After Leaving and Coming Back to the U.S. of A
I left Taiwan on June 27, 2013 but everyday as I wake up I feel as though it was just yesterday that I left Taiwan. Honestly, I can't get over it so much so that I find myself flipping through my entire blog and my photos that I have saved on my laptop to revisit the memories. It's one of the only ways that makes me smile because they happened,but at the same time looking at these pictures brings tears to my eyes because these memories won't come back. I have also been dreaming of Taiwan every time I sleep. I keep seeing the same places I visited, my host-university, my friends and classmates, and of course some ambassadors. Sometimes I even wonder why my mom keeps popping up in those dreams! This another way that my mind keeps these memories so fresh but it also tells me one thing that it's hard not to have a longing for what I had experienced there.
For the past three weeks since departing Taiwan, I kept repeating the Dr.Seuss quote to myself that reads like this: " Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." I have noticed that I am beginning to take this quote in and internalize it pretty well. A journey like the one I made in Taiwan will not come back, so why waste your time crying? Crying changes nothing and brings back nothing. It only keeps me longing for what may never come back. I am learning little-by-little to see my experience as something that tells me to change what is in the moment and to keep looking forward to new things because no matter how traumatized or fulfilled we were in the past, life keeps moving forward.
"Life is all about making transitions and learning how to deal with these transitions emotionally."
I think it was Confucius that said that there is nothing constant but change and that's true. It didn't take a study abroad trip to realize this but the trip did provoke my mind to notice changes while going to Taiwan and coming back. I noticed changes in the way I behaved around others and how I reacted to the familiar while coming back. What I came to realize is experiencing culture shock is no easier than experiencing reverse culture shock because both are equally difficult experiences to go through. People are left behind, friendships change, we crave what is familiar (or what was once unfamiliar), and other heart breaking things. In spite of all this, one always has to make transitions because no part of our life really lasts forever. Life is all about making transitions and learning how to deal with these transitions emotionally.
How I am dealing with reverse culture shock
1. Keeping a positive attitude: What keeps me going is keeping a positive attitude and finding things to enjoy in the moment. When I think positively of my moments in Taiwan and other things I can do to enjoy my time here in the states, it makes my return to the United States easier. In any scenario of life, keeping a positive attitude makes the situation much more bearable even though it is difficult. I think our happiness depends not on the external circumstances but on our internal attitude towards such circumstances.
2. Applying transferable skills: In Taiwan, I learned how to be more independent, more open minded, more willing to try things outside of my comfort zone, becoming more confident in myself, and learning to trust myself. Ever since I have come back, I have become more fearless in doing things I once hesitated to do. I have to say that I am not very confident about my driving skills since coming back because I lost practice BUT I have been re-gaining them by driving around more often. I am confronting my lack of confidence and practicing a skill that I lost temporarily. I have noticed that I am making good progress!
3. Keeping in touch with my friends in Taiwan: Keeping in touch with my friends there has made things easier because we always share how much we miss each other and share how we look forward to seeing each other in the future. Let's hope we actually do!
All in all, studying abroad is a process that has opened my eyes to both worlds--the United States and Taiwan, both of which are quite different. The collision of the two cultures made for a beautiful life experience and lesson in that differences and uncertainty are nothing to be afraid of but to be embraced.
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
How I Learned to Lose Fear of Uncertainty
There are many many lessons that I have learned in Taiwan that I could write pages about but the one lesson I am so happy to come back home with is losing fear of the uncertain and understanding that even the most beautiful of all memories and the worst of all experiences never last forever. Does that mean the experiences we've had are not important anymore? Of course not! If experiences that we consider life-changing lasted forever, would these experiences still be special to us? For example, if my study abroad experience were to last forever, it would just become routine and mundane like the rest of the chores I have to do around the house. Some of these special experiences are part of the "uncertain" that we call life and the "uncertain" that we fear. I have learned that much of the special experiences, life changing experiences that I have had, were experiences I never planned methodically. The opportunities to learn and grow simply came to me and I took full advantage of them. Hence, studying in Taiwan, if I was to think back 3 years ago as a nervous high school graduate, was part of this uncertainty.
Nevertheless, the reason I consider my experience in Taiwan special to me is because it taught me the importance of learning to embrace the idea that life does not always go according to how you plan it. I never planned to teach English in Taiwan but it happened. I never thought I would take an advanced level of Chinese class here but that happened too. I never thought that some of my closest friends in Taiwan would end up feeling like family and we even acted as a family...and you know what? That happened too. With all these surprises in store, I can't help but think that uncertainty does not have to be such a bad thing and perhaps the suspense of feeling uncertain is not the most thrilling as it is nerve wrecking. But does that mean I won't feel at the least anxious or worried? Perhaps but I won't let these feelings dominate me anymore. I will drink them in and take control of what I can. The rest is destiny or fate.
" My experience here in Taiwan has taught me that there is only so much I can know and so much I will know. I have learned that I don't have to know everything right now whether it is about myself or the world around me. "
The program director of CIEE taught me about the Chinese concept of "Yuan fen" (缘分) which means fate and that fate is meant to bring the people whom you were meant to meet together. Perhaps, Taiwan and I were meant to meet together and we did. This is something I never imagined 3 years ago when I was filling out my college applications that I would learn how much life is unplanned, uncertain, and uncontrolled by us. I learned that we don't necessarily control what happens to us or what we may experience. We do control how we react to our experiences. The reason I say this is because much of my experience in Taiwan constitutes events that I never imagined would happen but keeping an open mind about it all, I embraced and learned from what happened.
I once freaked out because I did not do well on my Chinese midterm as I had expected. I thought I would give up on Chinese because I didn't think my Chinese is quite up to par. I also feared that I wouldn't get a good final grade in Chinese class because of this midterm grade. In reality, I wasn't taking control of the situation because I was wallowing in pain about my failure to meet my expectations. I was over analyzing and overestimating the importance of good grades. In reality, I was preventing myself from learning and improving by putting so much emphasis on grades. It was futile and it was not solving the problem so I decided to spend one hour each night reviewing Chinese. Then I realized that I was retaining more, learning, and improving my Chinese. When I started focusing on what I could do now to change things, I learned that being proactive allows you to progress faster than worrying. You see fear and worry only give you an illusion that you are doing something about a bigger problem when you really are not doing anything about it. This is what I learned from this particular experience and it was a blessing in disguise.
Blessings in Disguise?
When I look back into my life, it seems as though some of the blessings we're given are the ones we don't ever plan to have. My experience in Taiwan has taught me that there is only so much one can know and will know. I don't have to know everything right now about myself or the world around me. That's the comforting part about uncertainty in life is that it provokes you to find something to look forward to because life brings so many surprises that it is hardly ever comfortable to think about a predictable life. If you are the kind that worries so much, remember that you don't have to know everything. It's truly impossible to do so.
" My experience here in Taiwan has taught me that there is only so much I can know and so much I will know. I have learned that I don't have to know everything right now whether it is about myself or the world around me. "
The program director of CIEE taught me about the Chinese concept of "Yuan fen" (缘分) which means fate and that fate is meant to bring the people whom you were meant to meet together. Perhaps, Taiwan and I were meant to meet together and we did. This is something I never imagined 3 years ago when I was filling out my college applications that I would learn how much life is unplanned, uncertain, and uncontrolled by us. I learned that we don't necessarily control what happens to us or what we may experience. We do control how we react to our experiences. The reason I say this is because much of my experience in Taiwan constitutes events that I never imagined would happen but keeping an open mind about it all, I embraced and learned from what happened.
