Remembering Home
Introduction
Calvert Edwards
Calvert Edwards, from St Vincent and the Grenadines, has been in Taiwan for 13 years. He initially came to Taiwan to study, and shared with us his initial impression and feelings from when he first arrived on the island “I was nervous in the beginning, worried about fitting in and learning a new language, but it got easier after I learned Chinese.” Emphasizing with us how fundamental it was for him to learn Chinese to best fit in Taiwanese society.
來自聖文森及格瑞那丁的卡爾弗•愛德華茲(Calvert Edwards) 已來台長達13年的時間。回想起當初來台就學的心情,卡爾弗表示:「一開始我很擔心自己是否能適應環境、學習新的語言,但在學會中文後,所有事情都變得容易。」對他而言,學習中文是融入台灣社會最重要的關鍵。
Talking about home and memories, Calvert said that he remembers home whenever listening to Caribbean music, talking to other people from St. Vincent in their special dialect, and when sharing the homeland’s traditional food.
提及家鄉與回憶,卡爾弗表示,他在聆聽加勒比海音樂、用聖文森特有的方言與同鄉人聊天或與他人分享家鄉的傳統美食時最想念家鄉。
However, he also shared the influence of living abroad has on his memories of home, “the longer you stay away from home the harder it is for your memories to stay intact. They fade slowly. The taste of food, the words you use to say the names of your previous acquaintances, the places you used to go, and so on”, he says.
除此之外,他也分享了長期居住海外如何影響他對家鄉的回憶:「離開的時間越久,越難保存有關於家鄉的記憶。回憶會變得很模糊,食物的味道、熟人的名字、最常去的地方等等都會逐漸被遺忘。」
Whenever asking Calvert about what he wished more people knew about immigrants from his country that are new in Taiwan, he shared with us that people from my country can be fun to be around, they love having fun and are usually ambitious, vibrant people.
卡爾弗希望讓更多人知道聖文森人很有趣,不但懂得如何玩樂、享受生活,同時也是有熱情、有抱負的一群人。
Regarding his professional life, he decided to start a food catering business in which they specialize in Caribbean food. “Food reminds me of home” he says, “And I want to share that with people in Taiwan”. Sharing flavors from St. Vincent and The Grenadines is the perfect cathartic method to assimilate his living here, whilst remembering there. The food they cater is often given in other Caribbean events, creating in this way a safe space with music, food, and people for those missing home.
來自聖文森及格瑞那丁的卡爾弗•愛德華茲(Calvert Edwards) 已來台長達13年的時間。回想起當初來台就學的心情,卡爾弗表示:「一開始我很擔心自己是否能適應環境、學習新的語言,但在學會中文後,所有事情都變得容易。」對他而言,學習中文是融入台灣社會最重要的關鍵。
Talking about home and memories, Calvert said that he remembers home whenever listening to Caribbean music, talking to other people from St. Vincent in their special dialect, and when sharing the homeland’s traditional food.
提及家鄉與回憶,卡爾弗表示,他在聆聽加勒比海音樂、用聖文森特有的方言與同鄉人聊天或與他人分享家鄉的傳統美食時最想念家鄉。
However, he also shared the influence of living abroad has on his memories of home, “the longer you stay away from home the harder it is for your memories to stay intact. They fade slowly. The taste of food, the words you use to say the names of your previous acquaintances, the places you used to go, and so on”, he says.
除此之外,他也分享了長期居住海外如何影響他對家鄉的回憶:「離開的時間越久,越難保存有關於家鄉的記憶。回憶會變得很模糊,食物的味道、熟人的名字、最常去的地方等等都會逐漸被遺忘。」
Whenever asking Calvert about what he wished more people knew about immigrants from his country that are new in Taiwan, he shared with us that people from my country can be fun to be around, they love having fun and are usually ambitious, vibrant people.
卡爾弗希望讓更多人知道聖文森人很有趣,不但懂得如何玩樂、享受生活,同時也是有熱情、有抱負的一群人。
Regarding his professional life, he decided to start a food catering business in which they specialize in Caribbean food. “Food reminds me of home” he says, “And I want to share that with people in Taiwan”. Sharing flavors from St. Vincent and The Grenadines is the perfect cathartic method to assimilate his living here, whilst remembering there. The food they cater is often given in other Caribbean events, creating in this way a safe space with music, food, and people for those missing home.
David Rivera
In search of having the experience of a new language, culture and meeting new people, David Rivera, from Honduras, has been in Taiwan for 2 months. David explains the reason why he chose Taiwan as the destination: “I like to understand different cultures and their history. I think Taiwan has a very interesting history and that catches my attention.”
抱著想體驗新語言、文化,想認識新朋友的期待,大衛•里維拉(David Rivera) 兩個月前決定從宏都拉斯飛往台灣。大衛與我們分享了當初他選擇來台灣的理由:「我喜歡學習不同國家的文化與歷史,而台灣有趣的歷史非常吸引我。」
Although David has only been in Taiwan for a few months, he feels “very good and comfortable here.” “People are nice and most of them are very friendly”, he says. He also shared with us his greatest source of joy in Taiwan, such as the pleasant environment of coffee shops and the cleanliness of the MRT stations.
儘管目前大衛在台灣的時間只有短短的幾個月,但他覺得待在台灣的感覺「很舒服」,也表示:「大部分的人都非常友善。」他也與我們分享在台灣令他感到心情愉快的事,像是氣氛宜人的咖啡廳與乾淨的捷運。
Food is one of the elements that makes David long for his home country. "I miss avocados, Rica Sula banana chips and tustacas." Other than food, for David, music is very important because it brings back memories of an event from home. “With a little help from my friends” by The Beatles would be an example.
