“Beyond Taipei” by Jace L. related to me on a whole different level. As soon as I saw the word “Taipei” in the title, my eyes immediately zoomed to the first line. The whole text can relate to anyone that is born from Taiwanese descent. Jace perfectly describes the feeling of being in Taiwan’s suburb, being able to put any person that has visited Taiwan on a ride in memory lane. He tells his story of family issues and struggles and how they lived in Taiwan. He then describes his yearly trips to Yingge, allowing so many young Taiwanese Americans just like me to be able relate to him so heavily.
  As I read his story, I could feel myself living in his moment, being able to relate so much. Jace’s line “The only similarity between the two is the smell of eggs and motor oil expelled from thousands of motorcycle and scooters” really brought me back to my visits to Taiwan. I felt myself reliving my visit, hearing motorcycles zoom past me on the roads, smelling the scent of freshly cooked eggs on the corner breakfast store, and feeling the hot sun beat down on me. In addition, his line “I spoke English instead of Mandarin. I wore different clothes and acted differently even though it was clear I was Taiwanese.” really stood out to me. I related to Jace so much it was insane. It was impossible to communicate with residents from Taiwan, knowing barely any Mandarin and only speaking English to my parents. Even communicating to my relatives was difficult, only being to nod “yes” and shake my head “no” and give hand signals like a thumbs up. Thank you for the 5-10 seconds of awesome summer memories and knowing that I can relate so heavily to someone Jace.