I once freaked out because I did not do well on my Chinese midterm as I had expected. I thought I would give up on Chinese because I didn't think my Chinese is quite up to par. I also feared that I wouldn't get a good final grade in Chinese class because of this midterm grade. In reality, I wasn't taking control of the situation because I was wallowing in pain about my failure to meet my expectations. I was over analyzing and overestimating the importance of good grades. In reality, I was preventing myself from learning and improving by putting so much emphasis on grades. It was futile and it was not solving the problem so I decided to spend one hour each night reviewing Chinese. Then I realized that I was retaining more, learning, and improving my Chinese. When I started focusing on what I could do now to change things, I learned that being proactive allows you to progress faster than worrying. You see fear and worry only give you an illusion that you are doing something about a bigger problem when you really are not doing anything about it. This is what I learned from this particular experience and it was a blessing in disguise.
Blessings in Disguise?
When I look back into my life, it seems as though some of the blessings we're given are the ones we don't ever plan to have. My experience in Taiwan has taught me that there is only so much one can know and will know. I don't have to know everything right now about myself or the world around me. That's the comforting part about uncertainty in life is that it provokes you to find something to look forward to because life brings so many surprises that it is hardly ever comfortable to think about a predictable life. If you are the kind that worries so much, remember that you don't have to know everything. It's truly impossible to do so.
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Why I didn't choose a home stay
A lot of study abroad programs, study abroad advisers and professors harp on the potential benefits of doing a home stay in a foreign country because doing a home stay would help you understand the culture as well as help you improve your language skills much faster. While I don't argue with that statement, I will say that it robs you of everything else that you could possibly experience in another nation ( I mean good things of course! ), the most important of all the things that a home stay takes away from you is your independence.
Studying abroad in another country should teach you independence, it should teach you how to be adaptable and flexible, it should teach you to understand cultural differences, and it should help you improve your foreign language skills. Now, I think that doing a home stay would accomplish three of the four things but living in a dorm helps me accomplish all four things and it makes attending class much more convenient. My experience living in a dormitory here in National Chengchi University teaches me all of the following things and more. I have learned so much about the Taiwanese culture and experienced genuine independence. Living in a dorm, I get to set my own study schedule and my own schedule in regards to when I will come home. I may have had that independence even at Trinity but the lack of transportation hindered it quite a bit.
Here, the lack of a car does not prevent me from going where I want to go and seeing the places I want to see. I have the MRT, buses, taxis, long-distances buses, and the train at my disposal and I don't even pay that much for transportation here compared to what I have to pay for a car back in the states. When I look at it, the transportation system here just makes me more independent as I am free to use it to travel anywhere!
But what is it about this home stay that is such an unattractive prospect? Well, just like living in the same roof as your family, there are "rules". Rules that stipulate exactly at what time you should return home, perhaps how often you can go out with your friends, how much time you can spend navigating the internet, and maybe (if your host family is really that anal) curfew. Some host families may be more lax but they do tend to worry about you, if you spend most of your time outside of the home anyways. They still need to keep track of your whereabouts so that your family back at home is not worrying sick about you! Nevertheless, I would mind a group of people constantly checking up on me when I am trying to enjoy a journey that is emotionally fulfilling, a life changing experience, and an experience that is supposed to help me grow as a person. I have a need to be independent and without independence, I cannot learn. I cannot learn because being under somebody's thumb does not allow me to make my own mistakes and learn from them. It does not allow me to see the benefits and drawbacks of my decisions because most of the time my host family will be lecturing me on do's and dont's and what not.
Lastly, the biggest reason I mind staying with a host family is that it makes things really hard when you're trying to go out with friends and have fun. As I mentioned in the last paragraph about "rules", you tend to want to stay out as late as possible and enjoy your time on the weekends. That's not possible with a host family constantly worrying about you.
Conclusion
I don't think any of the above reasons should prevent you from doing a homestay if that is what you want to do. If you are okay with giving up some space and privacy to experience another family life, I admire you for doing something I am in capable of doing. However, when I evaluated what I wanted out of my experience, I prioritize independence on top of my list of things I want to learn when I study abroad. That could be difficult with a homestay where you are obligated to follow "rules" set by your family.
