That's Hakka

A couple of weekends ago, Fulbright took all of the ETAs and our host families to Ping Tung County, just outside of Kaohsiung. There we visited a "cultural park" dedicated to the fourteen aboriginal tribes of Taiwan. We saw dance performances that told about the customs and histories of these tribes and saw an informational video about their locations and population sizes. The aboriginal peoples are of Austronesian descent and appearance. One of the most well known tribes are the Hakkas who speak...Hakka. We were introduced to this group early on because the announcements in public arenas like the metro are made in Chinese, Taiwanese, Hakka and English.
We also had the opportunity to try on some of the traditional costumes, including fake tattoos. My host dad insisted that we all put them on our faces and take a group photo!

My host family was by far the funniest and most interesting part of the trip. Especially my hilarious father! He is very committed to finding me a Taiwanese boyfriend. Throughout our day in Ping Tung, he pointed out potential guys. During the biggest dance performance, several of the dancers came into the audience to shake hands and welcome us. Every guy that came by and shook my hand was greeted by my father shouting, "You like her?! You like her?!" I am really grateful that I was paired with a family who has a great sense of humor like me.

In other unrelated, but highly anticipated news, I recently made some major decisions about the next steps in my life. I will be attending the University of Michigan Law School. After receiving so much great advice and support from my family and friends, I ultimately made the decision based on the strength of Michigan's programs. Their Chinese Legal Studies center, expert faculty in the areas of Chinese law, international financial transactions, and women's rights, and their reputation for producing phenomenal lawyers are the perfect fit for me.

However, I will not be going to Michigan this fall. I am staying in Taiwan to study Chinese! There is no better way for me to reach my goal of fluency than to pursue Chinese at a university in Kaohsiung and deepen my friendships with people here in Taiwan. But I will be home for the summer before I head back to Taiwan. So, you can look forward to another stretch of "Keeping Up With Kelley."