Heard the alarm. Hit the off button. Got out of bed. Toothbrush. Toothpaste. Face wash. Scrub. Glanced up from the sink.
With bubbles covering the majority of my face, I peeked through an opening and noticed something: my hand soap was almost empty.
This is how it started. This is how I began to notice that time was flying by. First, it was the hand soap. Then, I realized my shampoo and conditioner were on their way out. Finally, it hit me: time was passing, and it wasn't happening slowly.
I sat in the cab on the way to work this morning trying to make sense of where all the time had gone. I couldn't believe I have been here for almost three months!!
Bottom line: time is flying. I don't want my time in Taiwan to fly by, but I suppose it is a good sign. Hence the saying: Time flies when you are having fun!
I couldn't help but think back a few months ago. I was homesick right away. I instantly yearned for my friends, who I hadn't gone a few days without seeing. I missed my family, and I thought I wouldn't be able to survive without the Gnocchi Sorrentino from the Italian restaurant down the block from my apartment in Boston. But...as time passed, it got less and less difficult, and a whole new world opened up right before my eyes.
When I first got here, I found myself shying away from interactions with restaurants that weren't English friendly. I wasn't always willing to exchange a game of charades in the hopes that I would get the meal I wanted; I wasn't always up for eating soup with chopsticks and a weird spoon. (I mean...really?) I wasn't always in the mood for stepping outside of my comfort zone. I was embarrassed that I didn't know any Chinese, to the point that I wouldn't even attempt it. I even had a slight breakdown when the trashman yelled at me in Chinese because I was not putting my trash out properly.
But now, I embrace who I am in the experiences that I encounter. I attempt Chinese, even though I haven't the slightest clue, because I realize how far an attempt goes in this culture. Most Taiwanese people I have tried to converse with apologize that they do not speak English (which I find crazy that THEY are apologizing to ME...I mean, after all it is their country). Either way, I know they understand how I feel. They are willing to play charades with me or sit through a round of "guess what I am drawing". I welcome any opportunity to try something new, and even find normalcy in it. I even consider myself a professional when it comes to separating and putting out my trash. But, I still can't help but wonder - When did this happen?
Just like the subtle disappearance of my hand soap, the slow but apparent transformation of me into this confident, willing, and unafraid ex-pat has occurred. I can't help but realize that after three months of living abroad, so many things have happened, and so many things have changed.
This just may have been the best decision I have made in my life. What a long way I have come from the sleepless nights I spent wondering if my decision to move to Taiwan was the right one.
Well, you can't win the lottery if you don't buy tickets!!
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