==TAIWAN==

I am a plain old college student and I am 20 years old now. You can hardly notice the difference between me and any other ordinary college freshman. But actually there is. There is nothing special about me, but a part of my childhood is certainly quite different from other kids in Taiwan.
For some reason, my whole family including grandma and grandpa moved to the States. It was at the age of six when this big change happened. To a six-year-old, it seems no big deal to move to the U.S. and yet all the kids were thrilled. Why, you might ask? We got the chance to take an airplane and now that's what you say an excitement. In the little understanding of mine, I had no idea that it would mean leaving home, the place that I had lived for six years. But to a child, that is like going on a trip.
It wasn't until when I got there that I noticed the big differences between home and America. The people there were in all sorts of color and they were gigantic monsters to me. And I had no idea what they were saying. But everything was kind of alright when I attended school. Maybe because I was just a little girl, I got used to the "colorful" people and learned to speak English in no time. I made friends easily with my classmates, who were mostly Americans. And I had the happiest time in my life there. But at the age of 12 or 13, we had to come back to Taiwan.
To me, it was a tragedy. I didn't want to come back. I had a life of my own there and I really liked it there. But I had no choice but to obey my father's decision. Not knowing any Chinese, I came back to Taiwan. When I arrived here, I felt the same as when I first got to the States. New language, new people, new environment, and everything was new to me. I got even more afraid. But thank God! It worked out quite fine after all.
In the past eight or nine years, I lived like other students here. I attended schools, studied hard, got into a nice high school and finally passed the big entrance exam and entered a pretty nice college. I really like it here. I learned a lot here that maybe I would never get to learn if I were still in the States now. I am a Chinese and this is where I belong.
Being with my race makes me feel safe. I used to think that America was my home, but I know I am wrong. Taiwan is my home and I am proud to say, "It's great to be home."

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It is only with the heart that one can see rightly;
what is essential is invisible to the eye.
-----The Little Prince