Good-Bye, Taiwan

I am writing this note in tears. People know about me understanding me well; Dr. Chen is a very emotional person. When I am writing something deep from my hear, my tears pour out of me.

This one year sabbatical in Taiwan has fulfilled one of my life missions to contribute in Taiwan and to learn something I had missed when I went abroad in 1971. During this year, I taught English Technical Writing, Polymer Chemistry, and Industrial Chemical Process. I had great interactions with students especially for my English writing students. I have English Coffee Social Hour with them every week. Some of them went with me to see movies of '1895' and 'Slum Dog Millionaire'. I also see their growth in English writing skills. Those are gratifying accomplishments.

Intellectually, I also had great interactions with most faculty of the chemical engineering department of NCHU especially with Professor Dai Shenghong and Professor Jeng Ru-Jong. We had weekly meeting during my sabbatical in Taiwan. Those what I have learned and contributed are also gratifying.

The Taiwanese history re-learning experiences are exciting and are hard to describe. When I grew up in Taiwan before 1971, I was taught in school about Chinese history and geography. This year in Taiwan, I actually learn about Taiwanese geography and history. I learned about Taiwanese-French war, I learned about Dr. Mackay and Mr. Hatta Yoichi who had built Wu-San-Tou Water Reservoir and Ja-Nan Irrigation System that has turned the Ja-Yi, Tainan Plain into the rice warehouse of the Southeast Asia. I also had deep appreciation of the Hakka's culture. I went as far as Ping-Tong to see Hakka culture historical remains as well as Nan-Joung and San-Yi. I also had participated in the Tong Blossom Festival. The experiences were fascinating and fantastic.

Living alone my self for one year is hard. Fortunately, I found a church group and a Qi-Kong group to give me support, spiritually and physically. Many thanks to my sister and her children who have taken care of me almost to every details. Also thanks to Meeilei's brother, Mr. Ou Chau-Fu who had taken me to many places in Taiwan to learn about the beauty of Taiwan. Thanks also to friends at Chau-Yang University such as Dr. Huang Jin-Teh and his wife who had introduced me to the church and Dr. Shih Yen-Feng who took me to Ju-San to see the old battle field of Mr. Lin Shung-Wun.

Lastly, I thank my wife for her generosity to grant me living here alone while she has to take care of everything at home such as mowing the grass and shoveling the snow. Those usually are my jobs. Daily Skype phone conversation with Meeilei also gave me tremendous support.

I also had made a mistake by participating in Herbalife Nutrition Club which had made my insomnia and digestion problems worse. At the moment of writing this note, I am really sick. I lost appetite and lost weight. I look forward to coming back to the U.S. to go back to the normal life for better health.

Good bye, Taiwan. I love you all.