Meet Your Destiny
We have officially finished our first week as Fulbrighters! In this time I have visited 9 schools, ground my own coffee, shot off a bamboo cannon, gone to a famous hot air balloon festival, and so much more.
The school visits were especially interesting because it was our first real glimpse into the Taitung culture and where we may spend most of our time this year. There are many aboriginal groups in the county, and most of the schools we visited were for aboriginal students. Preservation of the aboriginal culture is a priority in Taitung right now. The schools and facilities were beautiful, and four of the schools bribed us with ice cream/popsicles. Some even homemade which was quite impressive.
At two of the schools there were particularly memorable experiences. One of the very first schools we visited had the kids perform a dance they were working on. It was beyond impressive and special to see this piece of their culture.
The last school we visited was awesome because they had so many activities for us to share in. It is a custom to welcome guests with a bamboo cannon, and they even let some of us try. I was able to do it, which was fun, but I don't have a picture! Sorry mom! We were also able to grind up coffee beans that they grow nearby and make the only cup of black coffee I have ever liked.
It was a special treat that after this long day we were able to stay in Guanshan and go to their famous hot air balloon festival. I had seen pictures of it on Instagram before moving here so I was dying to go. It did not disappoint!
Finally, and most importantly, I started to learn how to drive a scooter. Scooters are probably the most popular form of transportation here, so it is critical to get licensed. I was honestly pretty nervous about this, but it is not that hard and it is a lot of fun.
This picture is actually a pretty good summation of my time in Taiwan thus far. Me, trying something new. Fellow ETA running behind to make sure I don't fall off. Vivi chasing after to take photos of the whole thing. Stray dogs and a small child in the distance, unconcerned by an oncoming scooter. And the sliver of mountain and sky in the corner, because I have not had quite enough time to fully appreciate how beautiful it is here yet.
Vivi, our Taitung coordinator, always says "Meet your destiny!" The extended version is "no matter how far you run or how hard you try, your destiny will find you!" I really enjoy this. To me it sort of means go with the flow, trust the process, everything will turn out for the best. So far this experience has been so fun and enjoyable, it really makes me feel like I met my destiny when I came to Taitung.