Melting Pot

When I get really frustrated with my surroundings, I ask myself (or the space around me) "What am I doing here?" The answer is really quite simple, Tara. You're here because your husband's job is here. While that is a perfectly factual answer, it does nothing to cease the wonder and complete bewilderment of the current location of my life. I understand where I am on a map and I understand the factual basis in which lands me in Taipei, Taiwan, but really what am I doing here? Perhaps I should rephrase the question to "What am I going to do here?" Aha! Yes, what am I going to do here. Up until a few hours ago, I don't think I knew. Thank heavens for a few hours ago...I might still be talking to space.

So the grand epiphany happened at the children's park across from our home. Now that I've escalated the "moment" to a "grand epiphany" I had better make this good. Sure hope I can convey it all with the pomp and circumstance my loving readers are hoping for. I foresee this post being in draft mode until I get it right...anyway. I had lofty goals of getting to the park yesterday, but I never seemed to get off the webcam. Since it's so hot here, it is morning or bust when it comes to outdoor parks. Today I got up as soon as Matt left for work, showered, ate breakfast and was waiting for Little Miss C to rise and shine. It is time to get this girl out of the house and let her run, run, run!! (Running leads to sleeping and sleeping leads to blogging time for Mommy.)

Water bottles in hand, we strolled the park before 10am. This park is sooo much fun! There are tons of things for Caitlin to climb on and the grounds are completely rubberized to minimize boo-boos. What great thinking. Most of this particular park has been updated within the last 6 months. Caitlin just loved it! She climbed, bounced of the ground (poor girl is only so good at walking), went on the wee-wa (Caitlinese for swing) and did the wee (Caitlinese for slide). She ran around until her hair was wet with sweat and every inch of her skin was red from heat and sun. (Note to all mom's and grandmom's reading this...she had sunscreen on, a hat and sunglasses. As you can imagine, only the sunscreen remained). So while Caitlin was having a blast, I was becoming totally engaged in the most amazing conversations with women from all over the world. One was from Japan. She moved here last Saturday and will be here for 2-3 years. One was from Jones Beach, NY and she's been here for 3 years, but leaving soon. One was from Columbia, but married to a man from Sweden so she speaks Spanish and English and is learning Mandarin. They have been here for 6 months and are expected to stay for 2-3 years. She lives very close to us too! Anyway, we were all talking and smiling and watching our kids run a-muck in the sweltering heat of Taipei, Taiwan. We all spoke English (some of us more than others) and we were all foreign to this land. So here I am laughing and sharing experiences with these women from all over the world a zillion miles away from my native land and finding myself a new comfort zone...in the melting pot. It finally occurred to me that it's not just me out here so far away from "home." I've actually never met anyone who has been transferred this far away. So to have this occur to me, in my very own little life has left me rather self absorbed. I am so thankful to have met these women, to embrace the playspace, the heat and the moment of clarity...I think I finally arrived. The jet lag has passed and I am present in my life.

So if it's not clear to my readers, I will articulate the answer to my rephrased question, "What am I going to do here?" I am going to go out each day. Not only am I going to go out, but I am going to reach out to people. I will turn friends into family and make home where I am, not where I'll be in 2 years.

I'll also make sure my daughter has clothes on that cover her legs a little more (those plastic surfaces get way too hot) and perhaps go to an indoor playspace when it's above 90 degrees. Phew, it was a hot one!!