As of writing, I am still finishing my long weekend in a country fairly close to ours. My husband and I took a trip to Taiwan, as revenge for the many years that we weren’t able to go on a vacation. Its old name was Formosa. In the past days that we have gone around this country, I have learned many things that I wished we would also adopt.
But before I go on a rundown of these nuggets of wisdom, I will talk about how the Filipinos used to be looked at by the people at Taiwan. Old folks say that they always want to be like the Philippines --progressive and developed. They were merely an island country home to different Polynesian tribes and grappling to create a stable nation. Just like us they also have gone through a lot, like a diamond that has been buffed, cut, and polished to be the best it can be.
In relation to this, one point I would like to raise is that these people really know how to preserve their culture. The sense of nationalism is different here, even the level of respect they have for their forefathers. Their will to fight for their land and sovereignty also sparked a revolution. However they weren’t quick to turn upon each other. In the Philippines, the leaders were too busy about their personal issues that it got to their heads.
The second one is their weight to the arts. I was so amazed at how science and history worked together to preserve ancient artifacts that showed their already-intricate art form. Calligraphy works on paper, ceramic items, and those made of ivory were carefully handled so they could be made beautiful. They wanted the next generation to know that back when the world was still too focused on the West, they were rising as the East.
Thirdly, Taiwan has taught me that stories could be told through food. Yes, their food scene is sprawling everywhere. Every stall has an old man or lady behind the operation of this daily grind which all originated from one single story. This is also a family heirloom that they pass on not just to their next of kin, but to the whole world as well.
Despite these, there are some downsides of this country. For instance, they house a number of overseas Filipinos workers for a variety of jobs. That includes being a caregiver for young children or super-old individuals. Their stories also touch my heart because they had to leave their country to earn low income. They don’t want to come back to the Philippines anymore knowing that life at home will only bring them down.
There is so much to see and explore in this new country. If only the government’s protocol of benchmarking will be put to good use.