on becoming a Traveller . . .: Shifting of perspective....

Finally tried to copy some of the pictures from my camera SD card onto the desktop of the guesthouse laptop. Taipei has been easy to travel, great transport system, very good service from the people, from the aunties selling noodles to the people at the MRT, trains (TRA) and Bus stations. Even people you meet on the street are quite helpful and easy to talk to. Taiwanese do not naturally start conversations but once started, they are quite friendly. Very Asian in all of us.

Last night, the 2 young ladies from Beijing who shared the same dorm room as me were back real late. It was their last night in Taiwan and they had been busy getting all the stuff they need. The things are much cheaper here than in China due to the higher tax.

Zhao Wei {曹伟}shared quite a bit of the Chinese culture as we started chatting. She was quite apologetic for the loud and rude behaviours of Chinese.

I shared with her my unpleasant first brush with some mainland Chinese tourists when I was at the National Palace Musuem,and the Sun Yet San Memorial Hall earlier that day.

There were hordes of Chinese tourist groups and they spoke real loudly, almost shouting to one another across the room.I got quite a shock when a lady shouted near my ear to her companion across the hall. I was being shoved aside out of the blue when I was stamping a chop from the museum on my journal book.

Had a rude shock after experiencing much pleasant orderliness and patience from the Taiwanese, my first thought was, 'Must be Chinese from mainland.' True enough, a group start gathering the small stand, literally oblivious to me trying to stamp the chop, not even waiting. I actually blurted, 'Can't you wait?' to deaf ears and blank faces. Have to prepare myself mentally before China in July...

Zhao Wei was apathethic and she agreed to the rowdiness of Chinese at home and overseas. She apologised and hope foreigners like me can give Chinese time to change. She too is not proud of their behaviours as she witness how they were where sight seeing in Taiwan. However, Zhao Wei and her friend are the rare Chinese I got to know. They have been very considerate when sharing the dorm room, whispering in the morning as they woke real early that day, so as not to wake me up. I was already half awake.They did not even switch on the small lamp next to each bed so as not to disturb me.

Zhao Wei mentioned her friend's plight when she was studying overseas. When the floor has been dirtied, the friend's uni-mates will first think it was done by her. Zhao Wei then shared the reason why Chinese are so self-focused and always aggressively fighting for themselves. The Cultural Revolution have caused so much harm and torture to the Chinese psychologically and socially. The 10 years China suffered under the revolution had pulled her people regressively almost two decades. People learned to be thinking and fighting for their own needs. She however, stresses that the younger generation of Chinese like her are changing and different. She hopes we can give China time, a lot of time to change. Her sharing shifted my perspective and help me see through her, China's hope is in the young generation to be more cultivated, open hearted and keen to change for the better.

Zhao Wei and her friend did still prepare me to be more aggressive when in Beijing. ~_~

"Must '争取' fight for yourself!" They joked half seriously. How small can the world be when I learned that they were both teachers, and Zhao Wei's sister is a Special Ed teacher. Both of them joined teaching immediately after graduation. However, they both major in Film Literature.So they laughed when I told them I was in the Film& TV production line for many years before switching to Special Ed.

So Zhao Wei gave me her number and asked me to contact her when I arrive in Beijing. 'It will be easier for you if I can bring you around, cos you know Beijing people are...'

"Dont worry. I will prepare myself mentally to 争取 (fight for myself)!" and we both laughed.

We continued to chat till 2 in the morning. Thanks my new found friends, for helping me to look at your people from a different and more tolerant viewpoint. Mankind will benefit if we can always shift our view a little sometime, zooming in,zooming out, moving a little of our lenses can make human relationship so much better.

Tanshui 淡水

This is the northern coast of Taipei.It was quiet when I was there early in the morning. Can be reached by taking the MRT from Taipei Main Station (near to FlipFlop Guesthouse)all the way to the end of green line.Takes about 25 mins to reach there.