Studying abroad in another country should teach you independence, it should teach you how to be adaptable and flexible, it should teach you to understand cultural differences, and it should help you improve your foreign language skills. Now, I think that doing a home stay would accomplish three of the four things but living in a dorm helps me accomplish all four things and it makes attending class much more convenient. My experience living in a dormitory here in National Chengchi University teaches me all of the following things and more. I have learned so much about the Taiwanese culture and experienced genuine independence. Living in a dorm, I get to set my own study schedule and my own schedule in regards to when I will come home. I may have had that independence even at Trinity but the lack of transportation hindered it quite a bit.
Here, the lack of a car does not prevent me from going where I want to go and seeing the places I want to see. I have the MRT, buses, taxis, long-distances buses, and the train at my disposal and I don't even pay that much for transportation here compared to what I have to pay for a car back in the states. When I look at it, the transportation system here just makes me more independent as I am free to use it to travel anywhere!
But what is it about this home stay that is such an unattractive prospect? Well, just like living in the same roof as your family, there are "rules". Rules that stipulate exactly at what time you should return home, perhaps how often you can go out with your friends, how much time you can spend navigating the internet, and maybe (if your host family is really that anal) curfew. Some host families may be more lax but they do tend to worry about you, if you spend most of your time outside of the home anyways. They still need to keep track of your whereabouts so that your family back at home is not worrying sick about you! Nevertheless, I would mind a group of people constantly checking up on me when I am trying to enjoy a journey that is emotionally fulfilling, a life changing experience, and an experience that is supposed to help me grow as a person. I have a need to be independent and without independence, I cannot learn. I cannot learn because being under somebody's thumb does not allow me to make my own mistakes and learn from them. It does not allow me to see the benefits and drawbacks of my decisions because most of the time my host family will be lecturing me on do's and dont's and what not.
Lastly, the biggest reason I mind staying with a host family is that it makes things really hard when you're trying to go out with friends and have fun. As I mentioned in the last paragraph about "rules", you tend to want to stay out as late as possible and enjoy your time on the weekends. That's not possible with a host family constantly worrying about you.
Conclusion
I don't think any of the above reasons should prevent you from doing a homestay if that is what you want to do. If you are okay with giving up some space and privacy to experience another family life, I admire you for doing something I am in capable of doing. However, when I evaluated what I wanted out of my experience, I prioritize independence on top of my list of things I want to learn when I study abroad. That could be difficult with a homestay where you are obligated to follow "rules" set by your family.
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
What I believe in having a plan rather than expectations: A lesson from study abroad
I have noticed that people often confuse "having a plan" for expectations. Having a plan means you know what you will do next and you may have made some modifications along the way. Having expectations on the other hand, is knowing you have a plan BUT you refuse to be flexible about your plans. Having expectations is like having unrealistic plan A with a less than optimum plan B and/or plan C. It feels as though you are putting so much of your heart and soul into one thing that you cannot envision other possibilities. What provokes me to write this sentiment is the unpredictability of the opportunities, blessings, successes, and failures my time in another country has brought to me. For example, I never thought I would have the opportunity to teach English to 10th grade students and learn about the Taiwanese education system from the perspective of the kids I am teaching. I have realized that I like to teach and mentor students. That was an opportunity to learn about what I like to do and what I don't like to do!
You see, I am so used to having a strong control over the outcome of my decisions to the point where I valued predictability but then I realized that I was unfulfilled (this was in high school). Although predictability comforted my mind, I did not feel happy with it. I wanted to try things that interest me and things that are meaningful to me. I wanted to debate issues of interest and look at issues affecting the world that take place outside of America. I wanted an education that allowed me to inquire deeply about the world and what makes our world so complicated politically, socially, economically, and spiritually. At the same time, as I ventured outside of my comfort zone, these "expectations" I had of me did not disappear. The expectation of finding a successful career after graduation and becoming stable right away. I am starting to notice how much of this is fading away because I realized that there is so much more I need to learn about myself than previously thought. I need to learn much more about what else motivates me.
