it's a dreary, cold new year's day and i am staying in, but i do need food. so i venture out to find food. i know what i want. it's that thinly-sliced beef on rice, like sushi, that i had the first day i was here. but it's across town and i don't want to go that far. maybe i can find it nearby.
so i walk downstairs and a few blocks away, around the corner, i see it. it's a photo, along with many others, in the window of a small restaurant. i walk in and say hello, how are you, in mandarin,proud to have learned four words in total, and as always, am immediately greeted in english. i do appreciate that. so i point to the menu and say "one" in mandarin. i try. it's a photo of that carpaccio on rice with some scallions and seaweed and sauce on top. it's just what i am in the mood for. it looks exactly what i ate at that restaurant two days ago.
but what comes out is a hot pot (exactly how it sounds) with random seafood and some beef and cabbage and carrots. i look at the hot pot, then return to the photo. look at the hot pot, return to the photo. they're two completely different dishes. one is cooked, the other is not. one looks like sushi, one looks like a bunch of food piled on a steaming pot of broth. i specifically pointed, and even did a circular motion with my finger around the photo to specify it's what i wanted. so i return to the front and point to the photo again, then point to my food, like a caveman (uga uga).
i return to my seat and show the woman at the counter, my food. the woman who perhaps owns the restaurant, seems upset. she takes my chopsticks out of my hand and begins to stir my food into the hot broth. she thinks i wanted cooked food and that i didn't know how to do it because i was pointing at the raw beef on the menu! at first, i say "thank you" and make a waving signal to stop. then, i realize, she's just trying to help and i'm not communicating. so i let her show me how it was done and graciously ate the delicious food that only cost me $5. note to self: learn the names of food.
it's also not uncommon to see one out of about 20 people wearing masks.
when i got to customs in taipei, i noticed there was a booth doing fever checkups. one guy went to the booth and they started to observe him. i didn't know what it was about, and i was wondering if it was mandatory to be checked for some kind of flu that was going around.
then i plop down my bags at my hostel and start walking around the city. i see people on corners with babies, wearing a nurse's mask. and even the baby has one. i can't figure out what it's about. is there something in the air, like pollution, that people are trying to protect themselves from? i it because of the cold air? i see people on their scooters, of which they are many, with even makeshift masks with different patterns, you know, for style.
then a friend from taipei tells me, they are because people get sick and don't want to spread it, or they don't want to contract anything. but it looks so ridiculous and bizarre. what is more bizarre is that the asian culture has a tradition of sharing food and drinks. doesn't that contract viruses and bugs?
another thing i noticed when i went out to new year's eve at taipei 101 is that people are incredibly tame. i have been to my share of new year's festivities, and i have to say, seeing people on the ground with newspaper under them, playing cards in a circle and eating snacks, is not what i had expected.
i am used to parties, mayhem, pre-new year's fireworks and screaming, throwing pottery off balconies, shooting bottle rockets into the crowd. i am used to tradition. the spanish eat twelve grapes. the brazilians all wear white and dive into 7 waves in the ocean and walk out backwards for good luck while throwing flowers and money out to the sea as a donation to yemanja, their sea goddess. i'm used to the united states where people kiss each other at the count of midnight.
although a ton of people showed up for the production, there was no tradition, that i could see. i had to ask for a hug from my friends. they just show up, play cards, watch a 5 minute spectacle, and go home. there's no pre-gaming, just little wands of sparkly light you can hold and a pair of tinted cardboard glasses to give the kids. it was surprisingly tame, yet there was nationalism in the air, especially this year, since taiwan is celebrating their 100th year of independence as "the republic of china".
you would think they would want to go a little crazy. but then again, the asian culture is seemingly subtle, and i appreciate the gentle nature of the people who live here.
the firework show itself was something different though. i had never seen fireworks blown off of a building, let alone the "second" tallest in the world. and most of all, i appreciate the kindness of the people here. i was told that it's because they are such a small country (around 200 miles long as an island nation) and tourism is necessary for their economy. but i believe it has to do with the people, how they are raised, what's in our blood. racism rarely exists here, and although i may be stared at because i look "different", there seems to be no judgement and people have welcomed me with open arms everywhere i have been.
bless these people who make life easy while i'm on a road to nowhere in a country where i, with my simple language skills, are at their mercy.
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