A Year Away became...More Years Away...

November 15, 2023

A Year Away became...More Years Away...

Well, it's been awhile, but...here we are, several months into our 2nd year here in Taiwan now! We came back to Kaohsiung mid-August after a one month summer vacation in America, and it was an equally amazing and eye-opening time. We loved everything we did--sunsets at the beach (there's still nothing like a good California beach sunset), cruising on the PCH through Malibu, eating our favorite foods again, seeing family and friends who we missed so much, and taking in the peace and quiet of the American suburb. We stayed in OC, Simi Valley, Lake Havasu, and I took a solo trip out to DC for a couple days too! During that time we also ran a million errands--we cleaned out our LA condo for our next tenants (a solid 5-6 day venture and we literally thought it would take 2), sold a bunch of items and moved things into a new storage unit, sold my Honda Civic (first car bought in LA in 2015!), got our FBI fingerprinting done for Taiwan's Resident Certificate (which would allow me to get dual citizenship with Taiwan), all while seeing friends and family everyday and trying to fit in all the fun stuff too. We were there for a month but it felt pretty long, just because of the sheer amount of things we did. By the end of the trip I was really second-guessing whether I should even fly out to DC because I was so wiped and needed a couple days to just recover, but I'm so glad I did because I got to see my old stomping grounds again with friends and it was so nice to experience again without worrying about whether Gemma was tired/hungry/wanting to play. Sorry Gemma. I strongly believe every mom needs to do this. And that every husband should force their wives to do this, because let's face it--we're all plagued by the forever mom guilt as we stare at our children and think about how helpless they are without us.

After a month back in America following a full year in Taiwan, we had the following thoughts:

1) America is very scenic! I always thought Orange County was boring and very Stepford Wives-y, but after a year in Taiwan where the scenery is mostly industrial and a French friend we made here in Taiwan described the architecture as 'Soviet Union'-like, I actually appreciated the beauty of Orange County. The rolling hills you could see from just a short walk in your neighborhood of quiet, similarly-built suburban track homes. The fresh, unpolluted and non-smoky air. The fact you don't have to raise the volume of your Spotify playlist while taking a walk outside. Of course I am comparing the dense city where we live in Kaohsiung to the suburb of America, but most residents in Taiwan do live in dense cities, and leave most of the rural countryside untouched for farmland or just nature preservation or something I'm not entirely sure about. There aren't sprawling planned communities and suburbs in Taiwan, and you would have to drive a bit further out to get your peace and quiet. Now if I had to compare the cities of Taiwan to the cities of America (ex: NYC)--Taiwan is way less overwhelming and cleaner than NYC in my opinion.

2) America is very expensive! Several days after we got back to California, I went out to the grocery store to buy trash bags, and found that a a pack of like 14 trash bags was $20. I was shook. Sure, they were the large trash bags that claim to not rip even if you put a full tree inside it, but $20 for trash?? That stuff is meant to go in the garbage. That's like me straight up putting $20 into the trash can. I don't understand. I also had a whole list of places I wanted to eat at again, but after several restaurants and coughing up the bill after taxes and tip (not a thing in Taiwan!), I just lost my appetite. I think our taste palates also changed because the food tasted a lot saltier and greasier than I remembered. Except for the Ethiopian food which was just as good as I remembered. Man, I could go for some Ethiopian right now. Aside from food and product retail, American healthcare is also hella expensive! Dan and Gemma both were sick upon arriving in America, and several days in, Gemma, coupled with intense jet lag and whatever cold/virus she was experiencing, had a bout of vomiting like 7 times within an hour. I was extremely alarmed because she never had anything so severe and I knew the right thing to do was to take her to the doctor, but I was also in the back of my mind thinking--this is going to cost a lot. It's crazy that when you're not insured in America, going to a doctor is really only worth it in dire situations, because it will cost you an arm and a leg, maybe literally. We had to make a trip to the Urgent Care in OC and one uninsured visit later we were $300 short. And it was to basically give her anti-nausea medication. We could afford it in the grand scheme of things, but I know that's not the case for many families and it just sucks that healthcare is not easily available and accessible, even for many families who are employed.

Some pictures from America:

Treasure Island

Newport Beach sunset :)

Lake Havasu

Gemma <3 Tia Bo

Malibu Hike

Santa Monica Beach!

All in all, America was great. It was refreshing for both me and Dan, and we were already talking about where to go and what to do next time we go back. At the same time, when we landed back in Taiwan, we both felt like we were home again too. It was such a great realization that we could call two countries home, and that it was okay to love both places equally, for different reasons. Now that we've been back in Taiwan for 3 months, we still love it everyday here. I've definitely had my share of wondering whether we've made the right move--mostly about whether this is the best environment for Gemma, but Dan and I have both found such awesome opportunities here in Taiwan that it's hard to let that all go now. I'm starting up my own business as a college consultant, and already have 3 student clients, which is equally amazing and puzzling considering we've done next to no marketing and PR efforts. Taiwan businesses, we've come to find, gain a lot of traction through word-of-mouth marketing. We're really optimistic about the future here and the possibility of having Gemma love and embrace two cultures.

Some pictures from the past 3 months here in Taiwan: