Thank you, Taiwan

Day before Thanksgiving Day, 2004, and I am sitting on Rob’s bed typing away, listening to the Chinese CD that I bought a few weeks in Monterey Park, CA. We just had wonderful Indian food on Venice Blvd. $5.49 lunch special for one meat curry, two vegetable curries, raita, naan, and coke. We feasted and came home with happy tummies. The owner of the restaurant was this kind, sweet looking man. He turned to get me the coke as we finished ordering, and then he turned around as if he just remembered something.

“Do you want diet coke?”

Yes, I said. Somehow I was touched by that little gesture. Somehow that triggered a flood of feelings of my appreciation for the Asian sensibility. Certainly such acts of consideration are not limited to Asians, but the point if that I am homesick. The power of association triggers a strong recall of the longings inside of me. Perhaps it’s the holiday season; I feel this strong desire to be back in Taiwan because I have always felt so content when I went home during these years. The close interpersonal space, the collective cohesiveness, the kind of kindness that you are more likely to find when the society as a whole hasn’t gotten caught in the technicality of being politically correct.

Don’t get me wrong. I appreciate being politically correct. What I am talking about is more how the establishment of formal systems can at times stifle the human spirit and hinder it from coming through naturally, but I do understand the intention of setting up such systems often times is to protect and to advocate. That I do appreciate.

I am just homesick.

So I am sitting here, listening to Chinese music. I don’t know this singer’s English name, but I can tell you that the lyrics touch me.

There is something about the culture that I grew up in. The unique subtleness of Taiwanese sensibility. We are a pragmatic people that know how to survive through sheer will, and many times we can be perceived as rude from a western point of view. The boundaries are different. The interpersonal space can be incredibly lacking.

Yet, there is this added layer of warmth and caring underneath it all.

It’s hard for me to explain.

And I long for it from time to time.

Thanksgiving, people. What I am is strange blend of different cultures and experiences.

And I am grateful for it all.

I give thanks to the universe for blessing me with all that I have. I give thanks to those around me who constantly show me the meaning of grace and inspire me to strive higher. I give thanks for the privileges that I enjoy, and I give thanks for the power of feeling and caring.

And I send my love over the seas, across the ocean, to the small island that has a piece of my heart.

Thank you, Taiwan, for raising me in the very beginning.