Roots II

Last cup of steaming Vietnamese coffee in hand, I'm pondering the last morning of this stay. I came to rediscover my roots, and found that the kite I thought was lost in the winds of Time is still safely--but quietly--connected. Whatever I found, I hope it will not change me forever.

I was just starting to kind of like myself.

Was it the revelations that I never thought possible?...That Taipei is simultaneously more advanced and decrepit than America...That my friends lost for 13 years still remember and adore me...That my folded eyelids hint at European blood...That perhaps the failure of my parents' marriage really isn't all one person's fault.

Or was it the experiences that I did not anticipate?...Reconnecting with my dad...Drinking, singing and dancing with relatives with forgotten names and unfamiliar faces...Going to the top of the church and finding that I've already solved the conundrum...The enthusiastic pampering of cousins and old friends...Being considered ang dou everywhere I go...The night view from atop the pinnacle of the man-made world...The plethora of tasty Taiwanese authenticity...Waiting for the metro to reopen at 0600 after a whole night out...Fighting to keep the floodgate shut as friends ride away.

Will I see Taipei again in a few years, or 10? Will I recognize her? Will she remember me again? I don't know, but here I go, back into the arms of true love. Back to the New World.