Now
that I’m back in the U.S., I’ve noticed some things about me that have changed
due to my time away. Here’s a short list:
1.
I often need to be reminded to tip in restaurants.
2.
I feel a little surprised when shoe stores have
my size.
3.
Over half my stories start, “When I was in
Taiwan …”
4.
But I can’t start these stories any other way,
because the fact I was in Taiwan is somehow essential to them.
5.
When I hear the word “foreigner” in any context,
I somehow feel like the word is referring to me.
6.
I feel homesick for a place where I was never
considered a local.
7.
These feelings of homesickness are often
triggered by seeing a 7-11.
8.
But if I go into that 7-11, I will inevitably be
disappointed by the poor tea selection.
9.
When talking to strangers, I find myself restructuring
sentences to avoid difficult words, only to realize that, yes, other grad
students do know the term lingua franca.
10. I get ridiculously excited about things like
colorful autumn leaves and frost.
Obviously,
these are not the most important take-aways from my time in Taiwan, but they
are real. So if you want to travel overseas, be warned: your opinion of 7-11
will never be the same!