My study abroad journey has provided me some answers as to how I react to the world around me but it has left many more questions. First of all, why do I fear unpredictability even though I think it offers a life of variety? Will it lead me to a path where I initially did not think about being? If so, why do I fear this? Can this be a blessing in disguise?
You see, I am so used to having a strong control over the outcome of my decisions to the point where I valued predictability but then I realized that I was unfulfilled (this was in high school). Although predictability comforted my mind, I did not feel happy with it. I wanted to try things that interest me and things that are meaningful to me. I wanted to debate issues of interest and look at issues affecting the world that take place outside of America. I wanted an education that allowed me to inquire deeply about the world and what makes our world so complicated politically, socially, economically, and spiritually. At the same time, as I ventured outside of my comfort zone, these "expectations" I had of me did not disappear. The expectation of finding a successful career after graduation and becoming stable right away. I am starting to notice how much of this is fading away because I realized that there is so much more I need to learn about myself than previously thought. I need to learn much more about what else motivates me.
My study abroad journey has provided me some answers as to how I react to the world around me but it has left many more questions. First of all, why do I fear unpredictability even though I think it offers a life of variety? Will it lead me to a path where I initially did not think about being? If so, why do I fear this? Can this be a blessing in disguise?
What My Chinese Language Learning Abroad Taught Me About Myself: A Reflection on What is Changing
Yesterday, I had an epiphany about how my Chinese language learning has amounted to much more besides how many grammar structures and characters I have learned or whether or not I have refined the four basic skills (speaking, reading, listening, and writing). Learning Chinese here in National Chengchi University has taught me the value of patience with myself because I don't think I learn as fast as I think I do. In other words, the more I attempt to learn this language, the more humble I feel. For you see, the minute I think I have mastered learning a set of characters or grammar structure, the more I realize that I have not really learned everything. I have only mastered part of the picture. Moreover, I have come to realize that learning is not about winning but it is just that learning. I had the tendency to think so much about what I have accomplished in terms of grades that I sometimes forgot the bigger picture. The bigger picture is forgetting to notice what I am really learning and how much I am learning. It seems though that I rarely give myself credit for learning but more for getting it right the first time. I suppose it's how I have been influenced.
"I often tend to attach meaning to grades and other forms of positive reinforcement as a reflection on what I am capable of and the hardest thing to do is letting go of that belief."
Having thought about these feelings, I have started to experience a sort of disillusionment with what I have always believed. If you aren't making good grades, then you aren't learning anything. Henceforth, you have wasted your time and what you're doing is not amounting to anything. The truth is the exact opposite. If you aren't focusing on your learning, naturally you are not going to make good grades and you won't learn anything. You can make good grades and not learn anything at all. This belief system that I have adopted fulfills me in multiple ways because it allows me to set measurable, achievable goals and at the same time achieve much more than just good grades. It allows me to absorb and retain what I have learned and put it all to application. Secondly, this belief system I have adopted makes me feel much more at ease with myself. It makes me feel that learning is not just about competition but about what you gained and what it means to you. It is about making your experience meaningful to you and letting your learning inspire you in ways that you may never imagine.Monday, April 22, 2013
Linguistic Challenges of Learning Chinese at National Chengchi University: My Pledge to Reverse My Wrongs!
TO PEOPLE WHO ARE LEARNING CHINESE: PLEASE READ THIS !!!!
I think this sounds like yesterday's news but I placed into the Advanced Level of Chinese according to the CIEE Communications, Business, and Political Economy program. Upon learning about my placement, I was thrilled but a part of me was unbelievably nervous because I have only had 5 semesters of Chinese and I can only hold a conversation about mundane topics. My classmates on the other hand either have had 5-6 years worth of Chinese! To be honest, I am the weakest link in this class and I have come to accept it. I realize that many things I am learning in this class flies over my head at first which contributes to most of my frustrations. To be honest, I don't give myself a chance or time to process it all because I wallowed in how intimidating it all could be which led to my belief that I did not do well on my midterms. Well, that's pessimistic alright! Time to focus on solutions!
