Paths of Molten Wax on Volatile Cloth: Do good fences make good neighbors?

Have you ever looked at a fence and wondered what it is made of, why it is there, what is on the other side, how you can enter and whether or not you will be able to leave?

Visa problems and border issues have made me think of and question the line “good fences make good neighbors” from Robert Frost’s “Mending Wall” in which one man questions why he and his neighbor must rebuild the stone wall dividing their farms each spring:

“My apple trees will never get across
 And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him.  
He only says, 'Good fences make good neighbors'.  
Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder
 If I could put a notion in his head:  
'Why do they make good neighbors?
Isn't it where there are cows?
 But here there are no cows.
 Before I built a wall I'd ask to know  
What I was walling in or walling out,  
And to whom I was like to give offence.”

What is the point of fences between countries and how can we break them down peacefully without violence and war? Why does one country feel the need to overtake another and why do people feel a need for nationality? What is in a name? If the entire world were one name, would we be able to co-exist peacefully and help each other when necessary?

It is amazing to me that the barriers between languages, culture, race and gender that I have encountered during my travels have been nothing compared to that created by politics and money.

Visa and border regulations have been the most confusing, exasperating and problematic part of my Watson journey so far. Although I feel American, my Taiwanese passport states otherwise and in terms of traveling, it means the difference between complete freedom and infuriating constraints.

Because my passport is green and not blue (the difference of a tiny splash of yellow) I am only allowed 15 days in Thailand, not 30, I cannot renew my visa by hopping over to Burma, I need a visa to enter Malaysia, traveling to China requires a special permit, I need biometrics to get a U.K. visa and leaving the U.S. for over 12 months puts my U.S. citizenship on the line.

Thus, I have realized that there are actually two parts to my Watson Fellowship.

Batik: Paths of Molten Wax on Volatile Cloth; a Journey of Transformation.

AND

Visas: Doors of Solid Steel Between Volatile Borders; a Journey of Displacement

As I trace the path of batik around the world, I will inevitably learn more about the political and economical ties between countries. Their relationship to Taiwan will determine the course of my travels.

I want desperately to believe in a peaceful and harmonious world without borders but how can it can be possible when it is human nature to put up walls between ourselves? Why are some people so open and accepting of different people and ideas while others close themselves against them?

These are questions that I will explore during my Watson journey whether I want to or not. Perhaps by the end of 12 months, I will at least be one step closer to the answer.