Local Flavor

Chinese-speaking Bird – I went to the little scooter shop to have my oil changed and I sat down in the chair by their bird cage. First thing I heard the bird do was imitate the drill sound. It was funny. And then I’m pretty certain I heard it speak in Chinese! I heard the word for bread. And I thought “Did you really just speak in Chinese?” as I looked over at it. But why not? We teach parrots to speak English.

Shopping at Costco – I saw a packet of salted mackerels for sale (3 since everything comes in large packages at Costco – no good for a single gal like me!). And then I looked again and noticed it was the ENTIRE fish. Ba ha ha! So we’ve got the American size, but the local norm of eating the entire fish. I did consider taking a picture, but my arms were full and I thought people might ask “What in the world are you doing?”

Scooters! – With their own driving “rules.” Although “patterns” is a better way to describe it. I missed scooters whizzing by when I visited Beijing. I had started thinking they were typical in Asian countries. My thinking has been corrected, and I know that Taiwan is the “country of scooters.”

Expressions of surprise – I just can’t explain the Taiwanese one. It’s like an intake of breath with the word “uh”. And a question tone at the end. Anyone able to turn that description into a sound? If so, I’m very impressed. I’ll try to get it on video one of these days. I just thought of it because Andy (a Chinese teacher in the office) made the same sound my students always make!!

Losing face – a thing greatly feared in this culture. Much will be done to avoid an instance where they lose face.

Shooting guns in school – just part and parcel of the military training. I’m glad they use fake ones!