Take Your Time

Taking time in Taiwan is about attention. It is about allowing learning, perception, and relationships to unfold without being rushed toward outcomes. As I observed art lessons across primary schools, secondary schools, and universities, I noticed that students were not hurried to produce. Instead, they were guided to notice, to reflect, to work collectively, and to remain present with uncertainty. Time created space—for imagination, for dialogue, for cultural memory, and for meaning to emerge.

This experience deeply shaped the lecture I shared during my visit, How Art Integrates into Everyday Life. In that talk, I explored how art in Taiwan is not treated as a separate or elite activity, but as something embedded in everyday experience—in schools, public spaces, rituals, language, and relationships. Art becomes a way to think, to reflect, and to live. It is a container for values such as patience, care, collective responsibility, and respect for tradition, while still making room for experimentation and contemporary expression.

As someone trained in a Western educational system that often prioritizes speed, productivity, and measurable outcomes, this contrast was profound. In Taiwan, learning frequently begins with presence rather than performance. Students are taught how to see before being asked to make. They are encouraged to hold complexity, to work together, and to trust that understanding develops over time.