not all who wander are lost

not all who wander are lost

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Ni haoooo

Leo and I have embarked on another leg of our serendipitous journey. We've begun taking Chinese language classes together. They're being taught by a young married couple, a Taiwanese woman who comes from the south of Taiwan from an aboriginal tribe, and a whitie Wellfleetian surfer man who was born and raised here in Wellfleet, went to Taiwan and learned Chinese, met his wife and married, and lived in the south of Taiwan, surfing and getting his Masters (in Chinese!!) in Aboriginal Studies. Our energy was shining so bright in class last night as we heard their story. And that's because of our story: Leo's late mother is from Taiwan, and her mother (Leo's grandmother who is still living in Taiwan) is of aboriginal descent. Leo has wanted to learn the language, return to Taiwan to connect with his grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, AAAAAND surf in the waters of the motherland. He's also long been curious about his aboriginal bloodline. These two teachers embody all of those elements that Leo has been moving towards in his mind for years. As for me, my late father spent a great deal of the last ten years of his life in China and had learned enough of the language to travel, live, and work there. He worked hard at it and his dedication and efforts paid off in meaningful friendships with several Chinese people, young and old. I never got there while my father was still living. It will be an intense experience for me when I finally visit China.

Sitting in class last night, listening to Akay and Caleb speak, making new yet familiar tones with our mouths and drawing these ancient and beautiful characters, stroke by stroke, it was as if we had Arrived in a time and place that had been waiting for us, especially us. There were places in our minds and hearts popping open like a million little morning glories. Something old and familiar, yet new and exciting was tapped in that room last night.

in the Flow and feeling fine....

our homework for tomorrow is to create our Chinese name. Leo knew right away what he wanted. I'm pondering....


8 comments:

Anonymous said...

There is a reason why when I proposed the name Leo to his Mom that she thought it was beautiful. How can you improve on the sound...Leee Ohhhh...tell me if there is a better chinese name.

Anjana Dayal de Prewitt (Gudia) said...

Wow!!! All the best you guys! :-)

Anonymous said...

This is soooo exciting for both of you.Makes my heart jump. Mom

eve isk said...

It is remarkable, very interesting blog.

Hey Monkey Butt said...

how exciting! Good luck!

della said...

You two are amazing. Happy birthay you wonderful woman.

Reuben said...

Sounds sweet, hey! Can I come to the next lesson??

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