Saturday, May 24, 2014

Welcome!

This is officially my very first blog and post...ever! Just take a moment to let that sink in.

Now, welcome to my blog! I am truly excited to share my adventures with you. Both the American culture and the Taiwanese culture have influenced me (note the title of the blog), and I hold values from both very close to my heart.

I don't necessarily share my immigration story with everyone, simply because it's not quite the smooth transition followed by a simple "hello". That would probably be too much information for someone I just met or am getting to know. I'm rather open about sharing it though. To get to know me better, here's a tad bit:

I moved to the U.S. when I was seven. My dad accepted a job offer in helping train employees to cut and export meat to Japan. In 2001, just a few months after the devastating attack of 9/11, we packed our belongings into our suitcases and left everything we ever knew. I, for one, packed several stuffed animals and dolls, a blanket, and some clothes. As a little girl, I supposed that was what I considered valuable and my "home". If I could have a do-over though, I would stuff my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins in my suitcase instead! I tend to not break rules, so my thinking is that this one should slide. Anyway, I don't think at that moment any of us realized that we wouldn't return until 10 years later. (Yes, documents, work visas, and residencies for immigrants are even longer and messier than you can imagine.) My dad's decision to move our family halfway across the world was not easy. Learning English, understanding new customs, and being away from family posed the greatest challenges for us and sometimes, still today. However, I couldn't imagine life any other way because then I wouldn't be who I am today.

In the summer of 2011, my family and I went back to Taiwan for the first time. What an incredible defining moment that was for me. Now, 3 years later...I'm headed to the National Chengchi University (NCCU) in Taipei, Taiwan for their international summer school program. I am so grateful for this opportunity Doane has given me; their scholarship will cover the entire cost of the program. I will be taking a Mandarin Chinese course along with two other business/culture courses. I also can't wait to spend some time with my family in Taiwan (all those people I mentioned earlier that I would have packed into my suitcase). Truly, I'm beyond excited!!!

Here's a breakdown of my 14 weeks of summer break:
4 weeks of working as a para at summer school
7 weeks of studying abroad in Taiwan
1 week of training for Doane orientation leaders
          That leaves me...2 extra weeks to find some other little adventures. :) 

In many ways, this will be the first time I'm really ever away from home (my parents and my brothers), but at the same time, it's crazy that when I sit here and think about it, I'm going back home too. So here's to summer 2014, to new adventures and learning more about myself and the world!

*More posts and details to come as the trip gets closer. I will post updates and pictures during the trip as well. Stay tuned. 

This is the link to save and keep to access my blog: http://theperfectbalance11.blogspot.com/ 



NCCU Campus