Israelis in Taiwan : Shani Weinstein talking on Reshet Bet’s The Israeli Connection

Over a month ago, my father alerted me that Reshet Bet’s Israeli Connection midnight radio show that broadcasts interviews with Israelis all over the world had an interview with an Israeli Chinese language student - Shani Weinstein - who’s living in Taipei to learn more about her life in Taiwan. I visited their website that holds a 24 hours archive and ripped down the interview.

I still have difficulties figuring out how to post it here, but I will post a quick translation of the conversation to English.

Host : We’re now moving on to Taipei, China, actually, eh, Taiwan. We’ll say hello to Shani Weinstein.

Shani : Hi everyone.

Host : Not everyday we’re in Taiwan, so… give us 30 seconds on where it’s located and where you’re located.

Shani : Okay, so Taiwan is at the southern side of China, I’m in Taipei, the capital, in the northern side of Taiwan, I’ve been living here for 4.5 months. That’s it.

Host : Great, are you the only Israeli there or are there other Israelis doing the same thing you are?

Shani : There are a few Israelis like me here, but you can count them using ten fingers. Some students around the universities, and a few businessmen.

Host : Okay, so we’re talking to a student in Taipei. Tell us, what do you study there?

Shani : I graduated from Tel Aviv University’s Political Science and East Asian studies department and since I excelled I got a scholarship from Taiwanese government and I study Chinese here.

Host : Really? like studying Hebrew in an Ulpan?

Shani : Yeah. Most of the people who come to Taiwan to study Chinese are Korean and Japanese, 70% are Asians in my school, the minority are westerns. Every class is around 7-10 people.

Host : Babylon. There are all kinds of Chinese, right? which one are you studying?

Shani : Mandarin, the official dialect in China and Taiwan. Most people who study Chinese study Mandarin.

Host : It reminds me of the common phrase in Israel that when you don’t understand something you say “I’m not an expert in Chinese poetry”. So, can you read Chinese poetry?

Shani : No, I’m not at that level. Maybe children songs.

Host : How long will you study and what do you intend to do with it?

Shani : I’m here for a year, and I’ll go back to Israel afterwards, will probably start an MBA program in Israel and will look for a job with Asian connections. This is not a regular language that you can study for a while expecting it to last, Chinese you really have to keep studying.

Host : Please explain something about what’s special with Chinese language. We write from right to left, and Chinese?

Shani : Chinese you can write however you want, it depends… top-down, left-right, right-left, you just have to figure out where the anchor is. The language is a whole new world, you can get to know the culture, the origins of things. Every character has a story. I think the language is really hard, which is why this is a daily challenge to persist. It’s endless. If you stick to it, it will be interesting and worth it.

Host : You need a good memory, there are thousands of characters ?

Shani : You need visual memory, and you have to like it. The Chinese, eh, the Taiwanese, are really friendly, and are really happy to see foreigners say the most basic of words in Chinese.

Host : This actually brings me to the next question. The Beijing 2008 Olympics, the huge 1.4 billion China with the tiny few millions in Taiwan, do you feel the tension between Taiwan and China?

Shani : To tell you the truth - not really. The Taiwanese want to do something similar, there is a small Olympics coming up in 2009 in Kaohsiung, it will be a little more bizarre, so they’re trying to create their own unique thing, but there’s no tension about the Olympics.

Host : Do they know something about Israelis?

Shani : Sure, they’re curious, all Israelis feel like ambassadors. Students from all other countries are really curious about us Israelis here. I’ve done a few presentations about Israelis in class, handing out Israeli food and such.

Host : To conclude - I know your dad is in the tea business. How do you like their tea and the Taiwanese food?

Shani : I’m not a good example, because I don’t like sea food and I’m a bit conservative. I stick to the easy stuff with rice and noodles and some thing I import from Israel.

Host : How about tea?

Shani : The Taiwanese tea is everywhere, especially Oolong, when compared to China there are more western influences, it’s not the tea you drink in China, there is Milk Tea and things that resemble Coffee. The older generation doesn’t seem to like the new trends.

Host : Shani, thanks, from Taipei. Keep on with your Chinese. Something for us in Chinese, maybe?

Shani : Mama, Baba, Wo Ai Nimen, 媽媽爸爸我愛你們, Mom, Dad, I love you.

Host : Today, we visited - Taiwan.

Heh, a somewhat naive conversation about Taiwan, but - still, interesting to hear how Israelis in Israel and Israelis and Taipei talk about Taiwan.