Hahahahahaha. This is my library card for the National Central Library of Taiwan, which It has my Chinese name on it: 白 可 玫 !
I had to get my picture taken to get the card. And they had to see my passport. It was pretty big deal. Sign papers. All so that I can go to library AND NOT READ ANYTHING. Jokes. Well, I can read...American GQ. But my plan is to go to the library and hog all their air-conditioning as I study Chinese there.
Speaking of names, people here call one another by their full names. When my mother calls me by my name, she calls out, "白 可 玫 !" rather than the first name portion of it, which is 可 玫.
P.S.: The words in my name translate to "white," "may" (as in, "able to," "possible") and "rose." "White," obviously, is a shout-out to my given surname, not a nod to my Caucasian side...
As all of you know, China (and more specifically, Taiwan) is a big part of my heritage. My mother was born in China but raised in Taipei, Taiwan. (FYI, my father was born in Philadelphia but raised in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. So kind of the same.) All of my mother's immediate family still resides in Taipei: my grandparents, my aunt, my uncle, their children and their children's children. I'm going to Taipei this summer for seven full weeks (from May 28-July 15) to live with them, become familiar with their Taiwan lifestyle and finally learn to speak some Mandarin.
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