Community By Default.

To celebrate our engagement, Jon and I went to Taiwan to meet his extended family, including his 100-year-old grandmother!?

My biggest takeaway – other than needing to improve my basic Mandarin! – is Taiwan’s communal culture.

Living in the United States, I was not used to vacations where every activity is done with a group and schedules have limited flexibility and alone-time.

In other words, it felt like Taiwan was a community-by-default culture.

Everything is done together.

About a week into our stay in Taiwan, we joined a three-day tour bus to the eastern coast of Taiwan with 10 other couples in their 70s, all of whom have been friends for over 40+ years.?

When I first got on the bus, I was overwhelmed by the prospect of spending three days with a group of strangers and no alone time.

My hesitations quickly lifted at the first lunch when a group of aunties on the bus invited me to practice a TikTok dance with them. With some hand signals and Jon’s translations, I told them I’d been dancing since I was a child.

Here’s the end product:

I realized the power of unquestioning welcome–of being invited in, when the “in” is a small group of lifelong friends.

By the end of it, I was filled with joy by the 20 people I had been sharing every moment with, especially my new aunties.

SheFi inspires me every day because it’s meant to feel like that first lunch:

A place where–as soon as you step in–you’re welcomed with no judgment or hesitation.

Community by default.

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Shared joy is a double joy.

Swedish proverb

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