This week has been hectic so far. Someone seems to have pressed the fast-forward button on my life. I'm starting research on a project I really like; I love my new Chinese teacher and classmates; new followers on this blog are trickling in; I got a summer job; my novel's trajectory is clear. Even though I lost my Alien Resident Certificate last week after waiting for weeks to pick it up, reapplying for it has not been terribly strenuous, as my increased language skills have made life here much smoother. All of these things, by the way, have happened within a few days of each other.
So I've been feeling a little like this:
But, most of all, this place is finally starting to feel like home.
After almost seven months of culture shock, disillusionment, homesickness, loneliness, boredom, and frustration, suddenly Taiwan has become familiar to me.
And when I mean suddenly, I mean a couple weeks ago I was dragging myself up the mountain to go to class. I bemoaned that Chinese was impossible. I fantasized about having my bedroom back and seeing friends and family.
Now I'm running around trying to organize the last three months of my life, and it looks like I'll have just enough time to get everything done. I'm even considering getting a research grant to come back here after I graduate. I'm doing research in Chinese and I can read most of the characters. All the suffering is paying off.
I'm cycling between exhaustion and contentment, and I'm grateful and honored to have you all along for the ride.
See you tomorrow!
So I've been feeling a little like this:
 |
| This was taken after attempts to wake me failed. My classmates are interesting people. |
But, most of all, this place is finally starting to feel like home.
After almost seven months of culture shock, disillusionment, homesickness, loneliness, boredom, and frustration, suddenly Taiwan has become familiar to me.
And when I mean suddenly, I mean a couple weeks ago I was dragging myself up the mountain to go to class. I bemoaned that Chinese was impossible. I fantasized about having my bedroom back and seeing friends and family.
Now I'm running around trying to organize the last three months of my life, and it looks like I'll have just enough time to get everything done. I'm even considering getting a research grant to come back here after I graduate. I'm doing research in Chinese and I can read most of the characters. All the suffering is paying off.
I'm cycling between exhaustion and contentment, and I'm grateful and honored to have you all along for the ride.
See you tomorrow!
Your life sounds so exciting. All I have to look forward to is a Lady Gaga concert on Saturday.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad to hear you're feeling at home.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with getting through everything in the last three months.
:-)
I'm glad you are feeling more at home. Amazing that you can now read in Chinese!
ReplyDeletei love that picture!! and i love that it has all 'clicked' in, and you feel like it is familiar, because it is and has been your home, for a time being, at least. so you should like it, if you have to be there! yes, the suffering has paid off, it always does. that old cliche, nothing worth having comes easy. you are going to leave there with things that can't be measured in any dollar value; language, culture, and an experience of a lifetime that not everyone gets the privilege of having. enjoy your last three months! savor the moments, be present, drink and breath it in. it is a part of your fabric now, and it only makes you that much more beautiful and fabulous! xoxoxo Kim
ReplyDelete