Farewell Taiwan and Asia: A Retrospective

Well this post is a bit delayed but I wanted to have some time after I arrived back in Vancouver to decompress and give myself a chance to reflect on my time away.

This trip truly was a "trip of a lifetime" as I wrote in my first blog post over 5 months ago.  In some ways it feels like ages ago, yet it was only 5 months.  Some days blew by and other days seemed to drag on as I missed loved ones.  Though I think for the most part it went by really quick because wow I'm already back here in Canada!

Johan and I have discussed on many different occasions how when you arrive back from a vacation or trip, that it often feels like a dream.  Like it didn't happen and you are "back" to reality.  I wondered on my flight home if Taiwan and my adventures in Asia would also feel like a dream but I'm thankful to say that after over a week of being back, it still feels like it was real :D  Perhaps it feels real because of the fantastic people and new and unexpected friends that I've made.  You definitely don't make friends in dreams so maybe this is the reason why my trip has been preserved as a reality in my mind.

Am I a different Justin than the one I was when I departed?  I don't think so.  Have I changed?  Somewhat.  Has my perspective changed on life?  Absolutely.  My first big perspective shift is that I feel more and more against the materialistic Western lifestyle.  It's not that I believe owning nice things is wrong or buying things is wrong, but I do think that just buying stuff and spending money without really thinking about: where it came from, who made it, do I really need this, will I actually end up using this or do I just want it for the sake of having, etc.

I just arrived back from a family trip to Disneyland and a lot of the shopping in that place is an example of bad and wasteful Western consumer behaviour.  The wood shack villages in the misty mountains of Sapa, Vietnam and the shining eyes of the children running barefoot in the mud in my mind juxtaposed against the shiny bright incandescent lights, plastic toys, and thousands of people shopping for extremely overpriced objects with MADE IN CHINA stamped on them was a weird sensation.  I recently watched "The Last Train Home", a documentary about a family in China who work at these massive manufacturing houses and I imagined what the Disney manufacturing factories looked like;  Lots of cotton stuffing strewn about large water damaged concrete warehouse floors with decapitated Mickey and Minnie heads waiting to be sewn to a body.  Kinda morbid but that's more than likely the truth.

I still do believe in buying useful gifts for people and the spirit of giving but I had a really hard time watching people buy $25 mickey mouse souvenirs when there are people in Vietnam who could live for a whole month on $25.  Do we really need that souvenir?  And that souvenir probably cost less than 50cents to make.  How much did the actual worker get paid?  Where is the profit going?

We could transform lives if instead of buying that small object we don't need, we would just give a donation to a charity like UNICEF.  Or maybe an equally beneficial place to put that money, would be towards their own savings account, to fund a trip for their families to travel to a poor country and see with their own eyes how small money can really help people.  Maybe this is a more realistic step in helping shift the materialistic perspective of the Western world.  Expose their children to what their poorer peers have to deal with on a daily basis.  Show your kids just how extremely lucky they are to be born into a western world of wealth.  For some reason commercials don't really hit me as hard emotionally as seeing something in real life with my own eyes.  It would do the Western world good to see the difficult reality of most of the people on the planet.

Am I a hypocrite?  Probably a bit.  But I'm well on my way to fundamental shift in perspective towards what I feel is a more whole and sustainable lifestyle.  I always thought maybe I'm a bit too cheap, but I think now it's not a question of being a cheapskate, but it's about making educated purchasing decisions, and part of that education is knowing if I should or should not buy it.  Most of the time the answer is probably "no" I shouldn't buy that.  It's not because I can't afford it, it's just because deep down inside I don't really want stuff all that much.  I am incredibly fortunate to have what I have: spectacular friends, amazing parents and family, not having to worry about shelter and food, being able to take time off to pursue my entrepreneurial dreams and travel the world.  I have absolutely no need for material goods and I imagine if we all spent a little bit less on things we don't need, the world wouldn't be in so much financial trouble.

My second big shift is my understanding towards business and money and how in many cases it's not really how hard you work, it's how you can multiply your efficiency through networked connections that really can take you to the next level in business.  I can slave all day at my computer making code or art, but businesses are really built on relationships between people in real life.  Landing one key business partner or investor can make or break a company and if your business parter only worked 1 day a year, but landed that connection, then in my mind their contributed value to the company is just as much, or even more valuable than a team of developers working for a year straight.  Don't get me wrong, you still need to develop and have a product, but these key perceptions in value are extremely important for entrepreneurs and are the big difference between true business men mentality, and employee mentality and understanding what value really is.

The third big shift?  Generosity.  I used to think that I was a sort of generous guy but after experiencing so much generosity from so many people who barely even know me, I think this is something I need to work on big time.  Johan's family basically opened their arms for me and they would buy me things, give me food, transportation, and spend time with me all the time, making my time in Taiwan unforgettable.  When we travelled to Japan I experienced the same unconditional generosity from 3rd generation family members that we had never met or spoke to in our lives!  It's like we don't even know them and are barely related, yet they tour us around the whole day, buy us food AND gifts.  That's insane generosity.  In Hong Kong my friend Lil basically donated all her evenings while I was there to tour me around.  It made the difference between a good and fantastic time in Hong Kong.  Vietnam was the same.  The generosity of the village people and the homestay was unending and even though they are in it some-what for the opportunity for a business transaction (buying some of their textiles) they do so without guarantee of making any money.  Some even let us into their houses to see how they live.  It was incredible.

Fourth shift?  People and relationships make trips.  Definitely the most memorable parts about all my trips through Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong, and Vietnam were the people I met.  Looking at cool architecture and scenic valley's is great, but you can't really establish an emotional connection with a building or tree.  You know?  I'm definitely opening up more and more to meeting new people and networking.  I was shy as a kid, through university I opened up a lot, and now I really understand the importance of the dynamic of networking and making friends.  Take for example the Basque couple we met in Vietnam.  We had a blast hanging out with them, and now if I'm ever headed to Spain they offered to tour me around.  You can't put a price on something like that, and in a way that links back to business and the value of networking.  I think I'm starting to understand people better now.

My last big perspective shift is Family.  It had been my lifelong dream to live in a foreign country and while I was living that dream it was amazing.  However, I realized that I would not actually want re-locate to a foreign country and live away from my family indefinitely.  I didn't know how important family really was to me until being away for so long and seriously contemplating moving away.  Family is too great to move away from :)  I am open to taking extended trips away from Canada, but I know that my home will always be here in Vancouver with my family and friends.  Plus, you only have 1 family so you better appreciate them as much as you can while you have them because they won't be around forever.

I had contemplated for a while whether or not I would continue writing this blog, and I think I have decided that this will be the last entry.  I want to think of this as a chapter of my life, and like every chapter there should be an end to allow a new chapter to begin.  Other big trips in the future may also have their own chapters written in blog format but this one concludes here.

Thanks for reading and I hope maybe you have learnt something or been inspired from some of my experiences.  I'd like to thank all my friends and family both old and new for giving me your support, strength, and friendship I needed during my adventures in Asia.  I look forward to blogging and seeing everyone again real soon!  Ciao

My Taiwan Crew drops me off at the airport

Grimace waves goodbye to Taiwan