HOW IT GOT STARTED

My Story

Well, the real start is an immigration story, but that's not my story to tell. So I'll start with my own story. I am bi-racial and grew up with my Taiwanese Ah Ma until she passed away when I was almost 8 years old. Before her passing, I would spend afternoons sitting on the floor of her apartment watching Taiwanese dramas with her while eating Lu Rou Fan 卤肉饭. The amount of experiences and memories I could have had with my Ah Ma are arguably unquantifiable and I miss her every day. However, one quantifiably aspect that is quite notable to me, is that I never had the opportunity to really learn Taiwanese Hokkien from her. Sure, there are other family elders, like my 阿姨, but somehow it never felt right (to not fault of their own). Taiwanese Hokkien has always been special to me, it reminds me of where my blood is from, where my food preferences stem from, and where my loved ones grew up. There's so much cultural connect that I personally feel like is connected to Taiwanese Hokkien, all words and sounds seem rooted in love, history, and custom that I want to understand better. Thus, when I learned that I had to complete a cultural immersive project in a culture or language  I was not directly apart of for my PhD program--I immediately thought of Taiwanese Hokkien. Of course, I have exposure to the sounds, but I have always been on the periphery of the meaning behind those sounds and gestures. So now is the time to learn!