To Walk In Someone Else’s Shoes
One of my purposes in coming to Taiwan is to walk in someone else’s shoes. More particular, in the shoes of international students. What’s it like to live in a country different from the one in which you grew up? What are the struggles? What’s it like to be a minority? So my month stay in Taiwan has always been about more than just sight seeing. It’s also about seeing from another perspective.
My daughter and I are in Taiwan to visit Joseph and his family. Joseph has spent the last seven years as an international student in the United States (East Asia’s Influence on My Life). Being able to peer into this world through Joseph has been eye opening. I have a high degree of respect for him, his parents, and all international students and parents after learning what their lives are like (To The Parents Of International Students). But now it’s time to learn in a very tangible way what their universe might look like. There are two things I’ve learned so far.
The Minority Report
The first thing is what it’s like to truly be a minority. The Western features my daughter and I bear are noticeably different from the East Asians surrounding us in Taiwan. We draw notice, even when trying to blend in.
The Taiwanese are not rude and do not openly stare, but I see their eyes slide away from me as I look around. Young children who haven’t seen many Western people are openly curious, however. I know I’m different to them and it’s human nature to notice that which is different. For the most part I don’t mind it, but some days it is tiring. Do the East Asian international students struggle with this as they walk the hallways full of Western faces in our school? If so, I get it now.
Finding The Touchstone
The second thing I noticed is that no matter how much I enjoy all the new experiences, I miss home and the familiar. I crave a touchstone, a small piece of familiarity in the overwhelm of the unfamiliar. For me, it is as simple as a cuppa Joe.
When grappling with so much that is different, even as I enjoy it, I need that anchor to the familiar. It gives me a mental break and allows me to recharge. Being out of my comfort zone brings with it huge potential for positive growth, but it’s also exhausting. So a good, strong cup of coffee with real half-n-half is my sanity. I don’t doubt this is the case for international students too. They need their touchstone with the familiar also, even as they are encouraged to assimilate into American culture.
Settling into Taiwan becomes easier as the learning curve becomes less steep. I’ve reached a point where I accept my physical and cultural differences and move through society without that hyper awareness that I’m a minority. I’m simply one person among many others.
Travel To Walk In Someone Else’s Shoes
Living in Taiwan has helped me learn things I could never learn any other way. Being here for this month has given me new perspective on what it is to be a global citizen. Travel truly does broaden the horizon in so many more ways than I imagined. When you live in someone else’s country, you get a very real, if figurative, chance to walk in their shoes. Understanding is the beginning of compassion, but I now realize travel is the beginning of understanding.