I have decided that before every lesson I will review the vocabulary ahead of time as well as look at the grammar patterns so I am not completely thrown off. I think that's the mistake I kept making because I felt that I would process it quickly but I kept failing to do so. I kept believing that my pace is as fast as my classmates but I forgot what I kept telling myself is that we all learn Chinese at different rates! I need to slow down and stop comparing my pace of learning to those who are already in the mindset. Secondly, I will build up the habit to spend at least one hour each three designated days to Chinese (ie. 1 hour on monday, 1 on wednesday, and 1 hour on tuesday etc). I will review either grammar or vocabulary I can't remember as well as take time to review the dictation we have to study for. I am also going to make it a point to work extra hard on zeroing in on tones because that is my number one problem. TONES are my nightmare.
So on my to do list:
1) Review vocabulary ahead of time
2) Review sentence structures
3) Dedicate three days--one hour each--to studying Chinese and reviewing what I am not good at
4) Apply what I have learned--new characters, grammar, etc.
5) DO NOT--I repeat---DO NOT WALLOW IN FRUSTRATION
6) Concentrate! Concentrate! Concentrate!
7) Allow myself time to process what I have learned and be patient with myself
8) Practice tones!
9) Do my homework ahead of time to ask questions (if possible) or at least skim through my homework
10) Learn to guess on the readings if I cannot read all of the characters
But what I have learned so far about my experience with learning a Chinese is that you not only learn to communicate cross culturally but the virtue of perseverance. It is not how much farther ahead others are of you but how far you are willing to push yourself, to exceed the confines of limits you have created for yourself. From all the time that I have invested in learning Chinese, this is what I want to take from it. So to those of you who want to learn Chinese, you are never too old to begin learning but once you begin, I encourage you to keep learning Chinese! Failures should never prevent you from learning what you want to learn. After all, I believe that much of life is about learning from our mistakes and growing. That's the attitude I am taking with language learning and the rest of my life where ever it may fall into place.
I think this sounds like yesterday's news but I placed into the Advanced Level of Chinese according to the CIEE Communications, Business, and Political Economy program. Upon learning about my placement, I was thrilled but a part of me was unbelievably nervous because I have only had 5 semesters of Chinese and I can only hold a conversation about mundane topics. My classmates on the other hand either have had 5-6 years worth of Chinese! To be honest, I am the weakest link in this class and I have come to accept it. I realize that many things I am learning in this class flies over my head at first which contributes to most of my frustrations. To be honest, I don't give myself a chance or time to process it all because I wallowed in how intimidating it all could be which led to my belief that I did not do well on my midterms. Well, that's pessimistic alright! Time to focus on solutions!
I have decided that before every lesson I will review the vocabulary ahead of time as well as look at the grammar patterns so I am not completely thrown off. I think that's the mistake I kept making because I felt that I would process it quickly but I kept failing to do so. I kept believing that my pace is as fast as my classmates but I forgot what I kept telling myself is that we all learn Chinese at different rates! I need to slow down and stop comparing my pace of learning to those who are already in the mindset. Secondly, I will build up the habit to spend at least one hour each three designated days to Chinese (ie. 1 hour on monday, 1 on wednesday, and 1 hour on tuesday etc). I will review either grammar or vocabulary I can't remember as well as take time to review the dictation we have to study for. I am also going to make it a point to work extra hard on zeroing in on tones because that is my number one problem. TONES are my nightmare.
So on my to do list:
1) Review vocabulary ahead of time
2) Review sentence structures
3) Dedicate three days--one hour each--to studying Chinese and reviewing what I am not good at
4) Apply what I have learned--new characters, grammar, etc.
