Tag: English

This year in Taiwan has been a captivating journey of learning, development, and acceptance. When I first arrived in Taiwan, my initial impulse was to jump at every conceivable opportunity offered. I believed that throwing myself into situations where I could learn as much as I wanted to would result in a more comprehensive understanding of Taiwan, China, or my home. Yet, as time went on, I realized that this overzealous presumption was not the case. In short, the breadth of what I sought to experience provided me fewer insights than pursuing fewer, more immersive interests. It took a while to realize this on my own, but I am glad that I did. With this realization, I think it’s important to note two things. First, what we label expertise is irrevocably limited and shaped by our personal experiences. Second, because of these limitations in our personal experiences, it is epistemologically impossible to garner a “true” comprehensive understanding of a region. One may have more insight in one particular area, but they are blinded by the vast quantities of the unknown, which at any moment could render their assumptions or beliefs completely wrong. Taiwan, like any other state, is a great

 “中白鷺的腳腳和嘴巴是黃的. 大白鷺有黑色腳腳, 黃色的嘴巴．” Intermediate egrets’ feet and mouths are yellow. Large egrets have black feet, yellow mouths. 白熊 patiently explained the differences between the large and intermediate egret to me for the umpteenth time. 白熊, which translates directly to polar bear, earned this nickname due to his height and paleness. To this day, I am still not sure what his actual name is. He hurriedly pointed out the window as the van drove past an egret wading in rice paddies. “你看．中白鷺.”  Look. Intermediate egret.  “ 那小白鷺呢？” I asked, “我已經忘了.”  How about small egrets?… I already forgot. “黑嘴巴,黑腳.”  Black mouth, black feet.  I tried to commit this information to memory, but after a minute I turned my head and gave him a blank stare.  “算了, 我每一次看到一隻鷺就問你吧.” Whatever, I’ll just ask you every time we see an egret. He chortled in response. “喂, 你別像這樣啦! 你努力一點吧.＂The van lurched to a stop, throwing me and 白熊 against our safety belts. We eyed each other before looking outside. “喔，我們快到了.” Hey don’t be like that! Put some effort into it… Oh, we’re almost there. The van slowly turned and pulled up the dirt path to the dairy farm we were getting blood samples from, rocking side