A little bit of home in Asia

My very North American mother spent the last 10 days between Kaohsiung Taiwan, Taroko Gorge Taiwan, and Hong Kong. It was a jam-packed and eventful 1.5 weeks, but she was a trooper. I was, however, informed that Kaohsiung"...is easily the ugliest city..." she's ever seen. Sadly this is a rather accurate assessment, and after spending the past few days in Taroko Gorge:

a natural wonder, and Hong Kong:

the nicest big city I’ve ever been in,

…I’m beginning to question exactly why I’ve chosen this:
to be my home.

And then it comes back to me. I like the job, I like the people, the city’s not so bad, and while Kaohsiung pales in comparison to Hong Kong, so does every other square inch of the urban world.

One of the coolest things about having my mom here was watching her react to things that are so commonplace to me now:

- The Taiwanese mini-van. This usually includes 2 parents and a minimum of 1-2 helmetless children crammed onto a scooter amidst schoolbags, purses, groceries, and the beloved family pet.

- The Chinglish Language. The hotel in Taroko warned us that “the show will move roofward if clouds act naughtily”
Mom: “WHAT?”
Me: “The dance show will move inside if it rains”

- Garbage parties. The garbage man comes by a few times a day. Rather than him come to your garbage, your garbage comes to him. The trucks play classical music and everyone comes running out of their apartment buildings with their garbage when they hear it.

Another highlight of her trip was my kids refusal to call her Susan. They chose “Teacher Mother” instead. Classic.

This post is a little disjointed, but that’s nothing new. So…yah…if the opportunity for you to go to Hong Kong should ever present itself, TAKE IT. It’s an amazing city. I don’t even know how to begin explaining it, except to say that I love it. I love it a lot.