Hello, all and Happy December! There’s a chilly wind that is sweeping through Hsinchu, the heavy blankets have been brought out, and only a few weeks stand between me and a much needed visit home.
In my Chinese class today, we debated the pros and cons of being 新潮 (xin1chao2) versus being 保守(bao3shou3.) The terms lose a lot in translation but the former generally means trendy, avant-garde, or more risk-taking while the latter means conservative or more conforming. While everyone in my class believed that they were more conservative, I hesitated in classifying myself as one or another and instead, replied that I was truly in the middle, half risk-taking and half conservative. I tend to dress and act more conservatively, but my thought process is always half risk and half rational thinking.
When our teacher posed the question, “Is it better to being 新潮 or 保守 in thought process,” I was struck that so many of my classmates answered with the latter. A classmate replied that being conservative in thinking provides a basis upon which one can judge what is right and wrong, and that people who are risk-taking are unstable, but immediately I disagreed. I think the reason this debate so resonated with me and caused such an instant reaction was because it touched upon the last two years of my life and my thought process throughout my time here. I immediately thought upon if I had not been a risk-taker and stayed back in the States, where I would have stayed in my warm cocoon of friends and family, but languished in my sense of the familiar. If I had stayed, I would have been happy for a short period of time, but I would have become miserable and disenchanted with my life in the States. Instead of the paved, familiar route I took the unpaved one and it led me on the most wonderful journey that I am still continuing to this day. If I had been conservative I would have never connected with my cultural heritage in the deepest, soul-tingling way. I would have never experienced New Year’s Eve at Taipei 101 or sunrise on Alishan. I would have never experienced the throat-clenching gripping throes of homesickness cured by the friendly smiles and kind words of my Taiwanese friends and dear roommate. I would never experienced the soaring elation at seeing snow through an airplane window for the first time in seven months but eagerly anticipate the return to palm trees and tropical flowers. Most of all, I would have never fallen in love with a country and a culture that has become an integral part of my being and taught me to grow, mature, and expand my viewpoints in ways I never thought possible.
So yes, I am a bit of a risk-taker in terms of thought process and if that makes me unstable, then so be it. I challenge you to be a risk-taker; color outside the lines, heck…draw your own picture! I promise you, the end result will be all the better. Your turn, are you more of a risk-taker or more conservative? Hope you are all well and happy holidays!
