This is a beautiful letter. I was so lucky to have my teaching mentor while working in the U.S., now we are friends.
我在美國的教學指導教師 Elizabeth 所寫的這封信來的正是時候, 想不到回台灣還出現 Re-entry Shock, 很多人與事要重新習慣 (也許是踏上異國時花了近百分百的力氣去適應, 如今就算回到出生與成長的地方, 還是需要時間去調適啊) , 掉淚, 早已無從抒發....
Dear Mei-Yen,
It was so good to hear from you! I have been away for a few days of vacation and I, too, am now getting ready for classes in another three weeks. I can imagine all the adaptations you have been going through as you reenter Taiwan and all the customs of your own home and country. Many years ago, I came across a poem that said that the more we travel, the more rootless we become because in the process of moving around we find that we can be at home everywhere and in the end, nowhere!! We are homesick no matter where we are:))
Eventually, you will feel more at home again. Nothing has changed at home but you have changed and change can be good. You will see things from a broader perspective and a gentler one, also. A Jewish friend a long time ago had her father write out in calligraphy a poem titled Exile for me. It is a lovely one and the last four lines simply say,
But when we shall come at last
To God, who is our Home and our Country,
There will be no more road stretching before us,
And no more need to go back.
I have found the words oddly comforting as I look up at them as they are framed and hung over my computer. There is a final place where one is finally at home!
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Reading this letter with my tears…淚水裡有心痛有感動
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