There's no place like...wait a second.

Hello everyone  大家，你好！ Since I'm here in Taiwan, I'm trying to use as much Chinese as possible, and that will definitely translate over into my blog (see what I did there? ;])! But now that I've given a disclaimer, let's get into this blog post!

Look at how happy we are on this clean train!

For those of you who don't know, I'm in Taiwan! Woo! I've been in this country for two days and some change now and there has been so much to see and so much to take in! The thing that has really surprised and impressed me the most so far, however, is the pride that the people (or at least the government) takes in its country and its presentation of its country. A few weeks before we left the States, my cohort was able to visit the Taiwanese Embassy in DC and view a promotional video for Taiwan. I thought that it was awesome. The background music seemed to capture the culture so well, the people seemed happy and the culture very distinct. It made me want  to get to know more about this mystical place! Fast forward to the present and I've ridden on the cleanest metro station that I've ever seen in my life, stood in line--yes there are actual lines laid out on the floor for people to queue up in--to get on the metro, and seen so much information about the island that I would now consider myself an expert--okay maybe not, but at least very knowledgeable--on the making of Taiwan. While I recognize that I'm being bombarded by promotional videos and culture and history because I'm in a three week immersion program about Taiwan, I can't help but feel as though the people of this island are bursting with pride. That being Taiwanese isn't just a matter of nationality to them; it's a huge part of their personal identities that they've worked hard to figure out, and even harder to win recognition for.

With all of this pride and love bombarding me from every angle here in Taiwan, I wonder why I don't get that feeling in America. I know I don't actively look up promotional videos for our nation and that may be part of the reason, but that doesn't explain why the only times that I feel as if people are proud of their nationality as Americans are around the 4th of July and when we talk about our soldiers. That said, I feel as though in America, the war that we waged for our right to identify ourselves as Americans is so far behind us that we take it for granted, and thus we take our nation and its benefits for granted-- and it shows in the way we treat the amenities that are provided for us. Taiwan, however, is still fighting to find its identity, both as a people and as a nation, and because of that its people are passionate about the health and presentation of the island and its amenities. 

Look out Taiwan, the Americans are here!

Despite my doubts about the general passion that its citizens have for their country, however, I love America and I do my best to represent it well everywhere that I go in Taiwan. Knowing the stereotypes that many countries hold about Americans (closed-minded,fat,inconsiderate,etc.), in addition to being one of the only black people that most of these people will ever meet in their lives, I am acutely aware of the impact that I can make on the people that I meet, and I will make sure that it is a positive one! That said, stay tuned for next week to see how Buddhism in Taiwan compares to Christianity in the US!

Peace and Love,

Akeel( 埃克利）