The most culturally jerking parts of my first year in this country were probably spending all the American holidays away from family and friends. That was when Taiwan felt the most foreign to me, and that is when I would experience my darkest moments of homesickness.
I remember my first Thanksgiving. I didn't know to handle the bout of homesickness that hit me. But then I had an awesome dinner with good friends that night and was really blessed by the reminder that I really was establishing a family here. I also started the learning process of creating my own holiday traditions in a new place with the essentials in mind: community, food, and love.
Recently, I've found myself in another rather steep bout of homesickness as I am going into my third year. The longer I am here, the farther away I am from all of you. So many people are married now, planting themselves in steady jobs, beginning their careers, having children, finishing graduate school. I speak from the bottom of my heart when I say the only thing I want to do when I think of all of you is sit down (over coffee, drinks, in your living room, dinner - whatever!) and hear about your life. I want to hear everything. About the boring moments. The exciting moments. The normal everyday stuff that defines all of our lives. About work. The spouse or whoever the significant other is. About the mud stain you successfully removed from your white pants with your tide stick the other day. All the successes and failures. I want to hear your voice.
And at the same time, after spending an entire day in Fulong this last Saturday with both new and old friends on the beach and on bikes soaking in all the goodness of the world around us, I feel like I've come home a second time. And I'm in the same place. It feels nice, comfortable, like home.
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| Fulong is a town near the coastal mountains on the Northeastern coast of Taiwan |
The day in Fulong was truly a perfect day in every sense. It was a complete representation of everything awesome that represents my life here, as well as everything that I love: new friends that I've only recently connected with, friends from both America and Taiwan, speaking English and Chinese, biking, the beach, friendly cantering with the locals, and making new friends on the public mode of transportation that was being used at the moment. It was all wrapped up in an absolutely sublime and sunny day with beautiful people.
This is my life.
This revelation is a little scary to me right now, because it's such a strong reminder of reality. The reality that my life is here.
It's all still overwhelming to think about - my life taking root and beginning to grow here and not there - but I accept it. And I am here missing all of you, because you have accepted it as well. And when we reunite, be it for five minutes or five days, in the summer of 2012, over coffee or drinks or dinner, I will be reminded all over again of what it is to have family all over the world.
