日期:106年1月3日「愛爾蘭時報」(The Irish Times)
愛爾蘭時報--難得機會造訪「亞洲待發掘寶石」─臺灣
(Chance brought me to Taiwan, Asia's 'undiscovered gem')
臺灣可謂「亞洲待發掘寶石」,但Taiwan refers to itself as “The Undiscovered Gem of Asia”, an astute self-appraisal given it seemed like no one I knew had heard of Taiwan before I moved there.臺可謂聽說過臺灣的人似乎不多,我曾多次被問到「“When are you leaving for Thailand?” I was asked repeatedly.你什麼時候去泰國?」,其實我對If I'm completely honest, my own knowledge of Taiwan wasn't exactly extensive and how I ended up there was down to chance more than anything else.臺灣之瞭解有限,但難得的機會讓我能造訪該地。
在大學的最後一年,我如同大多數學生一般,不知自己未來將作什麼?只想儘可能前往最遠的地方,以體驗不同的生活。亞洲已成為時尚造訪之地,其文化及歷史與眾不同,恰可滿足我想體驗不同事物的渴望。
就在此時我聽到一位大學講師告知,臺灣提供華語文獎學金。我Despite not speaking a word of Chinese nor knowing much about Taiwan, I sent in an application without giving it much thought.雖然不會說華語,也不了解臺灣,但還是不報太多希望提出申請,Eight months later I found myself on an aircraft headed for Taipei .八個月後我搭飛機前往臺北圓夢。
抵臺的第一個印象是人民十分親切溫暖,倘我只要多看Google地圖一分鐘,就會有人告知我路線。當If I was struggling with multiple bags at once, a stranger would rush to help me carry them.我費力提著袋子時,就會有陌生人急於相助。我Arriving in a country where I knew no one and couldn't speak the language, the kindness I received from strangers softened the landing blow.到了一個陌生又不能說當地語言的國家,這裡人民對陌生人的善意頓時讓我變得容易適應。
臺灣對「西方人」友善態度不減,我深深體會到臺灣社會特點為體貼及善解人意,臺灣率低Crime was virtually non-existent, I always felt completely safe and the support given to the elderly would put Ireland to shame.犯罪,隨時都很安全,另對老年人的照顧也遠勝愛爾蘭。
〈Cultural gulf文化鴻溝〉