An American In Taiwan

My name is 雷恩, and I’m going to be an expat.

I wanted to keep this blog in order to chronicle my journey, physically, mentally and emotionally, to a place quite literally on the other side of the world. I’ve never been out of the country before; I just recently traveled west of Chicago for the first time; I’ve never been in a place in which my ability to talk my way in or out of just about anything fails me.

It’s going to be different. It’s going to be difficult. Still, it’s going to be worth it, I’m sure.

I will need to work on my Chinese in an orderly, consistent and driven way. Any and all suggestions about how to do that are more than welcome, of course. I also need to start eating more tofu and begin training my body to not only be open to these new tastes and textures, but to crave them.

I also need to work out so I look better in a t-shirt, which I’m sure I’ll be wearing a lot of in a place that is pretty much summer 365 days a year. I wonder how that will affect my psoriasis… I bet it will get better.

You didn’t need to know that, but, hey, this is all about honesty.

So, in the spirit of honesty, I’ll say the following things:

• I’m scared, but not worried.
• I’m excited, but not looking forward to the heat.
• I’m hoping I can get on my girlfriend’s grandmother’s good side, and use that to work my way into her mother’s heart.
• I’m lazy, but can’t afford to be, especially about learning Chinese.
• I’m also embarassed to speak Chinese, even in front of my girlfriend’s friends, who are native Chinese speakers.
• I’m somewhat disappointed that her brothers are both taller than me, but I’ll live.
• I’m going to get sick when I get there, but I can’t be a baby about it. I need to prove to her father that I’m a strong man who can successfully take care of his daughter.

Wish me luck.

I know I can do this. I know I’ll love my new home, even though it’s hotter than hell and humid as a sauna. There are endless possibilities for me there, and a life with the woman I love.

That’s all I need, really.

Tags:

This entry was posted by 美國人 on Thursday, November 6th, 2008 at 16:41 and is filed under Thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.