Reflection #4

Julynna is on the same project as me. She's also my roommate because we share the same host family. She's funny and interesting. 

She always say cincai this cincai that but in the end she always gets the job done. She advised me that when I start working I have to find something I can do outside of work. I can't just live my life like a robot. Go to work, come home and sleep, repeat. 

She went through a lot of stuff last year that made her change as a person. She became more confident and independent. I told her in my letter to her that this part of her is really inspiring. When you feel lost or stuck, it's important to reflect and do something to change your situation or maybe just your perspective towards a situation.

She can speak fluent Mandarin and read and write in Mandarin too so she has loyally become my personal translator in Taiwan lol. I really appreciate her existence and I'm so glad and happy and grateful that I met her during this exchange program.

Reflection #3

People are generally good.

There was this one time during i-See camp, I didn't finish my dinner because I had a slight stomachache and the food was dry and unappetizing. So I ate half and saved some for later. When I was eating the other half when the high school kids were having a discussion session, David, one of the OC team members came to me and asked whether I didn't have dinner just now. I told him I only ate half just now because I had a stomachache. And he was so kind. Asked me if I need to go to the doctor and if I need anything just tell him or any of the OC team. I was so touched. Faith in humanity restored.

Reflection #2

The moment I stepped off the plane from Kuala Lumpur and set foot in Taiwan, I have been meeting new people everyday.

Before coming to Taiwan, I have this negative thinking towards the whole thing of meeting new people and getting to know them. I thought if friendships are going to die down someday and we all have to continue with our lives, forget and distance from each other, what's the point of forming new relationships? 

It's sad and it hurts. I always have this constant fear that I will miss someone more than they miss me or I will love someone more than they love me. I will think too much about this relationship that we have. I will be a burden. I have trust issues and I almost always regret opening up to people. 

But I have learned that all of this is out of my control. I can't control what people feel. I can only control what I feel. Therefore, I think it's unfair for me to limit myself for fear of something that I cannot control. I started to express myself more. When I miss my friends, I tell them. I learned to trust more. 

I learned to be more excited about meeting new people and anticipating what kind of relationship we will form. Human relationships are beautiful. It's weird and unexplainable but beautiful. 

Reflection #1

I failed to be consistent in writing in this blog.

From this moment onwards, I will start reflecting on what I had gone through, good and bad, so it won't be a meaningless experience.

So reflection #1. Reflect on your experiences so it has meaning.

Rant.

I think the term 'migrant workers' has already created a barrier between us and them. Before I started this project I have to admit I was a bit afraid. I didn't know these people and I didn't know what to expect. And the pressure from the social workers and the project manager of "oh you have to do something for them. Think of ways that you can make an impact. Use you talents" etc didn't help either.

To be honest, I feel I can connect more to them here than when I was in Malaysia. Because here in Taiwan, we're both foreign people in a foreign country. I can emphatize more with them. I get the feeling of wanting to go back home and be with your family but also wanting to fulfill the purpose of coming to a foreign country in the first place. You gotta do what you gotta do. Semua orang ada ujian masing-masing. We all have to be more kind to each other to make all our lives even just a little bit easier.

It's a new year!

We went to watch a movie yesterday at Big City. Movies here costs a lot! But I think the price is reasonable to Taiwanese people. Movie tickets here are almost five times more expensive than in Malaysia. So if you sell movie tickets at that kind of price in Malaysia, I would probably never go to the cinema at all and just watch movies at home lol. Oh tapi sebenarnya Grace yang belanja tengok movie ni hehehe. The movie we watched was called More Than Blue. It's a Taiwanese movie. I'll give a 5/10 rating. The plot and characters were boring and the ending didn't make any sense. Sky said it's a really good and sad movie. Now I'm beginning to doubt his taste in movies haha.



Today is the first day of 2019!! How time flies~

We did the count down for new years at the living room yesterday. We watched the fireworks at Taipei 101 on TV and then had a long chat with Grace about her travel experiences. But I'm sorry Grace I was getting sleepy already at the time so I don't remember what we talked about anymore haha.

 I went to karaoke with Evie, Julynna and Firhan. Again, mahal gila. Serious banyak habis duit dua tiga hari ni hahaha. I want to make memorable experiences on this exchange journey but now I'll probably just remember how expensive movies and karaokes are in Taiwan lol.

Night market.

Woke up at 9am. Took a bath, had breakfast and cleaned our room. After lunch, we went to Hsinchu City Government building by car with Grace, Kevin and Sky's grandma to watch Sky perform with his guitar club.

After Sky's performance, we went to the night market and ate a lot! I ate stinky tofu for the first time. I didn't like it very much lol. I also ate some grilled corn, a sandwich and oyster omelette. And I drank one cup of fruit juice and one cup of black tea.