Is immigration that desirable?

There are lots of Taiwanese being jealous of those living abroad legally and permanently. As a Taiwanese, I do feel envious of their luck and courage to immigrate to a new country and try to blend in a whole different society. I have asked myself, "Why do I want to leave?" Aren't there any benefits to stay where I was born? What in the earth does it attract me to go somewhere people don't see you as a native?

My aunt is a Swiss immigrant from Taiwan. I always wish I could be like her someday in the future so that I can live in the so-called "Garden of the World." The pictures she sent back on Christmas every year are always the best incentives for me to go abroad. A tranquil cottage on a summit of a mountain, a deliberate coffee shop along a river bank and a wonderful birthday party of my cousin with their neighbors. Those pictures all look like a fantastic life for me to dream about.

This July, she came back home with Peter and Daniel, her husband and her son. I finally had a chance to talk in German with those two Swiss guys and also I chatted a lot with my aunt. I asked her, "How is the life there?" "If those two are not home, what do you do to kill time?" And I found that the life there, as a immigrant, is actually not that easy as I imagined. My aunt told me Swiss would be very kind to you just to a certain extent and they will set a line which you must not cross. They have a strong sense of protection, owing to a large amount of immigrants from Turkey and East Europe. Swiss are, as a matter of fact, very careful of getting along with immigrants. They don't want to have a close relationship with people who are not originally born there.

My mom said during the first year when my aunt living in Switzerland, whenever she made a phone call to my mom or my grandpa, she always cried a lot and kept saying she missed home like crazy and asked us to visit her more often. Taiwanese are the minority in Switzerland so, in reality, it's pretty hard for a immigrant to make friends with locals or any other people when being a housewife or a mom. The center of my aunt's life is taking care of her husband and son, instead of any other things or someone else. She may still build some hobbies or learn something when she is free, but whenever it comes to the Chinese New Year or the Moon Festival, all she need is definitely "home."

I have recently questioned myself, "You really want to get to have the citizenship of the U.S.?" There are millions of people-or more- in the world longing to leave their own country and get the citizenship of somewhere else, but what are yo gonna do after that? To start a new life? To pursue the happiness? But how? It's like your own background and family bound getting shattered in seconds. How can you overcome it?