Letter from the Beautiful Country

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

Letter from the Beautiful Country.

This is long overdue. For months now, I have been telling myself that I would finally sit down and detail Fanfan and my last days in and tumultuous departure from Taiwan, our first days/weeks/months in the US, the wonderment of South of the Border and the anti-evolution Creation Museum, so on and so forth. But life has stood before me in determined obstinance, demanding that I spend my time doing otherwise: working, finishing my graduate school applications, studying (I have pre-reqs to fulfil for grad school), planning our wedding, getting Fanfan settled, and all the many other demands my existence imposes upon me at present.

The "Reality Ride" at South of the Border

Still, I haven't really the time to go into much detail, other than to affirm the continuance of my cyber-existence and assure myself of my relevance here. I do hope to continue writing about our time in the US, because this has always been a site about culture, life, and perspectives, and Taiwan is just as much a part of that now as it was when we were still in Taiwan. Moreover, as Taiwan will always be an interest of mine as I continue my studies, I will continue to write about developments in my second home.

Leaving Taiwan

Leaving Taiwan in December wasn't easy. In the weeks that preceded our departure, it felt as though I became so much closer with Fanfan's family than I had ever been before. It seemed that not only had my Chinese reached a conversational level but also Fanfan's parents, knowing that we were leaving, decided to forgo the normal reticence of daily life and made a more concerted effort to talk to me, and I them.

We spent several days driving around Taiwan ??-ing and delivering wedding cakes to Fanfan's aunts and uncles. Everywhere we went, Fanfan's father tried to point out everything he thought might be of interest to me, knowing now that not only was I interested in Taiwan, but I could also understand what he was saying.

He wanted to show me everything, like the rice husks in cement used to build their family's old house

and how you can slide the slats in the windows to see how the weather had eaten away at the wood

Along the way, I jokingly noted that I was happier the more I learned to speak Chinese because Fanfan's father was always ready to instruct me in anything and everything Taiwan. "I just want to make you feel like part of the family," he said in response, which served as a nice punctuation at the end of my stay in Taiwan. I had come as the mysterious foreigner boyfriend of their daughter, and I was leaving their son-in-law.

Touring Fanfan's Aunt's garden with Fanfan's parents

Learning the art of distilling

Some homemade rice wine for the road from another of Fanfan's aunts

Our departure was difficult for everyone involved, too. Fanfan spent days crying, and her parents were visibly rattled by the notion. Fanfan had left before, but this time it seemed so much more "permanent." Sure, we'd be back, but Taiwan would no longer be our center of gravity, so to speak.

To make things worse, upon arriving at the airport one December morning, the lady at the check-in counter said she could not let me on the plane without my ARC, which Fanfan had convinced me to leave at the house, being that I hadn't been asked for it before and it might prove useful in the future if Fanfan's parents needed to do something for me. We immediately called Fanfan's father who was parking the car, and he sped back to Taipei. The traffic was terrible, though, and I was restless, fearing I was going to have to buy another thousand-dollar ticket to the US, and we were going to have to make the 27-hour voyage on separate planes.

To make a long story short, I finally convinced the Cathay Pacific folks to let me go to immigrations and get proof that I was allowed to leave Taiwan, but this required me entering hastily with almost no time to say good-bye to Fanfan's mother and assure her that I would take care of Fanfan. To make things even worse, Fanfan's father was stuck on the highway, so neither Fanfan nor I could say good-bye.

In America

Seventeen hours later, we sat for nearly four hours in the cavernous belly of the Department of Homeland Security, watching all of the others from our plane from Tokyo trickle out as their files were checked. Each time, the officer, in some sort of sick miracle, just happened to pass right over Fanfan's file and doomed us to wait another twenty minutes. Asking questions was futile because they didn't give answers (claimed they didn't have them), so it wasn't until nearly three hours after everyone else who had arrived with us had left that Fanfan's name was called. She gave her fingerprint, signed her name, and we were off to try to catch our connecting flight that was scheduled to leave in twenty five minutes. Thankfully, it had been delayed another twenty minutes.

So here we are, and as you've probably gathered, we're here "for good" (meaning, at least a couple of years). I have applied for graduate programs in International Relations, and Fanfan is pursuing a teaching career. She is volunteering full time at my old elementary school to get some experience in hopes of becoming a Mandarin/French teacher once we move to Boston, D.C., or New York, and I am working as a lab tech at a pharmacy in town, spending my free time on my economics studies.

(From the Creation Museum)

I cannot for the life of me figure out how the brick of coffee fits into this whole scene.

We've also set a date for our wedding. Getting married, as a couple who is already legally married, will be the last in the series of steps in our unconventional relationship.

Fanfan, my mother, and I have also done a fair amount of cooking, trying to learn both some Asian favorites like ??

and ??

as wells as some Western fare like Coq au Vin

all made from scratch.

Alas, we are here, and, strangely, I find myself absolutely fascinated by the US. Part of it has to do with seeing it through Fanfan's eyes and part of it has to do with having lived so many other places that I have come to see just how peculiar this place is--at times endearingly, at others frustratingly (might I again draw your attention to the Creation Museum). While I miss Taiwan, I know that we will be back often, and I look forward to it. For now, though, I am content in trying to understand the country that I left five years ago, believing it was the paradigm of ordinary.

Most Visited Article Pages

How long should we wait for democratic reforms in China?

Does the US encourage China's militarization of space?

The importance of Tourism in Taiwan

Continuing Talk of Education in Taiwan, the US, and France

Discussions with the Strawberry Generation

The Global Generation Gap

Willing to fight for Independence?

Learning that there is no "mainland"

The Culture of Cute

Tech and learning Chinese

Taiwanese media: the bad side of freedom