Lost in Translation

For the last couple years (with a pandemic pause) I was able to take my minions back to Taiwan. My main goal is to make them long for their Taiwanese/Chinese heritage. To feel rooted in a place that is so far removed from our everyday physical space. 

This summer we attended a family camp run by indigenous Tsou people of Taiwan. I heard the word 感動 which translate directly to sensing movement but it is used to express this idea of being moved. But it's so much more than that...

One of the young people running the camp spoke about his experience at 18 coming back to his ancestral land to learn the culture and language. If you don't know much about Taiwan indigenous history it parallels with the eradication through cultural genocide in the US native history.  But in the 2016 then President Tsai made a formal apology to the indigenous tribes of Taiwan. She did more than apologies, (https://china.usc.edu/tsai-ing-wen-apology-indigenous-peoples%E2%80%9D-august-1-2016) she put money behind the apologies an pushed for protecting basic rights. One of them is allowing people to change their names back to their indigenous language and providing money to bring young people back to learn the languages. 

I spent three days learning about their culture and heard these young people share their experiences 感動 on why they gave up their lives in the city to run these cultural centers. They understand that they are the last defense for a dwindling population to help their Tsou tribe thrive. 

As I listen I could feel the tears well up because that is exactly why I want to improve my mandarin and my kids to know the culture of Taiwan. Because it's really a love song to my ancestors and their sacrifice.  

Kids road in bed of trucks, saw stars, built fish traps and hiked thick forests of Alishan. And received a lifetime of mosquito bite scars.