What a funny world we live in. I've spent my whole life living between cultures, and yet the strangeness of travel strikes me often. Whether I am traveling or a friend or family member of mine is going to a new place, I can't help but be struck by how odd our lives are as we cross borders.
I have lived for significant amounts of time in Congo, the Central African Republic, Cameroun, the United States, and now Taiwan. Each of these places have shaped who I am in a very profound way. My friends and family are scattered across the globe experiencing life in different cultures than I am, and they in turn are being shaped by their experiences. So I am also shaped by the cultures of my friends whether simply by picking up habits or by visiting those places. I am a global nomad surrounded by other global nomads.
All of this results in a large amount of confusion, though also a great deal of fun. I think there are at least one or two words in every language that are so perfect that you cannot translate them, and so you must simply sprinkle them into your mother tongue. What's fun is figuring out what those words are in every language you encounter and then getting to use them. What's not so fun is when others have no idea what you are saying to them because of the multilingual nature of your speech. But still, I hold onto those "perfect" words, refusing to let them go and hoping that the people around me start using them as well. I think it should be my mission in life to take these perfect words from one culture to the next as I travel the world. At the very least it seems line a fun game!
You're probably wondering what brought on these very random ramblings about language and culture, so let me share. Right now I'm sitting in the Manila airport ready to fly home to Taichung. I spent the last week simply living life with a friend of mine from high school along with her husband and four month old son. What made me think about the craziness of our world is the fact that we met each other over a decade ago when we both lived in Cameroun. We both moved back to the States for a time and now she lives in the Philippines and I live in Taiwan. We sat in her Filipino home eating African rice and beans for dinner and reminiscing about high school and life in Africa while simultaneously swapping information about our new home cultures and the international schools where we work. What strikes me is that this is normal. We think nothing of moving across the globe and adopting parts of a new culture and integrating them into the cultures we have already combined. No matter how normal that seems to me, it is CRAZY.
So that's all I'm here to tell you. Our world is crazy. Human adaptability and innovation is insane. Travel is mind boggling. Language is incredible.
God created an amazing planet for us to live on and I'm so thankful that I get to explore it. I'll be back to the Philippines, I can tell you that, but I'm also thankful to be going home to Taiwan.
Life's an adventure, please don't forget to contemplate and enjoy the adventure!
Friday, January 31, 2014
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
All These Places Feel Like Home
On going home and coming home.
This Christmas I had the pleasure of going home to Southern California for the Christmas holidays. I was home for just over two weeks, and I'm incredibly glad that I went.
People told me not to. People who I love and respect and who are professionals in the field of cultural adjustment and such. But, as often seems to be the case, I ignored the warnings and went home anyway. I had already promised family and friends that I'd be home for Christmas when I took my job at Morrison Academy in Taiwan, so I thought it wise to honor my promises. I also decided that my case is different from many missionaries because I am not isolated in a new country unable to communicate with anyone because of a lack of common language, and because I truly hope to make Taiwan my home long term. I see myself as being in ministry, but I also hope to become so at home in Taiwan that going home for the holidays is not an escape from a foreign land, but rather simply a trip to reconnect with family and friends who don't live in Taiwan. My brother flies to San Diego from Washington, D.C. for Christmas, so why wouldn't I fly back from Taichung, Taiwan (other than for the obvious reasons of the distance, jet lag, and cost!!). Anyways, I used this and other reasons to justify my trip 'home' to San Diego.
I'm not sure that I made the wise choice, but in retrospect I do think I made the right choice for me. From the moment I left Taiwan I did not feel like I was going home but rather that I was leaving home for vacation. Let me pause there to really let that sink in. After only five months in Taiwan, this place is home.
