The Adventurous Explorer

Travel & Discovery

Reflections on Uncertainty

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Me atop a mountain on Thanksgiving day, 2012, during my 5 month sojourn around Taiwan/Southeast Asia.

Me atop a mountain on Thanksgiving day, 2012, during my 5 month sojourn around Taiwan/Southeast Asia.

Several months ago, I willingly plunged head first into a period of uncertainty. I knew what I wanted to do and was willing to risk everything to follow my gut, but I feared the consequences my decisions would entail.

Last days always leave me with mixed emotions: excited and anxious for what is to come, reflective and appreciative of what has passed. As I look back on the past months, the three things that I’ll take away from this unique period of my life are:

The people met, places seen, and experiences had. Novelty to anything, both concrete and abstract, is something that I constantly seek. I enjoy being stimulated and challenged. I knew my experiences abroad would enable me to achieve a high degree of stimulation, I didn’t expect to be just as deeply stimulated and engaged once I returned.

Dealing with uncertainty. Being comfortable with discomfort is truly a skill. I don’t think I’ve totally succeeded, but my tolerance for the unknown has increased exponentially throughout my travels and time back in the States.

Beating to my own drum. Societal pressures and perceived obligations might make fulfilling our own dreams seem unrealistic, risky, and an endeavor that only the wealthy can pursue. Living life on your own terms is truly a liberating feeling. I hope everyone can learn how to address the fear and risk involved in order to self-actualize.

Solo Trip to the Straits

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Before leaving Asia, I spent a week traveling to Southeast Asia. On this weeklong trip, I chose three places to visit: Singapore, Penang, and Kuala Lumpur.

The experience was the first time I traveled alone. I once did a three-day trip to Guilin on my own while studying abroad in China, but I stayed at a hotel and was on a tour for most of my time – not quite my impression of traveling solo as a young 20-something. Some thoughts on my weeklong trip:

The People

I was a little hesitant in going abroad for a whole week, mainly because I was afraid that I’d likely go a week without talking to anybody other than cab drivers, at tourist sites, or receptionists. Wrong! I found it pretty easy to meet fellow backpackers – all it took was a simple conversation to break the ice. Not to mention all the helpful folks I met while navigating around town.

The Traveling

Intra-regional travel in this part of the world is cheap. Really cheap. Initially I had planned on busing it from one city to the next, but thanks to Air Asia, I was able to snag one way fares for as low as USD$20. Crazy. I really don’t understand how Air Asia, and the other Low Cost Carriers in the region can turn a profit. If only these airlines could operate in Hawaii.

The Weather

I knew that it was going to be hot, but wasn’t expecting that it was going to be humid – oh so humid!  As a tourist, walking about from one place to another was pretty draining. On many of the days I came back to the hostel feeling like I’d been covered with a film of grime and sweat. Kinda gross, but it comes with the experience, I suppose. Reminded me in some ways of Hawaii, except without the trade winds.

The Food

So much good food! And cheap! Both Singapore and Malaysia are cultural melting pots. I forgot a lot of what dishes were called, but it all tasted so delicious. Extra glad that I didn’t get sick from eating all the street food!

After a whirlwind week of traveling, my only regret is not staying longer. Oh well, there’s always a next time.

Winter ’11: Taiwan in Review

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Today marked the last day of class for the winter term at Taida. I can’t believe my three-month course is already over!

Ever since coming back from Shanghai, I’ve always wanted to return to Asia to further improve my Chinese. I yearned to live in the Middle Kingdom. Everything seemed so fascinating. I had the option of returning to Asia for a summer to improve my Chinese, this time in Taipei, at the International Chinese Language Program. But, because I had a firm start-date in mid-June, coming back one more time became a non-issue. I never forgot about my goal to come back, and three months ago I finally returned.

Well, it’s been three months! It’s definitely been an incredibly amazing experience. I mentioned in an earlier that I had mixed reservations about my course. After staying for the full course, I can honestly say that my opinions haven’t changed. However, I don’t think I can fault the CLD for this. My teacher was fantastic. Since I was the only non-Japanese in my class, the focus of the course was on primarily speaking (which is what I wanted) than on writing.

While increasing my speaking, listening, and reading fluency was the primary goal, my goals in coming to Taiwan weren’t solely to study Chinese. Rather, I also wanted to:

1. Learn traditional characters

  • Did this every day: ordering food, watching the subtitles on TV, and of course during class

2. Get a different perspective of cross-strait relations

  • Hard to say whether this was accomplished or not, but certainly got a read on this during the 2012 Taiwan Presidential Elections

3. Climb some mountains

  • Climbed two mountains near Taipei: Elephant Mountain and Seven-Star Mountain

4. Visit the beaches

  • Went to Kending, Nanwan, and Baishawan – renowned beach areas in the south of Taiwan

5. Use the island as a base for traveling throughout Asia.

  • Went to Hong Kong
  •  Will be going to Singapore and Malaysia

Looks like I accomplished everything I wanted to get out of while here. Success!

One unexpected surprise that makes this experience abroad unique from my previous experience in Shanghai was getting to know and befriend people from all over the world.

Unlike the program in Shanghai, which consisted of only American college students, the people I’ve met here are incredibly diverse, both in terms of age and background. Some students here are still in college. Others, like me, have just graduated relatively recently. Others haven’t even started college, or have been out of college for years. I’ve gotten to meet folks literally from all over the world: Australia, Iraq, Honduras, Hungary, Japan, and the UK, just to name a few. All this diversity has taught me so much about the world, some trivial, some fascinating:

– Knowing what words like bogan and woop woop mean to Aussies
– Getting a first-hand account of being buried-alive after a bomb blast in Iraq
– Realizing just how intense the desire to migrate to America still is for many

Overall, I’m incredibly glad as well as thankful that I’ve been able to (financially afford) putting a hold on my professional career for this language program. Besides doing all of the things aforementioned, this “career-break” has really given me the time to re-evaluate what I want most out of my life, both personally and professionally. Moreover, this experience has affirmed my belief that it’s the people you meet, not the place, which makes a city feel like home.

That’s a lot of writing. If you read this far, thanks!

I’m still going to be in Asia through the end of February, but this weekend is the last I’ll be spending in Taiwan. So, if you excuse me, it’s time for me to log off and make some last-minute memories before heading back home!

The Concept of Home

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“Where are you from?”

I’ve gotten asked this question countless times. Even though I was born and grew up in Hawaii, I have a hard time answering this question. Over the past decade, I’ve lived in:

–       4 years in Philadelphia
–       1.5 years in Washington DC
–       Countless weeks in Los Angeles
–       3 months each in Tokyo, Boston, Shanghai, and Taipei

Initially, I considered where I was raised to be my hometown. Under that definition, it’d be Hawaii. But over the past decade, I’ve come to realize that home means so much more than where you were born.

For me, living away from Hawaii has changed what I consider to be home:

–       Extremely familiar with the area
–       Have friends/family in the area that I am close with.
–       See myself living in the area (in the near-term or long-term).

Under these criteria, I now consider two places home: Washington DC and Los Angeles. Washington DC is a fantastic city. There’s so much to do, it’s where I need to be professionally, and I’ve got some great friends there. More importantly, my friends are still located in the Northeast. With Los Angeles, even though I’ve never officially lived there, I actually held a CA drivers license for a couple years during college. I’m incredibly familiar with the area. I’ve gone there more times since graduating high school than going to Hawaii, I have a lot of family there, and above all, the weather is fantastic–it’s a great place to call “home!”