5) DO NOT--I repeat---DO NOT WALLOW IN FRUSTRATION
6) Concentrate! Concentrate! Concentrate!
7) Allow myself time to process what I have learned and be patient with myself
8) Practice tones!
9) Do my homework ahead of time to ask questions (if possible) or at least skim through my homework
10) Learn to guess on the readings if I cannot read all of the characters
But what I have learned so far about my experience with learning a Chinese is that you not only learn to communicate cross culturally but the virtue of perseverance. It is not how much farther ahead others are of you but how far you are willing to push yourself, to exceed the confines of limits you have created for yourself. From all the time that I have invested in learning Chinese, this is what I want to take from it. So to those of you who want to learn Chinese, you are never too old to begin learning but once you begin, I encourage you to keep learning Chinese! Failures should never prevent you from learning what you want to learn. After all, I believe that much of life is about learning from our mistakes and growing. That's the attitude I am taking with language learning and the rest of my life where ever it may fall into place.
Saturday, April 20, 2013
A Reflection of My Spring Break in Taichung and Hsinchu
I realize that I am writing this blog post two weeks later but these two weeks have given me enough time to truly reflect on my homestays which took place during my spring break on April 04-April 06. My first destination was Taichung and as I have mentioned earlier in my posts that I would return to Taichung but this time I received a much more traditional feel for Taiwanese culture that seems absent in Taipei.
Returning to Taichung--Da Jia Matsu
As someone who currently lives in Taipei and most of my view points about Taiwan have been influenced largely by Taipei, I was refreshed by the easy going nature of Taichung which seems less fast paced and this is the place where one can genuinely experience ordinary Taiwan, unlike what you see in all the touristy brochures, which tend to advertise Taipei as the representative of all of Taiwan. You rarely ever learn about cities like Tainan, Changhua, Taidong, and Hualien. I think Taipei can get boring easily and you have to venture out of Taipei to get another feel for Taiwan because this country has so many unique sights and experiences that cannot just be experienced in Taipei alone. Taipei is a great city to be in but many times it makes me want to go to other city where life moves at a slower and much more relaxing pace. It really gives you time to interact with others in depth. No one really has to go anywhere. Taichung definitely feels this way and in Taichung I can experience each and every moment just as I would like to. But back to the topic, I went to Taichung to see the celebration of Da Jia Matsu who is a goddess worshipped in Taiwan and known for helping solve other people's problems. I was fortunate to listen to Ma Ying Jeou speak at the temple as there were many people wanting to do the same but could not. This was my second time to be able to do so as I heard him speak at the 2.28 memorial. When I entered the temple I felt so stuffy to the point where getting out was out of question because more and more people crowded in. Thank goodness I am not claustrophobic or else I would have just had a scaring experience instead of a cultural one. However, I was able to pray to Matsu about my midterm grades which I hope are good and I swear to my grave I might give this religion some credibility if I get good grades. Nevertheless I had a blast peering at the traditional temple and experiencing people crowding in around me just waiting to pray.After spending 30 minutes to an hour shuffling through the crowd in order to tour around the temple, I was so glad there was a way out because the stuffiness simply wore out my patience. We did however get to go to random bakeries and try various deserts like Taro icecream--YUM.
Taichung--The Homestay
After shuffling through the streets eating random free food and deserts, we had all loaded in the car waiting to be dropped off at our respective homes. My lovely little sister Debby and I were anxiously awaiting whom we will stay with as CIEE did not inform us ahead of time even their names! We eventually discovered that we were living with three roommates--one who is in college, another who is working, and another who is working but not in college. To my surprise, I was able to hold a conversation with all of them even though I feel my Chinese isn't quite up their par. I must say I enjoyed their company and I wish to see them soon. I am so glad they decided to let total strangers--particularly me--spend a night in their homes. I brought them a small snow globe as a gesture of kindness and in hopes that they remember me. The next day we had breakfast with them and visited a nearby shopping mall.
