Well, today is a day I will probably never forget. Last night, I was doing my normal routine, ate a late night snack, went on Facebook, brushed my teeth, said my prayers, then off to a warm, comfortable bed. The next morning, I woke up craving rice. To my shock, my room was “different”… all tiled floors, bare white walls, with Chinese calligraphy on the walls. Outside I heard loud noises in a language I didn’t immediately recognize. I definitely wasn’t in my house anymore.
Anyhow, I go outside, and you’ll never believe it, but I found myself in the midst of a bunch of Taiwanese people engaging in their Taiwanese ways. I heard people all saying, “Ni hao,” which is the way they say, “Hello,” I think. There were dead ducks hanging in restaurant windows. I saw street vendors selling tofu and all sorts of foods I never saw at Stop and Shop. I ordered a strange drink from one of these vendors–bubble tea, which was basically a tea mixed with milk and these weird rubbery balls in the bottom. It was good, but the “balls” were kind of gooey and strange. And I also saw a lot of men spitting red spit on the road (They said it was “beetel nut.”). It was all over the sidewalk!
Trying on traditional Taiwanese clothing.
One of the things I noticed were these study places that looked like Kumon centers. The locals refer to them as “bushy bonds” or something like that. I have no idea how to spell it! Apparently, many teenagers go to these things AFTER school to study for the SATs. So basically, education seems REALLY important here. I was curious if the young people ever have any fun. I found one kid whose English was amazing, and he told me that the Taiwanese play a lot too. He said they love going to karaoke parlors and playing video games in special stores designed just for that. They also like to go to parks on the weekends and do a lot of the same stuff we Americans like to do, like basketball. This kid said some of the older folks like to do tai chi and martial arts in the parks, but I didn’t see that myself.
Later that day I went into a traditional clothing store and tried on some of the outfits people used to wear many years ago. They told me that very few people actually wear those clothes anymore, just foreigners like me yearning for a sense of nostalgia. I got my picture taken with the female shopkeeper (oh yeah!). That evening there was a fireworks show, which was kind of cool. They said that today was the “Dragon Boat Festival Day,” a big holiday where people go to watch people race in these long boats. I wish I had known that earlier; I would have liked to have seen that.
It was fun hanging out in Taiwan culture today, but I guess my big question is: How did I end up here? I am now back in my room, about to go to sleep. I wonder what will happen tomorrow…
Values in US Society 