We’re Married

My Fiancée and I were married.  The process of marriage in Taiwan is somewhat similar to a civil marriage in the U.S., however with less emphasis on the declaration of marriage and more on the legal aspect of registering the new member of the household.  Each household has a head of household, which is my wife, and other registered household members that include the daughters and me.  Our marriage status, date and location of birth, education level, etc. are important parts of the household registration record. 

Before we could be married and my name added to the household, I needed a Chinese name for legal purposes. My wife recently spent time with her family in China and they brainstormed ideas for the name.  The name can be a phonetic version of my English name using Chinese words, or it can be a combination of the literal translation of the English name to Chinese, or it can be a combination of pleasing sounding Chinese words that together have no real meaning, but sound nice.  My name (at least I think) is a hybrid of the above.  After my name was chosen by my wife’s family, we allowed a friend and her children, as well as our daughters, further refined the name.  My Chinese name is 白廷孟.  The Pinyin pronunciation is Bai Ting Meng.  Bai means white or pure (no laughing please).  Ting means court of an emperor and Meng means oldest brother or powerful, great and eminent.  A number of legal documents had to be signed by me in my Chinese name, which I practiced writing in advance.  The number and order of the strokes used to create Chinese characters is as important as how it appears when completed. 

Legal documents are usually prepared using your personal chop.  A chop is similar to a rubber stamp that has been created with your name, usually in some artistic fashion.  The chop is your legal identity and important to safeguard.  We went to the local maker of chops and had him prepare mine out of wood, on the spot. I am continually amazed at how efficient and immediate the Chinese culture is; we often walk into a provider of services with no appointment and expect they will perform quickly.  A picture of my chop being created by the chopmaker is included.

For my permanent residence visa, I need to have a physical examination certificate.  We went to the local hospital and without an appointment, I received immediate service.  They drew blood to check for STDs, gave me a chest x-ray looking for tuberculosis and the physician looked carefully at my forearms for needle tracks.  I’m pretty sure I passed the examination.  Anyone planning to relocate to Taiwan should know that drug trafficking is punishable by death; so please think twice.

After all of these activities were completed, we drove into the mountains for relaxation at a spa featuring hot springs.  The spa is Japanese style that requires nudity in the separate male and female sections, and a swimsuit and hat for the coed areas.  I was momentarily confused when moving between the areas, however nobody was embarrassed.   It was a cool evening and the hot springs were a perfect way to spend our first day of marriage.  Afterwards, we returned home to prepare a simple meal of fish and fruit, accompanied by wine.  I told my new sister-in-law that I was turning her sister into a significant wine drinker.  She didn’t seem too concerned and responded that my wife was in good hands with me.

Everything in my second life has gone extremely well so far and I am happy with the dramatic decisions I have made.