I would like to say that I am an experienced traveler. Unfortunately I am not. Last summer featured my first trip outside of the US, minus day trips to Canada. I traveled to Taiwan as an intern for Overseas Radio and Television in search of an adventure, an opportunity to serve, and a good experience to throw on a resume, though I wouldn't have admitted it at the time. I was in Taiwan for approximately 55 days, staying more than half of those days in Taipei and about 3 weeks in Hualien halfway down the island's east coast. The largest task of my internship was playing one of the main roles in an English teaching television program known as "Let's Talk in English." It was a funny feeling being on camera and receiving constant attention for it. I signed some autographs and even signed a glass encased picture at a famous hotel.
I'm not a rock star, just a guy trying to teach English.
I loved Taiwan and wanted to experience this small Asian island to the max. I boasted that I would try any food once and on more then one occasion was humbled for it. Some of these humbling experiences included chicken feet, blood rice cake, liver, sea cucumber, and other intestines that shouldn't be eaten if ANYTHING else is available. This made each meal an adventure in its own right. I'm a thrills kind of guy so you can imagine the daily excitement meal time gave me in Taiwan. Besides the food, I tried my best to understand the culture of the people: how they thought, the way family was structured, and language. Language was a big thing. It was by far the biggest barrier between myself and the locals. I was tutored nearly daily while in Taipei and tried my best to practice every chance I had. In Hualien, I tried to hang around the PTS(Public Television Service) crew more so then the ORTV crew because the ORTV crew were all English speaking and some even American while the PTS crew had few English speakers. They were truly Taiwanese. I learned more from them then I ever did in the classroom. I was able to build relationships with them and earn their respect. I didn't want to be the spoiled American.
Getting back from Hualien was sad and a sigh of relief at the same time. I had finally finished the aggravating TV shoot but was again placed into the English speaking, partially white populated, air-conditioned offices. The blinding bright spot was the growth of a friendship. Her name was Debbie, in English. Lin To-Chia in Chinese. In the time I had left in Taiwan following the TV shoot, I traveled around the large and exciting city of Taipei with Debbie. We traveled to an area along the boardwalk, Danshui; a shopping area around Taipei 101; and a shady red light district known as "Snake Alley" just so I could try some snake. All in all, we kept in touch. More then that, we grew as friends.
All things considered, my experience in Taiwan was life changing. I had a such a great time that I had to come back, partially for the friends I made and partially for the country I love. Following my time in Taiwan this summer, I will be traveling to China as a part of the study abroad program at my college(Pacific Lutheran University). Finally I will get to go to the mainland. I'm really excited to continue my learning of the Chinese language and experience the fascinating culture. And now that the earthquake has hit the Sichuan province, maybe I can lend a hand too. I've always known that God has big things planned for me. Never before did I expect it to be Asia.
