This might be my last post. Today is Monday and I leave on Wednesday night, but I don't think I'll be inhabiting Starbucks for my last two days. I have big plans: packing. And savoring my last two days with my family.
In honor of my incredibly difficult yet fulfilling seven weeks here---which flew by faster than I could have imagined---I put together a simple list. Thank you all, friends and family, for keeping up with me and my blog! I had an incredible time here. I learned so much. And sweated a lot too.
from 5.28 to 7.13,
I asked for directions
I asked, "How much is this?"
I asked my grandparents about their life in China
I ate a lot of steamed buns
I ate a lot, period
I awoke at an early hour to help with breakfast
I avoided the eyes of other foreigners
I blogged
I bought souvenirs for friends and family
I bought souvenirs for me
I bought tank tops that I lived in and sweated through
I called my mother on her birthday
I carried a parasol with me at all times
I drank a lot of tea
I drank a lot of milk tea
I drank a lot of pearl milk tea
I did karaoke...more than once
I emailed when I felt lonely
I felt lonely
I felt huge
I felt pretty
I got LOST
I had an awesome conversation with 2 Americans, Daisy and Mike, in a bookstore
I had first conversations with lifelong family members
I hiked hiked hiked
I killed a mosquito while it was feasting on me and blood spattered all over my arm
I laughed with my grandparents
I learned their names
I learned to appreciate air-conditioning
I listened to Chinese pop
I lost my Dad's sunglasses, then found them again
I made friends (Y, YGF, S, Ch, J, B and J: thank you)
I made friends with the Starbucks employees
I mailed postcards and cards to the United States
I missed my family
I missed my friends and my New Yorkers
I missed shows that meant a lot to me
I missed Twitter
I played with some of the cutest babies I've ever seen
I read Frank McCourt
I rediscovered meat
I refilled tea mugs
I saw the pandas at the Taipei Zoo
I saw the same white-haired white guy every time I went to Starbucks
I saw the Taiwan reaction to Michael Jackson's death
I saw the Taiwan mountains
I slathered myself in sunscreen
I Skyped
I squealed when I saw Harry Potter posters
I texted when I needed to (text messages were 50 cents each!)
I thought about what I was missing back home, but not for long
I took the subway, buses, tour buses and taxis
I visited 8 museums in the greater Taipei area
I walked arm-in-arm with my grandma
I walked fast
I walked my mother's college campus
I was called Kim, Kimberly, Jie-Jie, Ayi, and Gugu
I watched Chinese television
I watched Dreamgirls twice (because it was on HBO twice)
I watched the worst movie ever (Google "Ashley Tisdale Picture This")
I went to a Beijing Opera performance
I wondered which was hotter, Taipei or New York, and finally,
I wrote things down.
Thank you again to everyone who read. Thank you to my parents for letting me spend my time here. See you all at home!
Love,
Kim
Monday, July 13, 2009
Finale
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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.
I am so proud of you for staying in Taipei with Gong-gong and Po-po by yourself for 5 weeks. Now you can converse with our relatives in Mandarin and having a great time! Your presence there has made them very happy, too! You could always keep in touch with those relatives and friends you met in the last 7 weeks. You will meet them again in Taiwan, China, or in the US.
ReplyDeleteI hope that you will continue learning Chinese, the language and its culture of more than 5 thousand years. I am very happy that you have enjoyed this trip. Welcome home soon!
Love, Mom
Thanks Mama! I can't wait to see you!
ReplyDeleteSo I was confused at first. I thought when I saw some of the chinese names that posted comments it was a symbol for a cuss word, you know like.. what the ^$@^.
ReplyDeleteI finally got some time to read thru your blog. Very interesting and humorous. You write well! It looked like an adventurous trip. How wonderful you were able to do it!
Hope you get back safely. If your already home... never mind.