“So, is this the place you normally go to work in the morning?” She asked.
I told her I work on multiple construction projects as a project coordinator and the place I’m heading to now is just one of the job sites. The lady uttered a gasp of surprise, braking abruptly. I am not sure if it was sheer astonishment or simply not seeing the red light coming, but she remained high-pitched over the next 10 minutes as she asked how my parents feel about my civil engineering degree. I mean, I’m used to it, not just being in this men-dominated industry but also people’s reaction to it. Construction is cool, and people are easy to work with regardless of their gender, that’s it. So when she agitatedly stated how women normally accommodate and sacrifice in this society, I didn’t quite relate, as I don’t see myself as a feminist, or at least not feminine enough to be one (ha).
We then talked about how I came to the States and the place I came from, Taiwan. As she had hosted a few Taiwanese exchange students in the past, she knows Taiwan very well. Flattered, yet not remotely surprised by her comments on Taiwan — well-educated people, beautiful land, liberal and super friendly — I told her I see ourselves the same way. Especially since we are always under the shadow of our identity issues, sometimes we simply just want to let the world know how nice we are, and perhaps, how unique. But I mean, I’m used to it, whatever country’s name I am put under, most often I have to go along with it, just to be part of the game.
She dropped me off at the site, and I thanked her for enlivening my morning with the lovely conversation. It echoed awhile, until I felt my period come, with me having no preparation. Thankfully, I found a pack of pocket tissue I randomly had grabbed this morning. I sneaked into the portable restroom while all the others, who happened to be all males, were discussing how to reroute the conduit, and came out as if nothing had happened while leaving the toilet like a battlefield. Well, don’t judge me, the tissue pack didn’t have much left, and it’s always a battle in those kinds of restrooms for women anyway, with or without our period.
The talk with that lady resounded suddenly in my head, as I was wondering whether the tissue can hold up until I reach the office, and how to deal with the foreseeable fatigue in the next site meeting. And that was the moment I realized, yes I do accommodate, as a woman, a Taiwanese, a foreign worker, and a prospective immigrant to the States (well maybe not the last one given the current political climate hah). But I guess … we all do somewhat, don’t we?
Oh, right! The conduit.