Hsinchu
This is where I experienced the feeling of living with a host family and I think this may just be the highlight of my cultural experience because I got to meet my little sister Debby's parents and they let me experience their home town and its amazing delicacies. I truly adore Debby and her family for this experience. I had many frank conversations with them about Chinese culture and politics surrounding Taiwan as well as cultural differences between Taiwan and America. The amazing thing is that they were so open to the discussion and I realized that Debby's father and I both have an affinity for politics, which made the ice so much easier to break! The next day I visited Beipu, where I tried rather all sorts of drinks and deserts. Pictures will be uploaded soon! If I don't upload them, please message me on facebook reminding me to do so!
Returning to Taichung--Da Jia Matsu
As someone who currently lives in Taipei and most of my view points about Taiwan have been influenced largely by Taipei, I was refreshed by the easy going nature of Taichung which seems less fast paced and this is the place where one can genuinely experience ordinary Taiwan, unlike what you see in all the touristy brochures, which tend to advertise Taipei as the representative of all of Taiwan. You rarely ever learn about cities like Tainan, Changhua, Taidong, and Hualien. I think Taipei can get boring easily and you have to venture out of Taipei to get another feel for Taiwan because this country has so many unique sights and experiences that cannot just be experienced in Taipei alone. Taipei is a great city to be in but many times it makes me want to go to other city where life moves at a slower and much more relaxing pace. It really gives you time to interact with others in depth. No one really has to go anywhere. Taichung definitely feels this way and in Taichung I can experience each and every moment just as I would like to. But back to the topic, I went to Taichung to see the celebration of Da Jia Matsu who is a goddess worshipped in Taiwan and known for helping solve other people's problems. I was fortunate to listen to Ma Ying Jeou speak at the temple as there were many people wanting to do the same but could not. This was my second time to be able to do so as I heard him speak at the 2.28 memorial. When I entered the temple I felt so stuffy to the point where getting out was out of question because more and more people crowded in. Thank goodness I am not claustrophobic or else I would have just had a scaring experience instead of a cultural one. However, I was able to pray to Matsu about my midterm grades which I hope are good and I swear to my grave I might give this religion some credibility if I get good grades. Nevertheless I had a blast peering at the traditional temple and experiencing people crowding in around me just waiting to pray.After spending 30 minutes to an hour shuffling through the crowd in order to tour around the temple, I was so glad there was a way out because the stuffiness simply wore out my patience. We did however get to go to random bakeries and try various deserts like Taro icecream--YUM.
Taichung--The Homestay
After shuffling through the streets eating random free food and deserts, we had all loaded in the car waiting to be dropped off at our respective homes. My lovely little sister Debby and I were anxiously awaiting whom we will stay with as CIEE did not inform us ahead of time even their names! We eventually discovered that we were living with three roommates--one who is in college, another who is working, and another who is working but not in college. To my surprise, I was able to hold a conversation with all of them even though I feel my Chinese isn't quite up their par. I must say I enjoyed their company and I wish to see them soon. I am so glad they decided to let total strangers--particularly me--spend a night in their homes. I brought them a small snow globe as a gesture of kindness and in hopes that they remember me. The next day we had breakfast with them and visited a nearby shopping mall.
Hsinchu
This is where I experienced the feeling of living with a host family and I think this may just be the highlight of my cultural experience because I got to meet my little sister Debby's parents and they let me experience their home town and its amazing delicacies. I truly adore Debby and her family for this experience. I had many frank conversations with them about Chinese culture and politics surrounding Taiwan as well as cultural differences between Taiwan and America. The amazing thing is that they were so open to the discussion and I realized that Debby's father and I both have an affinity for politics, which made the ice so much easier to break! The next day I visited Beipu, where I tried rather all sorts of drinks and deserts. Pictures will be uploaded soon! If I don't upload them, please message me on facebook reminding me to do so!
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