I just came back from Taiwan.

Even too many words won’t be sufficient to express the beautiful experience that I’ve had there. This became the first foreign country I traveled to as an adult without any dance-related event as the main purpose. It’s also the first foreign country that I traveled to with Edwin, other than Indonesia.

I have been feeling bittersweet since I came back to Melbourne on Sunday. It was something that I had been looking forward to for a while, and it lived beyond my expectations. Everything felt so beautiful, so surprising, and so right. Even with the itinerary that I prepared, I was never ready for the blissful, peaceful, kind energy that effortlessly flowed in the air. People there are very kind, very warm. I hadn’t had the time to process the whole experience until a friend of mine asked an unexpected question tonight: “What’s your takeaway from the trip? And non-dance related.” Takeaway? Uncanny as I thought it was, I decided to try and pull the right answer from within.

Noticing who I am as a person, in how I interact with people, in how I present myself – and how that felt like a solidification of growth in the things I’ve been working towards. When you’re in a foreign land, where your routine and obligations are stripped away, and you have to communicate in a different way due to a different native language – it forces you to be mindful and navigate more consciously. This was a chance for me to observe the values that drive my actions, my choices in communication, and other things that make up my identity and how I interact with the world around me.

While this can happen for another destination, I believe every space holds a different essence that serves as a catalyst in their own ways. Taiwan, and the strong sense of kindness, art, and humanity that fills the atmosphere, became a beautiful catalyst as I interacted with it. The feeling of warmth and safety that wrapped around me allowed me to express myself in ways that are genuine to me and reminded me of my identity and the person that I strive to be. I must say, seeing myself as a third person on this trip made me feel happy and proud. I feel inspired to hold onto the kindness and humanity that the Taiwanese people showed.

This convinced me even more that traveling and exploring another terrain, whether it’s physical or psychological, is essential to human growth. At the very least, it helps solidify the growth that you’ve been working for. A dance mentor once told me that the way to break out of a dance rut and push through is by traveling and exploring different dance communities. While it’s true for me after interacting with the Taiwanese dance community, I also believe it applies to every other aspect of life.

And before I wrap this post up, I wanted to share a few pictures that showed some of the highlights of this trip for me. Chifeng Street, all the cats, exploring with Edwin, spending time with Angelica and Jerome, the tasty food, and still getting my ass to the gym despite being on a holiday (who is she? I’m so proud).