Once upon a time, a man swallowed a goat. The man was very large and the goat was small enough to sit on a seed of grass, so tiny that individual organs and miniscule details could not be detected. Viewed by the naked eye, he was only a dash of white. The man was not what one would describe as a diligent chewer. The goat passed through his mouth relatively unharmed, loaded on a morsel of pork floss with his eyes half-open and his fetlocks tucked under its chin. The motion was horrible…
Over the years, I had grown familiar with the musty scent of airplanes, the sound of my footsteps on the boarding bridge, and the taste of microwavable airline meals. I had gotten used to the constant feeling of change, like a bottle bobbing in the Pacific Ocean seafoam, searching for a home. What does the word “home” mean? I’ve always struggled with answering the question: “Where are you from?” Even more so now. Is it where I was born? Where I grew up? Where I currently live?…
TAIWANESEAMERICAN.ORG THE BETTY L. YU AND JIN C. YU CREATIVE WRITING PRIZES
TaiwaneseAmerican.org is pleased to announce the inaugural Betty L. Yu and Jin C. Yu Creative Writing Prizes. Created in collaboration with Taiwanese American author Charles Yu, the Prizes are intended to encourage and recognize creative literary work by Taiwanese American high school and college students, and to foster discussion and community around such work. Submissions may be in any literary genre including…
IMAGE CREDITS: FORMOSA Many high school students who are of Taiwanese ethnicity spend a summer teaching English in Taiwan. Through programs such as Vox Nativa (Vox) and Connexpedition, these students have the opportunity to create connections with the native Taiwanese community. However, for Bay Area rising high school seniors and best friends, Marianne and Serena, they took their treasured memories from their summer teaching Indigenous Taiwanese children with Vox and launched a small business…
LAST UPDATED: JANUARY 12, 2020
The OFTaiwan Award, co-sponsored by TaiwaneseAmerican.org and the Intercollegiate Taiwanese American Student Association (ITASA) awards student organizations that host programming about Taiwanese heritage, culture, and identity. Recipient organizations will be selected based on their events’ and program’s impact, content, and engagement with attendees. All high school and college student organizations planning events and programs about Taiwan or Taiwanese…
FEATURE IMAGE: ITASA MIDWEST NATIONAL CONFERENCE
Seven years ago, my friend Jenny Wang and I graduated from Rutgers University and began our professional lives in New York City. However, we both missed our time back at TASA (Taiwanese American Students Association). Of course one part was the being part of “TASA fam,” but we also couldn’t let go of our passion for creating awareness of Taiwanese culture and community. After years in the Taiwanese and Taiwanese American community, we found…
There are 27 picture frames on the wall next to our staircase, each chronicling flashes of the life I know. Pictures of my mom and dad on a vacation to Italy while they were dating, pictures of my brother and me in Mexico, pictures of my brother as a toddler in a pumpkin patch. Pictures of my grandpa’s 60th birthday party, of my parents playing golf with their friends, of my late grandfather with my cousins, of my brother and me sitting on a swing set in Korea. My parents immigrated…
Summer camp season is quickly approaching! If you’re unfamiliar with the many non-profit Taiwanese American community organizations that host these excellent home-away-from-home youth summer camps, be sure to explore the ones below. They all have talented and committed counselors and staff with a strong sense of personal identity and leadership skills. They are on a mission to help grade school through high school-aged youth grow as individuals and as part of a strongly networked community. Read…
If you’re unfamiliar with the many non-profit Taiwanese American community organizations that host these excellent home-away-from-home youth summer camps, be sure to explore the links below. One thing you’ll consistently hear from the participants is how much an experience like this changed their lives. For those new to the summer conference and camp scene, know that we at TaiwaneseAmerican.org endorse all of the listed programs. They all have talented and committed counselors and staff…
The Taiwanese American community is often seen as a privileged one, so we’re happy to see that this project of the Asian Pacific Community Fund is targeted towards those youth who need a little helping hand to further their educational opportunities. The 2017 Taiwanese American Scholarship Fund (TASF) is focused on helping economically-challenged Taiwanese American youth fulfill their dreams of obtaining higher education. Through a competitive application process, the funds are applied toward…