So we've been in Taiwan for about and week and I'm loving it. It's crazy as always and I'm so glad we can be here. I could tell you all the places we've been but it doesn't mean much unless you've lived here before. Megan loves the food and is learning a ton. Do you know who else is learning a lot? Me!
As a missionary, I feel I paid more attention to what was going on around me than most missionaries, but it was still hard to get very deep into the culture. My visit in 2008 taught me a lot, and this 2010 visit is teaching me more and more. I feel like the Taiwanese are great people and the more I learn, the more I love them. Of course there are always dark areas but mostly they are a good people with good hearts.
This visit has corrected a lot of incorrect ideas that I collected on my mission such as:
1. People in Taibei never speak Taiwanese. WRONG!
2. Only the less educated speak Taiwanese. WRONG!
3. If a Taiwanese person can't get to church on time, it's probably because he doesn't really care about the church. WRONG!
Let me tell you something. The Taiwanese can never be accused of sticking to a schedule. Megan will ask me, "When will the bus arrive?" and I will say, "The bus stop sign says every 20-30 minutes but that really means you'll see 3 busses in a row and then none for an hour." I would get so mad on my mission when a Taiwanese would not come to church or show up late. Now that I think about it, I should have known better. Of course they are going to be late. That's just a part of the culture. I've heard that other SE Asian people are the same way.
Now on to the language. As missionaries, we would get so mad when people spoke Taiwanese. This probably comes from feeling left out as we were normally the only ones in the room who didn't understand what was going on. However, I can now watch as people speak to each other and really understand each other when the Taiwanese comes out. Today, a friend played his "moon guitar" and sang in Taiwanese. It has a "working in the rice fields during the Japanese occupation" feeling to it. I can understand a lot of what is being said if they are talking about me and it impresses people but I like feeling more connected to the people.
So, the point is that I love the Taiwanese people and I wish more people could understand what I mean. I'm so thankful that I can be here. Hope everyone is doing well.
