I'm standing on two shores,
My tongue flicks Chinese, English,
A change of station.
I sympathize with both parties.
East Meets West,
My feet are on hot coals,
Jumping from shore to shore.
I wrote this in Singapore airport whilst waiting for the plane back to Taiwan, about ten years ago. It's still hard for me to grasp that I have been Taiwan over 15 years now. Last month, I took the children home to my parents' place for five weeks. I got to celebrate my first birthday with my parents in 20 years. Having left home at 17 to attend university, and then coming to Taiwan at 21, birthday celebrations at home just didn't work in with the schedule. I have to say, it was very nice celebrating with my parents. It just deepened the feeling of being split between two places, though. The children's desire to stay and play in New Zealand didn't help the tearing of the heart when stepping onto the plane at the end of the trip.
We've been back in Taipei almost a week. It's OK. It's just, sometimes you hope things change a little and you come back to new and exciting possibilities. So far, it hasn't been like that. We are still split between my inlaws' place and our cottage, and my business is still in need of attention. I still need to get into exercise and general healthy living and eating. There was no magic CHANGE FAIRY waving her wand while I was away. And, my heart hasn't all come with me this time. Maybe it will catch up and love Taipei again in a little while.
