Taiwanese peculiarities and interesting anecdotes | Fili’s World

2 Oct, 2007 in Taiwan by Fili
Tags: encounter, Taiwan, taiwanese

Taiwanese peculiarities and interesting anecdotes

Almost everyday I encounter things here in Taiwan that are very different and a bit special about the way that the Taiwanese do things. Here are some examples.

I saw this while driving down a road and I had to stop take a look. This is, eh, indoor Taiwanese fishing. People sitting down indoors around an artificial pool and fishing. Some of those pools have fish, some have various kinds of sea-food. Somehow, although it’s quite crowded, the place is very quiet. I guess people like to think when they’re fishing… indoors…

The garbage truck system in Taiwan is probably one of the most annoying things here. I have nightmares with the awful ice-cream truck music those garbage trucks play and sometimes I wake up from those nightmares to find-out I’m really in one. Anyway, one of the odd things about the Tainanese garbage trucks is that they try to encourage English language knowledge among Taiwanese. Legend also claims - in Lonely Planet - that before this awful music was played the trucks actually played English language lessons. So, take a closer look at the photo and you’ll see what I’m talking about. How efficient can that be?

In Taiwan, people leave their shoes outside, and change into different more comfortable shoes for the indoors. I’m still not used to that, although I do try to keep this in mind when visiting others. Anyway, this brings up some interesting problems. Here’s a snapshot of what’s hanging next to my building’s elevator. Leaving your shoes on the stairs might cause people to accidentally slip over them and roll down the stairs.

True, they don’t have cheese products and some of the western delicacies are missing, but there’s plenty of other interesting things going around in the super-market. There are a million kinds of meat and sea-food that I’ve never considered trying before and they come in an amazing variety of colors. They also have a few odd machines that I’m still not sure what they’re meant for. I try to implement the golden role of "you need to try everything at least once", but - I admit I’m having trouble with some of what I find there.

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10 Responses so far | Have Your Say!

天天北极-Carrie | October 4th, 2007 at 5:38 pm #

god, you really think those things peculiar???? i thought it’s very common everywhere in the world… well, seems that i’m taking it for granted…^^

people dont change their shoes when they walk into one’s house in israel and other countries??? i think it’s more comfortable and it helps to keep the indoors clean…

by the way, usually people fishing indoors being so quiet not because of thinking, but because they dont wanna scare the fish off… at least 90% people around hold this reason^^

and the color of the black chiken… well, it really amazes me that you’ve never seen this in israel. hehe, it’s said that that kind of chicken is good for women’s beauty and health, and it tastes better^_^
fiLi | October 8th, 2007 at 6:54 pm #

Eh, yeah, some of those I find to be VERY strange, but I also got to see how some of the Israeli culture was VERY strange to my Chinese and Taiwanese student friends.

So, nope, no take-off-your-shoes, no indoor fishing and no black-blue-green colored chicken.

You’ve never mentioned it, but did you come to Taiwan before?
Dave | October 9th, 2007 at 4:26 pm #

I’ve been in Taiwan for about a year now and not seen the indoor fishing, that is quite interesting. I always envision fishing to be a distinctly outdoor activity, a way to get away from buildings and the indoors. Although, an air conditioned indoor fishing centre could have it’s benefits here in humid Taiwan

The bin wagon “ice cream van” song takes a bit of getting used to, and it’s seems rather dangerous to have pedestrians throwing rubbish into it. There doesn’t seem to be enough space for each house to have a rubbish bin at the front, and it wouldn’t be a nice sight given the density of housing, so this is probably a good thing.

In regard to leaving shoes outside, back in the UK some people ask that you remove your shoes when entering the house. The shoes might be left in the front porch. But you’ll be lucky if they provide you with comfy indoor shows to wear This is usually done when the person has just had new carpets fitted and don’t want them damaged.

The first time I saw a black coloured Chicken was in Taiwan, and although hesitant to eat it at first, it turned out to taste much the same as a regular Chicken.
fiLi | October 9th, 2007 at 11:42 pm #

I gotta tell you… seeing your Chinese abilities after a year of studying Chinese is just… shocking. I’m jealous, it’s my dream to do something similar but my level is far from that.
天天北极-Carrie | October 10th, 2007 at 12:27 am #

i’ve never been there. actually Taiwanese and mainland residents aren’t that different as you may presume, hehe i believe chinese are more or less the same no matter where he/she is.
as for your question…well, i’m studying Sun Yat-sen Uni, that’s why i got so excited when sb talked about it in your blog.
fiLi | October 11th, 2007 at 12:50 pm #

Really? so Sun-Yat-Sen’s name and legacy hasn’t been, eh, taken care of by the, eh, changes in China in the past 60 years?
Dave | October 13th, 2007 at 11:04 pm #

Thanks fiLi. If you want to blog in Chinese just do it. Get your teacher to check over the post before it goes live, start with microblog like posts and work up to bigger posts.
Strange and funny in Tainan-Taiwan : the list continues | Fili’s world | November 1st, 2007 at 12:42 pm #

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