Ahhh, New Year. I am on day three of two wonderful weeks of vacation for Chinese New Year. It is not particularly customary to make resolutions on this particular New Year, but I have made one anyway- to get myself back online and onto this blog! Lukin has been doing such an amazing job of keeping in touch with family and friends at home, and his wonderful (and regular!)
postings share much of our adventures, and so I have allowed myself to lazily ride his coat tails. No more!
As Gregorian calendar New Years has passed and lunar New Year is this coming weekend I feel it is an appropriate time to reflect a bit. January marked the halfway point in our time here in Taiwan. We are sliding down the hill towards home now. In my previous adventures abroad I have often felt like I had hit the pause button on my "real life" and was living a lovely adventure, but doing so in a bubble of away-ness. I've described it as living in parentheses. This year has not been like that. In so many ways I feel that this year has been more real and focused and intentional than many I've lived at home. We've not so much hit the pause button, as operated in slow-motion.
It has been quite a thesis statement kind of a year. We have slowed down and are rewriting ourselves as parents. We are building our family to include international elements of global citizenship that Lukin and I feel helped form us as individuals. I have changed career paths from high school to elementary school and Lukin has focused his incredible love, energy, and attention on Abel as an amazing stay-at-home dad.
Living outside our cultural context has really helped us shine some light on what aspects of our home culture are important to us: close-knit families, valuing creativity and innovation, speaking up. It has also helped remind us what else is out there in the world to toward which we can aspire and try to carry home with us: generosity and kindness towards strangers (acts as elegantly simple as standing up to give an elderly person your seat on the bus), listening, appreciation and honoring of relationships with friends, family and colleagues.
As we look towards leaving this country that has welcomed us with work, healthcare, and an incredible community of friends and neighbors (including absolutely the best landlady we have ever had!), I aspire to live our last few months here more consciously and appreciatively. This has been an amazing experience, and one I imagine we will refer to in the future as formative for our little family. Thanks Taiwan!
