What were you doing when you were a kid?

Celebrating New Year skiing in Aspen is awesome, and it's my FIRST TIME skiing!! 

I talked to my friend Diana about my holiday trip. She told me it's pretty common in the US, especially in the northern states. 

"Yeah, lots of kids do it. We'd have at least two big buses filled with people; it's pretty common, I think."

When it comes to skiing and climbing, kids are fearless and restless. You wonder how this country is home to many explorers and adventurers; you can easily tell from the kids' up-bringing and what they grow up doing-being exposed to outdoors and having a backyard of snowy slopes, rivers, or simply expansive wilderness.

So what do kids do in Taiwan?

I grew up in Taipei City where there are 2.6 million people, and almost everyone lives in an apartment cuz there aren't enough space for houses.

 (looking out from the window in my parents' apt)

I live very close to a volcanic national park, so we'd have field trips to visit hot spring sites, learning local history, culture, and geology. In rural areas, kids are taken to rice paddies, temples, and old trails.  

Almost all outdoor experiences we have are not just about being in nature, but having a better understanding of history and culture. I came to love the cultural part of wilderness experience. As I joined the mountain climbing club in college, one of my favorite trips is to visit historical trails that native Taiwanese hunters and Japanese soldiers used before WWII, and during Japanese colonial era in Taiwan (1895-1945).

(Kids in the rice paddy)

Some of the most interesting field trips are definitely those you can do things that are nostalgic, things that our parents or grandparents do when they were kids. Harvesting rice, picking oysters, or praying in a temple are all fun events that can engage kids in our culture. 

That is perhaps what we have in Taiwan, and what American kids don't have. I love learning about the Native American culture simply because they are the first people in America that have strong connection to the land. I get excited about petroglyphs, just like when I encounter an ancient ruin when I was mountain climbing in Taiwan. 

(Petroglyph in Taiwan)

And everything the kids do in Taiwan is safe, no risk taking, no injuries allowed, and no more sports if you get hurt. 

No extremes. I remember I went on a hike with my mom and she stopped me when I tried to explore a hidden trail that is off the beaten path. I was not supposed to be adventurous cuz I'd get hurt and I should just go for moderate exercise like swimming. 

Then I see American kids doing crazy stuff and get hurt, and their parents would just help them recover, tell them to get stronger, and keep doing it. "No big deal, just a broken bone," that's how an extreme sports person would say.

However there's a changing tide for school kids in Taiwan nowadays. The Western style outdoor recreation is bringing in sea kayaking, climbing, and river tracing/canyoning.

The cool thing is that the environmental educators are relating these activities to our culture, especially for sea kayaking, a tradition of a Native Taiwanese tribe in Eastern Taiwan.

In terms of pursuing extremes and getting strong, I am not sure if that fits into the Eastern philosophy of moderation. As I see myself participate in sports like climbing and skiing, I am very cautious and would only challenge myself step by step. That said, I am not ambitious in "getting strong" but simply enjoying the indescribable ecstasy being active in the outdoors. 

I wonder how I would be different if I grew up in the States.