It's been a year since I wrote. This last year in Taiwan has been amazing. My studies in Chinese language took the forefront and I got my ass kicked. Getting your ass kicked can hurt but every time you get back up you get a bit stronger each time. I seriously studied my ass of and have made great progress. I completed up to the 5th series of books that my University has to offer. At that point my Chinese was pretty good. I feel at ease when I speak, I can convey deeper thoughts and ideas, so I felt like it was time to take off the training wheels. It was time to end my formal studies and find an internship. I understand enough when people speak,and that was my goal.
Looking back to before I came to Taiwan I had this idea that I could be flying before I could even walk. I thought I'd "Hit the ground running" as they say. What has been most humbling about this last year was "time". In our culture we have this notion that there is never enough time and we struggle to beat it day in and day out- we wont accept that things take time. The thing is, if you ever attempt anything in Chinese, be it the language, calligraphy, martial arts, traditional medicine it will take you your whole life, I mean your whole life. And if you work day in and day out adding this to this bank of knowledge then maybe you can be one of those great 50-60 year old masters we all look up to. I have accepted the reality of "time" and it's relationship to knowledge and the only way it can be "rushed" is to carefully study day in and day out. If you study for 3 hours a day of Chinese traditional medicine it would equal a a single grain of sand. I'm collecting my granules and before you know it I'll have a sandbox of my own to play in- when I'm 50 Hahahahaa!
I didn't write in so long because of this very idea.
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