AFTER I got my visa to the United States, the first thing I did was to call my parents. They were surprised, but not necessarily happy. My Mom was still resentful.

   “Why do you need to go to America?” she said. “You have a good job, and our family can live together here.”

   My father had a different viewpoint. He said that as a young man, I need to see the world to learn more.

   I was very excited about going to America. I could feel my life changing tremendously. I could also imagine the new challenges ahead of me.

   The next day I went to see my boss, the news department director, to submit my resignation.

   “I am going to America,” I told Mr. Chang.

   He was surprised. He look at me and said: “Are you sure you want to go to America?”

   “Yes, sir,” I replied. “I already got my visa. I just want to express my deepest appreciation for all the good things you’ve done for me. Through your kindness I was given the chance to work at the radio station. I will treasure the experience I gained from working with you.”

   Mr. Chang is a famous critic of music. His column is well read. He was educated in the United Kingdom, where he got his masters in journalism. He dressed well—always in a tailor-made suite and well polished shoes. He always looked great.

   He looked at me and said: “Young man, you are right. You ought to go abroad to learn more and experience the Western culture. You’ve been outstanding and hardworking. If you’d work half as hard in America, I guarantee you will succeed.”

   Suddenly I felt so great. I knew Mr. Chang liked me a lot. It was he who hired me to work at the newsroom. At nineteen, I was the youngest employee at the radio station. I never asked any favor from the company. I was never late for work. I always finished my job on time.

   When I walked out of his office, Mr. Chang congratulated me again.

   “Keep in touch,” he said. “One day, if you decide to return, you are always welcome.”

   I was overjoyed that night. I broke the news to my colleagues at the newsroom. They were excited and happy for me, like family.

   For the next month before my departure, my colleagues treated me to lunch and dinner at my favorite dining places in Taipei. We had all kinds of Chinese food and wine. They’d been so nice and good that to this day I still keep in touch with them.

   I remember their friendship. I remember Taipei, a beautiful city where I spent wonderful and memorable time. My parents, my relatives, my friends, my colleagues. They gave me so much love and support.

   “I will be back someday, because I love all of you,” I told them.

   One late spring in the early seventies, I boarded a Trans World Airlines jet for San Francisco, California. More than a hundred people saw me at the airport­—my parents and relatives as well as classmates and colleagues.

   I felt sad because I had to leave them all. My parents were in tears. I tried to comfort them with the promise that I’d be back after I finished my postgraduate studies. I told them to take care of themselves.

   I was in near tears myself. I turned around and walked away to the airport hallway. Fighting back tears, I waved to them as I boarded the plane.

   Good-bye, Taipei. Good-bye, Taiwan. I knew left my heart in this beautiful island.

   The flight the San Francisco took almost 24 hours, including a stopover in Tokyo. I was exhausted when we landed at the San Francisco airport.

   A friend, Tom Tao, a graduate student at the University of California at Berkeley, picked me up at the airport. He was so kind to let me stay at his apartment for the night.

   I was finally in America, and in one of its most beautiful cities—San Francisco.

   Everything I saw was new and beautiful. From the Bay Bridge to Berkeley I could see bright lights and tall buildings that I’d never seen before.

   When we arrived at Tom’s apartment, I immediately called my parents. This was the longest distance I’d been separated from my parents—eight thousand miles away.

   My first night in America was a feeling of mixed emotions—I was excited, I was anxious. I was full of hope, yet I had that feeling of uncertainty about being in a new land.

   But there was no turning back. I was in America. And I must live up to a new and bigger challenge. Thinking about my family with all their hopes pinned on me, I made a resolve to work harder.. and to succeed.                                  

(To be continued)