As I begin to mentally prepare for the much-anticipated return to my family, I can’t help but noticing how much I like Berkeley as a place to live. I try to ignore those attachments, as I know I will be much happier where my family is, no matter where we live. If I put the craving for family reunion aside, though, I must admit my love of this place. Today, studying at one of my favorite cafes, I have found yet another reason.
These two Caucasian women are studying Oriental medicine, constantly spitting out Chinese terms for pressure points and symptoms. Their pronunciations are really off (inevitably I put on my Chinese teacher’s hat… admittedly it’s painful to hear such completely off pronunciation!) But it was such a consolation to hear about Ying and Yang, about Wind Cold, Fire, Heat, and numerous Chinese words some of which were recognizable. Some ideas are rather common-sense to any Chinese, while others are really medical/jargony. I thought about how Taiwanese medical students would learn medicine through English terminologies. Here I am proud that “my” culture of health and medicine is being so seriously studied (rather than some superficial ideas) in the Western context, especially in one of my favorite cafes. This is one reason I like Berkeley. I deeply believe in holistic medicine, and the integration of different traditions. With an open mind, we will have more exchange and flow of knowledge from one side to the other.
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