美食會讓大衛想起他的家鄉。「我想念酪梨、宏都拉斯品牌Rica Sula的香焦脆片與宏都拉斯甜玉米餅tustacas。」對大衛而言,除了食物之外,音樂也會讓他想起在宏都拉斯時的回憶,因此十分重要,像是由披頭四樂團演唱的歌曲“With a little help from my friends”就被賦予特別的意義。
Listening to The Beatles reminds David of his family and home. His memory of having the tradition of a family gathering every Thursday replays on his mind very often while living in Taiwan. While sharing a meal, they would get together to talk and have a good time, emphasizing the importance of the close family relationship.
大衛聆聽披頭四樂團的歌曲時,總會想起他的家人與家鄉。來到台灣後,過去在宏都拉斯每周四舉辦家庭聚會的回憶經常湧入腦海。與家人聚在一起吃飯是他們聯繫感情的方式。
Being away from home isn’t easy and oftentimes David misses his family and his dog. By overcoming the homesickness, he has gatherings with friends and family that he has here in Taiwan.
離鄉背井的生活並不容易,大衛常常想念遠在宏都拉斯的家人與狗。與在台的朋友與家人聚會是他克服思鄉情緒的方法。
David wished that more people knew that Hondurans “come with a great desire to learn and respect their culture. We come to follow their rules and that we respect them a lot”. He believes that the first step to fitting in and to feel closer with the people here would be learning mandarin to have a conversation with the locals.
大衛希望讓更多人知道宏都拉斯人「來台灣是希望學習、尊重這裡的文化。同時,他們也會遵守本地的所有規定。」他認為融入台灣社會、親近當地人的第一步是學習中文,並且與他們交談。
抱著想體驗新語言、文化,想認識新朋友的期待,大衛•里維拉(David Rivera) 兩個月前決定從宏都拉斯飛往台灣。大衛與我們分享了當初他選擇來台灣的理由:「我喜歡學習不同國家的文化與歷史,而台灣有趣的歷史非常吸引我。」
Although David has only been in Taiwan for a few months, he feels “very good and comfortable here.” “People are nice and most of them are very friendly”, he says. He also shared with us his greatest source of joy in Taiwan, such as the pleasant environment of coffee shops and the cleanliness of the MRT stations.
儘管目前大衛在台灣的時間只有短短的幾個月,但他覺得待在台灣的感覺「很舒服」,也表示:「大部分的人都非常友善。」他也與我們分享在台灣令他感到心情愉快的事,像是氣氛宜人的咖啡廳與乾淨的捷運。
Food is one of the elements that makes David long for his home country. "I miss avocados, Rica Sula banana chips and tustacas." Other than food, for David, music is very important because it brings back memories of an event from home. “With a little help from my friends” by The Beatles would be an example.
美食會讓大衛想起他的家鄉。「我想念酪梨、宏都拉斯品牌Rica Sula的香焦脆片與宏都拉斯甜玉米餅tustacas。」對大衛而言,除了食物之外,音樂也會讓他想起在宏都拉斯時的回憶,因此十分重要,像是由披頭四樂團演唱的歌曲“With a little help from my friends”就被賦予特別的意義。
Listening to The Beatles reminds David of his family and home. His memory of having the tradition of a family gathering every Thursday replays on his mind very often while living in Taiwan. While sharing a meal, they would get together to talk and have a good time, emphasizing the importance of the close family relationship.
大衛聆聽披頭四樂團的歌曲時,總會想起他的家人與家鄉。來到台灣後,過去在宏都拉斯每周四舉辦家庭聚會的回憶經常湧入腦海。與家人聚在一起吃飯是他們聯繫感情的方式。
Being away from home isn’t easy and oftentimes David misses his family and his dog. By overcoming the homesickness, he has gatherings with friends and family that he has here in Taiwan.
離鄉背井的生活並不容易,大衛常常想念遠在宏都拉斯的家人與狗。與在台的朋友與家人聚會是他克服思鄉情緒的方法。
David wished that more people knew that Hondurans “come with a great desire to learn and respect their culture. We come to follow their rules and that we respect them a lot”. He believes that the first step to fitting in and to feel closer with the people here would be learning mandarin to have a conversation with the locals.
大衛希望讓更多人知道宏都拉斯人「來台灣是希望學習、尊重這裡的文化。同時,他們也會遵守本地的所有規定。」他認為融入台灣社會、親近當地人的第一步是學習中文,並且與他們交談。
LL is a girl from New Zealand, who decided to stay anonymous, shared with us her Memories from Home. She’s been in Taiwan for nearly four years and arrived on the island with the intention to study Chinese and also have some experience working overseas. “Taiwan is a very interesting place, and I’ve had many new experiences here. My greatest source of joy is making friends with new people from different backgrounds.” She says.
When talking about memories from home, she said that good western food brings back memories of home, or when the weather turns colder. “I didn’t bring many things with me to remind me of home, but I do have some family photos and small items. One is a leather donkey a friend made for me back home. I hang it on my bedpost and it reminds me of the people who care about me back in my own country.” She also shared with us that being abroad helps her appreciate the lifestyle she had back home, and not to take things for granted. This is an interesting insight since we could say being abroad reinforced her feelings towards her place of origin. “I miss the way people interact with each other. Back home, people are very warm and more open about themselves making getting to know someone easier” When talking about her hopes for the rest of her stay in Taiwan, she said she hopes to increase her skills of adapting to new environments well. As well as being able to understand a wide variety of people and work well with anyone. |