Dreaming International: 花蓮 Hualien

Over winter break, I took an intensive course called Cultural Competence in Global Health, where we traveled to Hualien to visit indigenous communities, discuss readings, and participate in conversations about culture and health.

About 2% of Taiwan is indigenous--descended from the Austronesian language family speaking peoples who walked across the Taiwan Strait back when it was grassy plains about 4000 years ago. Back then Taiwan was the mountainous southeastern coast of continent, whereas now the island is separated from mainland China by the Taiwan Strait. Many distinct cultures and languages exists, but only about one tenth of indigenous Taiwanese can speak their ancestral language.

貓公 Fakong tribal community

Elders of the community preparing betel nut,
a chewable plant that's carcinogenic but important culturally

A traditional gathering place for the Amis community

Visiting the Wild Vegetable School,
where indigenous foraging is taught to youth

The class was led by an NTU professor and three local indigenous professors. I visited places that I would not otherwise have been able to see, and I learned so much that I could never have gotten from a class anywhere else in the world. The most worthwhile part for me was bonding with Taiwanese classmates. My Masters of Global Health program is all internationals and mostly Americans, but the class was cross listed with the Masters of Health Policy program, which is all Taiwanese. As non-indigenous Taiwanese natives they had very different perspectives about the class topics than the Americans did. I loved laughing and talking in Chinese with them as we got ready for bed together, walked around the night market, and whispered during lectures. They taught me that before you enter an empty hotel room, you should knock on the door politely to warn any ghosts within that you're entering. I once again shocked Taiwanese friends by showering in the morning instead of at night and not blow drying my hair.