Life Goal Completed: Visit Asia

Disclaimer: I want to get off on the right foot here as I begin to post about visiting Asia. In order to do that, I need to address the fact that, although I've spent the last 9 weeks in Asia, I've only been in one country, with basically one type of people group, and heck, I've haven't even been to the mainland; I'm on an island! However, this is still Asia, and I've definitely had a life goal for a while to spend time on every continent, so even though I'll make generalizations about Asia, know that they don't necessarily apply all over the continent, just like any other generalization isn't always true.

Now that we're clear on that...

First of all, I'm blessed that God has allowed me, at the young age of 20, to have already spent time on four continents. I'm especially thankful for the last two months I've been allowed to serve here and fill a need for a time...
 
I've definitely learned a lot about Asian culture, something I wasn't even close to familiar with before this trip. Here's a bit of what I observed:

• Asia is time-oriented, just like the United States. This is nice because, well, I'm American, and this just suits me well. We weren't left waiting for devotionals to start for 2 hours like in an event-oriented culture, such as in Sierra Leone (where I spent time 2 years ago).
• Asia is not, however, individualistic like the United States. Instead, it's much closer to what would be called a collectivistic culture (and no, my spell check doesn't like that word, either). This means that, instead of focusing on the individual like we do, i.e. "You can be whatever you want if you set your mind to it!", they focus on what's good for the group as a whole, i.e. families, tribes, regions, etc.
• Hospitality is important to them. However, I want to clear something up here. We experienced great Asian hospitality while we were here, but that doesn't mean that Americans aren't hospitable. Indeed, they are. There's just always a few people in every place who may be more grumpy than the rest!
• Tradition seems to still have a pretty strong hold here, though it seems to be starting to lose its grip like it has in America. We saw this in food, religion, medical care, and many other areas of life.

Just a few tidbits, and probably not anything you couldn't find in a textbook on culture or sociology. However, these things are more than just ideas; they are real. Having to live within these ideas when you are in another culture is very real, as well, and is very important if you ever plan on traveling. There's definitely a place in travel to be a tourist, but there's also a fine line of respect that you should walk as someone who has been allowed to visit another person's country.

All of this to say that I find that I really enjoyed life here in Taiwan. We weren't in a 100% Asian environment since we mostly cared for babies in an orphanage ran by Americans, but we definitely experienced life as those who live here do everyday. Personally, I have loved it.

I genuinely hope to visit Taiwan again someday, and I know that I'll definitely take God up on the offer if it ever returns to the table. But for now, I can at least say that I've added another drop in my bucket by spending time in Asia, and I'm a more complete person because of it.

 
P.S. - Let me know if you're looking for a chance to serve in Taiwan. I have a couple of different Christian ministry opportunities (not just involving babies!) that I would love to share with anyone who is willing to listen.