My summer has started off spectacularly (and with a great tan!) this year with a short stint in Taiwan and Vietnam. The maternal side of my family all met up in Asia to celebrate the 60 year anniversary of my grandparents' marriage.
Being back in Taiwan was incredible because it feels so much like home to me. We got to revisit some of the places I fell in love with last year and also see some things I did not have the chance to see before. Also, who could forget the amazing food and nightlife that Taiwan has to offer? I could not and was happy to experience it all over again. There is something about the island that I cannot get enough of.
We also visited Ho Chi Minh City, the Mekong Delta, and Phu Quoc Island. Vietnam definitely showed me its "developing" status and it was hard to see that the disparity of wealth between tourists and locals is so so skewed. We took a full day tour of the Mekong Delta through which tens of people served us in some way and the tour only cost $10 a head. It makes no sense to me that people should have to survive off of roughly $2 a day and live inexplicably indigent lives. Vietnam had some incredibly gorgeous sights and delicious food, but I still cannot get over the poverty and amount of development the country needs to undergo.
People thought it was strange that we visited Vietnam for a family reunion, but I guess that leads to the story that my grandparents actually fled China and first came through Vietnam (Phu Quoc, specifically) for a few years before making it to Taiwan. Hearing their stories of getting away from oppression and all the struggles they had to endure really puts my life into perspective and makes me respect them even more than I already do. They overcame so many obstacles to brighten their lives and subsequently their children and my own; I cannot even begin to explain how appreciative I am for them. Through it all, they have kept strong to their faith, their love, and to their family. I can only wish to be as strong as them someday.
