Mountain Song

Our office was really freaking cool. The entire perimeter was lined with windows that displayed the city sky line in the south and the mountain range to the west. We had a giant living-room-like area that doubled as a meeting room and a Guitar Hero station. And of course, like any ‘good’ software company, we had beer on tap — on all floors.

“You could really go far in this field. That is, if you don’t disappear in the mountains with your guitar…”

Up here the air is cool and the sounds that fill it are composed of wild things like bugs and wild sanqiang. Instead being off to the west, we are at the base of the mountains, nestled in a valley that they surround. There is no city sky-line visible from here, because we are a quiet little sanctuary, removed from the hustle and bustle of New-York-minute life. There is an education center where Atayal and Seediq children gather to practice violin, which fills the valley with the sound of music. In the main office, there is an elegant tea set that sits on a giant tea table for entertaining guests and friends of Aowanda. Only the best Taiwan teas make it here.

The language of choice is Mandarin. But there is plenty of Taiwanese floating around, and 孟林 speaks some other dialect that is related to, but not exactly Taiwanese. His dialect reminds me of some of my friends back in Beijing — they are from Southern China, so it makes sense that they would have some similarities. Our fellow intern, Gaby, is from Guatemala. She has been teaching us some Spanish.

“早安”
“Good morning”
“Buenos días”

I remember hearing about being able to place people by their accent in the beginning of my Mandarin studies. It felt so foreign to me, like being able to do that would be like getting X-Ray vision. Years later, I’m happy to say, I’ve slowly been acquiring this new super power and not in small part due to the fact that my accent is like having a giant tattoo on my forehead that says “I LEARNED MANDARIN IN BEIJING!” But the longer I’m here the less pronounced my r’s become and so to the difference between my s’s and sh’s. Maybe one day I’ll be able to switch fluidly between a Beijing and Taiwanese accent…

And even though English is my mother tongue, there are still days I think music is my main language. When we’re on duty holding down the fort in the education center, Gaby mentions “Let It Be,” which I promptly start learning. 孟林 mentions “渴” which I promptly start learning. 孟林 and I might break out in a round of “夜空中最亮的星” together, or “I’m Yours” with Gaby on ukulele…When the three of us make trips to the Aowanda Suspension Bridge, I might bring my guitar and walk the bridge while singing and strumming “Naked as We Came.”

“You could join a band in Taipei.”

I don’t know if it’s the tropical mountains, or the language, or the music…But there is something here that is very alive and its heart seems to beat in time with mine.