Stanford

"In recent years, the number of people from Taiwan going to Silicon Valley to study, to sightsee, or to settle has increased greatly. Most people believe the living environment in Silicon Valley is much better than in Taiwan. But if Silicon Valley today is a paradise, then Silicon Valley more than twenty years ago was simply like heaven. From San Francisco to San Jose, a north–south stretch of sixty miles and about ten miles east–west, it is now a bustling metropolitan area, with every kind of urban problem: dense population, traffic congestion, increasing pollution, soaring housing prices, and worrying public safety. When I was studying at Stanford, none of these problems had yet appeared; what there was instead were beautiful scenery, a pleasant climate, and a leisurely atmosphere."

"Just as the literary giant Hemingway described Paris as “a moveable feast,” I describe my year at Harvard the same way. After that, I went through various stages—MIT, employment, entering Stanford for a Ph.D., and working at Texas Instruments—but no matter where I went or what I did, I carried this “feast” with me and continually enjoyed the knowledge, interests, and insights that this “feast” gave me. Even decades later, when I returned to Taiwan, although changes in time and place made it feel as if I were in another world, this “feast” still did not lose its freshness. It was as though I were still immersed in a rich, ever-changing, refined, and captivating atmosphere."