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Path：Facelifeing Doctors>Sailing to Taiwan |
Sailing to Taiwan
To Dr. Noordhooff, Taiwan was a strange land. All he knew was that Taiwan is at the other end of the Pacific. They had yet to identify where Taiwan is on the map. They had no idea that this trip would last 40 years and Formosa (Taiwan) would become their home land.
Learning Taiwanese
Dr. Noordhoff first arrived in Taipei and how local lived. (1963)
After a long trip, Dr. Noordhooff finally arrived in Taiwan. Their new home was a two-story Spanish-style brick-mansion located on Chungshan N. Road. On the next morning, Dr. Noordhooff was sent to a tricycle by Dr. Clarence Holleman to learn Taiwanese. The first teacher in the language school gave his wife Chinese name – Ju-hsueh Bai. However, the teacher thought for a few weeks about Samuel Noordhoff’s Chinese name. As this tall foreigner about to take up the role as the superintendent of a major hospital, he had to have an authoritative name. His Chinese name was decided as Hui-fu Luo. “Luo” is a family name with similar pronunciation as the first syllable of Noordhooff.“Hui-fu” is the following syllables of the Noordhooff, meaning a teacher with wisdom.
Dr. Noordhoff ‘s children had fun with water in summer. (1963)
Starting a New Life
After they moved to the new place, Lucy was determined to make it home. After the renovation, the woods in the fireplace seemed to cheer up for them with cracking sounds. Dr. Noordhooff did not regret his choice at home. This Western family embraced this subtropical island as their home. They practiced eating with chopsticks and studied Taiwanese. They had to get used to the days sometimes without bread, no electric stoves and no ovens. The 40 years they were here was the time when the Taiwanese society became richer and developed; they witnessed the history of Taiwan.
Dr. Noordhoff’s family took a tricycle for the first time.
Dr. Noordhoff’s home on Sung Chiang Road. (1963)
Dr. Noordhoff’s whole family in Taipei. (1971)
Cultural Shocks
Soon after they arrived in Taiwan, they took the two kids to Tainan on a train. Sammy, one and half year old, suddenly spilt out two large round worms. Lucy was so scared. Since then, they administered injections on the children to prevent parasites every three months. Street venders were also a new experience. They could enjoy noodles, rice and boiled vegetables on the street at a very low cost. Street vendors were a simple form of “fast food” at that time.
Days with Falling Coal Dusts
Lucy’s headache was the coal dusts in air, from the ovens. Falling dusts would cover their children all over whenever they went out. At that time, there was no washer so she had to wash everything manually. There was no dryer either. All the clothes, diapers and bed-sheets were dried in the balcony, only soon to be covered with a layer of coal dusts. When speaking of the past, Lucy always had a smile on her face, as if coal dusts were falling again in front of her.
Real New Taiwanese
In 1967, Dr. Noordhooff’s youngest son Dirck was born. He happily announced the completion of the family of six. After their children grew up, they often called Taiwan their home land. Dr. Rui-yu Chen, the superintendent of Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, was a student of Dr. Noordhooff. He said that Dr. Noordhooff was more Taiwanese than local Taiwanese. He loves Taipei and spent 40 years here. He even married his daughter to a Taiwanese man.
References :
Yu-fang Liang(2000).《Love, To Mend the Imperfectness: Dr. Noordhooff’s Forty Years in Taiwan》.Taipei City:Common Wealth .
Good TV(2004).《The Power of Giving》。Taipei County:Future Publishing.
Image Sources :
Yu-fang Liang(2000).《Love, To Mend the Imperfectness: Dr. Noordhooff’s Forty Years in Taiwan》.Taipei City:Common Wealth .
