living it. I found myself searching for words often...I haven't had much practice speaking English lately. What a strange feeling. In any case, it looks like I have a drinking buddy. He's been Taiwan for seven months already so he knows a few expat hangouts in Taichung. But, in the meantime, I go to the park and play my guitar and let the mosquitoes have at me. Playing music saves me for sure, but it's better being alone in the park than being lonely in the apartment for some reason. I think I'm hoping to run into more foreigners, or maybe just watching people helps. You gotta find the things that work for you.