Taiwan
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The Taiwan Diaries
Volume 3
(10.23.02)
Here it is the much anticipated Volume 3. Not so much about me, but I thought you might want a glimpse of the Taiwanese culture. Enjoy!
What's in a Name?
So when kids start out learning English in Level 1 most of them don't have English names. They only have their Chinese names, so you get to name them. It's kind of fun. I usually name them after my friends or family members with easy to say names. A friend of mine names all his kids after Star Wars characters. Luckily he hasn't named one Chewbaca yet, but he does have an Obiwon. So naming day is one of the highlights of level one. One of the reasons it is a highlight is because sometimes kids already have English names that their parents have given them prior to class. Some of these names are normal like Amy, Joanna or Mark. However, there are some children that you just try to stifle a laugh when they tell you their names. Here are a few of my favorites. I have a Desdemona, an Adolfus, a CoCo, an Uncle, an Adventure (a girl), a Cher and my all time favorite, a DoDo. Great huh! And you thought American parents couldn't name their kids!
The Family Vehicle
So you've seen scooters in America. They're a joke right!? Well here, they are the main form of transport. You'll be at an intersection, the light will turn green and it's like a swarm of bees. Literally 40 or 50 scooters will zoom across the intersection. So while not only are they not a joke here but they also are Taiwan's equivalent to a Suburban! You'll see a mom on a scooter with two kids standing on the floorboard, one kid on her lap and two kids hanging on for dear life behind her as she zips through traffic on her 50cc scooter. And let me just say a 50cc scooter is like riding on a lawnmower. Seeing 4+ people on these lawnmowers is a very common occurrence here in Taiwan. They probably think people who ride just one person are inefficient.
Oven Mitts and Arm Warmers
So people in Taiwan are obsessed with having pale white skin. Total opposite of the States. While we have tanning salons and sunless tanning cream they have whitening cream. I don't think I've seen a tanning salon yet and I've been all over the city. Anyway, white skin is considered beautiful. The whiter the better. It doesn't matter how ugly you are, if you have white skin, you are desirable. So in an effort to preserve their skin and keep it as white as possible they have to cover up while riding on their scooters. In order to cover their arms they wear these things that look like 80s leg warmers on their arms. They have elastic at the top and fit around the top of the arm. Then they stop at the wrist. So those are what I call the arm warmers. They also have oven mitt like things attached to the handles of their scooters. You put your hands inside the oven mitts and you can still brake and accelerate but your hands are out of the sun. It is bizarre!
Got a Spare Tire? Go Swimming!
Okay, so my city is right on the water and the beach is only 20 minutes by scooter from my house. Since we don't have to teach until 5:00, many afternoons we will go to the beach. However, swimming in the water isn't really an option. Not because its gross but
because the lifeguards don't let us. You see, Taiwanese people are terrified of the water. Most of them cannot swim. Sometimes I wonder if the lifeguards can swim. They have an area roped off in the water and you must stay inside that roped off area or you get yelled at...in Chinese. The funny thing is though, that the water in the "swimming area" is only as deep as my waist. The undertow is not strong and so there is very little chance that an adult would drown. However half of the adults in the water have scooter tires around their arms to keep them afloat. I'm not kidding. It's like the adult form of floaties! The first time I went I couldn't stop laughing. All these people were floating on the water with tires around their arms!
The Ice Cream Man Reincarnated
So you know how whenever the ice cream truck comes they play that high-pitched electronic keyboard sounding music. Frequently it is "The Entertainer". Children come running with their quarters for a popsicle. Well, you hear that same annoying music here only it's not the ice cream man. Its the garbage truck! Every night at about 9:15 in my neighborhood the garbage truck drives in playing ice cream truck music. Everyone floods out of the building and runs for the truck, not with quarters for a fudgesicle, but with bags of trash. That is how garbage is picked up in Taiwan. Every neighborhood has different ice cream truck music. Some people have "Fur Elise", others have "The Entertainer". I don't even know what mine is but every time I hear it I think of ice cream until I get a good whiff of the truck.
Well, that's Volume 3! I hope this gives you a little insight into the Taiwanese culture. I would say that now you know enough background on Taiwan to come and visit me. So anytime you want to go for a ride on a hot pink Barbie-esque scooter, book a plane ticket to Kaohsiung. I'll have an extra purple helmet waiting!