The Wisdom of Our Elders

This weekend I went back to Tai Chung to visit my grandparents who are around 80-ish years old. Both sides are still alive and live in the same region so I take turns visiting both. My dad’s side is a bit more paranoid of me walking down the streets in Taiwan alone while my mom’s side is often – go explore type of view. It’s always a blast to go home and visit them because they have so much wisdom they love to share.

This is my fourth time in Taiwan. My first time was when I was in grade one and I left for a month or two during the school term (which I am surprised thinking about it now that I was allowed to) with my mom. She was having medical treatment in their facilities as it is cheaper and the quality of the operation is more advanced. I remember staying with my grandparents and attending Chinese school every day (it wasn’t a vacation). The second time I went was in grade 6 with my 3rd older brother. We both fought constantly and primarily hung out at home. I think we drove my grandparents’ nuts with our bickering but hey- we’re siblings! It’s what we do. The third time I went to Taiwan was during my last year of high school. I participated in the OCAC Loveboat camp as mentioned previously. This was my first time away from my grandparents while staying in Taiwan and I felt that I actually learned so much more. I’m not saying I don’t love hanging out with them but I think to truly experience the country and your culture, you need to go explore on your own. My grandparents also realized that as when I came back to visit them this weekend, they saw how much I enjoyed not only visiting Taiwan but actually living in Taiwan.

They made many comments about my Mandarin and Taiwanese speaking skills improving while I told them about my daily schedule at the internship. I showed them the survey that we were developing and the target group was older adults just like them. We wanted to analyze their literacy skills as most of them did not have further education than high school. My grandpa from my dad’s side sat me down and he was discussing about how he built his business and why he was successful. When we were young and went for walks, he wanted to show where he used to own property. He does have his typical traditional views of what a woman’s role is in the family but as his health has up and downs, he mentioned how important it was for him that grandma was very smart. Grandma is now in charge of the paper works and he can trust her to do so.

Going through this weekend, it was very difficult. I remembered my second year ageing class where Dr. Aleksandra Zecevic (if you have the chance, you HAVE to take a class with her- she is phenomenal!) had us write reflections about our learnings and discuss it in our tutorials. I remember the reflection about illness, death and dying. I had a really hard time sharing my reflection with my tutorial and I actually ended up in tears. It is hard to think about a loved one moving on and I am very lucky that both of my sides are still alive. It truly makes you appreciate the time you have to spend with them and listen to the wisdom that they want to share.

Love you Ama, Agong <3