Don't get me wrong, I miss things about the other places I have called home. Karawa, Yaounde, Vista, and even Azusa will always hold a part of me. They molded and shaped me into the person I am today. I miss the people who I did life with in those places. I miss having people who know me so well that I don't have to explain every thought in my head. I miss everyone speaking the same language as me. I miss my deep spiritual communities. I miss the foods particular to each of those places. In no way am I saying that I don't miss the places I used to call home, it's just that I now call another place by that name as well. Going back to California allowed me to realize that when I'm speaking of home I've added another place to my list. (I'm sorry to those of you who have to try and decipher which place I am referring to when I speak of 'home.')
Taiwan is home for a million tiny reasons. My apartment and all my stuff is here. My job is here. My team of coworkers are here. I have friends here. My daily routines are here. My students are here. My hopes and dreams are wrapped up in my life here. My God has called me here to this place for this time (and hopefully for years to come). Taiwan is home because I feel such total peace about being right here, right now.
So I'm glad I went 'home' for Christmas. I'm glad I realized that I have a new 'home.' I'm glad I saw things in my life here that need to change. I'm glad I saw family and friends who mean the world to me. I'm glad I met the newest little member of my extended family. I'm glad I could drive myself around and communicate freely with everyone I met. I'm glad I got to go to a Chargers game with my brothers and parents. I'm glad I got quality time with some people who mean the world to me. AND I am glad that at the end of it I got to come home.
Coming or going, all these places feel like home. How very blessed I am to have so many places to call home!
This Christmas I had the pleasure of going home to Southern California for the Christmas holidays. I was home for just over two weeks, and I'm incredibly glad that I went.
People told me not to. People who I love and respect and who are professionals in the field of cultural adjustment and such. But, as often seems to be the case, I ignored the warnings and went home anyway. I had already promised family and friends that I'd be home for Christmas when I took my job at Morrison Academy in Taiwan, so I thought it wise to honor my promises. I also decided that my case is different from many missionaries because I am not isolated in a new country unable to communicate with anyone because of a lack of common language, and because I truly hope to make Taiwan my home long term. I see myself as being in ministry, but I also hope to become so at home in Taiwan that going home for the holidays is not an escape from a foreign land, but rather simply a trip to reconnect with family and friends who don't live in Taiwan. My brother flies to San Diego from Washington, D.C. for Christmas, so why wouldn't I fly back from Taichung, Taiwan (other than for the obvious reasons of the distance, jet lag, and cost!!). Anyways, I used this and other reasons to justify my trip 'home' to San Diego.
I'm not sure that I made the wise choice, but in retrospect I do think I made the right choice for me. From the moment I left Taiwan I did not feel like I was going home but rather that I was leaving home for vacation. Let me pause there to really let that sink in. After only five months in Taiwan, this place is home.
Don't get me wrong, I miss things about the other places I have called home. Karawa, Yaounde, Vista, and even Azusa will always hold a part of me. They molded and shaped me into the person I am today. I miss the people who I did life with in those places. I miss having people who know me so well that I don't have to explain every thought in my head. I miss everyone speaking the same language as me. I miss my deep spiritual communities. I miss the foods particular to each of those places. In no way am I saying that I don't miss the places I used to call home, it's just that I now call another place by that name as well. Going back to California allowed me to realize that when I'm speaking of home I've added another place to my list. (I'm sorry to those of you who have to try and decipher which place I am referring to when I speak of 'home.')
Taiwan is home for a million tiny reasons. My apartment and all my stuff is here. My job is here. My team of coworkers are here. I have friends here. My daily routines are here. My students are here. My hopes and dreams are wrapped up in my life here. My God has called me here to this place for this time (and hopefully for years to come). Taiwan is home because I feel such total peace about being right here, right now.
So I'm glad I went 'home' for Christmas. I'm glad I realized that I have a new 'home.' I'm glad I saw things in my life here that need to change. I'm glad I saw family and friends who mean the world to me. I'm glad I met the newest little member of my extended family. I'm glad I could drive myself around and communicate freely with everyone I met. I'm glad I got to go to a Chargers game with my brothers and parents. I'm glad I got quality time with some people who mean the world to me. AND I am glad that at the end of it I got to come home.
Coming or going, all these places feel like home. How very blessed I am to have so many places to call home!
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