AHLA Staff Team- The laughter and joy
I really enjoy the environment I get to work at. Candy, Alice, Din Ya and Jung are hilarious to be around. Candy and Din Ya are cousins and all of them hangout outside of work. Din Ya is around the same age or younger than me. They are always laughing and making fun of our mandarin. They love teasing us and taking photos. Alice is a sweetheart and Jung works very hard – we were teasing him how he’s one of the only guys there. They love calling me and the other two Si Bao Tai - and they say I am the loud one, P is the fun one and J is the shy one.
Every lunch they take us somewhere different. We rode on their motor scooters, learned how to use the Taiwan Bike Rental System, took a train/bus and walked around our area to find some delicious places for lunch. I think the best one was this Italian restaurant that is just- MMMMMM. I had a shrimp alfredo and I melted. One time, we went to a place right beside the hospital. P and I passed it every day but never knew what they served. It was a simple restaurant for those looking for a quick bite such as Wu Rou Fan (a type of barbecue pork belly that is braised). They had a soup that was really good with pepper too and you add a sweet chili sauce to your meal to make it taste better. Din Ya grabbed the sweet chili sauce but it explored all over her dress. It was hilarious – we couldn’t stop laughing at her. Luckily she had a change of clothes at the office and was fine for the rest of the day. She was a bit bitter about it though.
As our time is coming to an end, I think about the memories I made. I really cherish all the moments that I’ve made during this time. Listening to each and every story from a patient, a friend, a coworker or a stranger that I met has taught me a lot about cultural sensitivity and how their surroundings made them who they were as a person.
On a side note- we went to eat at a hotpot place for dinner and met their girlfriends/boyfriends! We love teasing them and love to ask- when are you going to get married ;)!