Experiencing local culture

Taiwanese kindness was highlighted unanimously by the interviewees and will be talked about in the following section. In terms of culture, a large majority of the interviewees mentioned the concept of culture, as brought up by interviewee n°1:

For me it was like a revelation, why didn’t I know about this. There’s this tiny island that has amazing modern culture and amazing literature and seems to have preserved a lot of traditional culture.

Interviewee n°1, female, Poland.

Besides Taiwanese people attitudes towards foreigners, 5/12 mentioned how Taiwanese was a very forward society in terms of human rights and social freedom, as mentioned by interviewee n°4:

Taiwanese society accommodates modern mindsets, and show adherence to human rights and efforts to tackle global issues of the 21^st century, from climate change to minority rights (gay marriage).

Interviewee n°4, male, Germany.

Interviewee n°9 compared human development in Taiwan and the developed countries in the region:

Taiwan is unlike Japan, Korea or China, where life seems a little bit artificial. Life seems very real here and it is a country that is far more developed when talking about human development.

Interviewee n°9, male, Turkey.

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Figure 5. Interviewee n°3 marching during Pride in Taipei, Taiwan. Source:

Instagram.

In the picture of figure 5, we can see interviewee n°3 taking part in the Pride march held every year in Taiwan to secure equality for the LGBT+ community in the country. The picture was captioned, “no love left behind”.

However, there is more than meets the eye when it comes to local culture in terms of aspects that would help shape Taiwanese local culture. One of them would be the strong relationship Taiwan has with food. 11/12 of the interviewees mentioned Taiwanese food, as mentioned by interviewee n°12:

My landlord is an amazing man, he would always invite me to try his new creations in the kitchen. Everything is always terrific and I can tell he always cooks with love.

It is crazy! And now you know how big of a fan of food I am as well. This will be one of

my fondest memories in Taiwan, I know that.

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Interviewee n°12, male, Spain.

When talking about preconceptions about Taiwanese food, interviewee n°6 commented:

I am really picky when it comes to food, so I am not going to lie, I was worried about that, but I have to admit I truly love Taiwanese food, it is very tasty and very diverse, I would never get tired of it.

Interviewee n°6, male, Chile.

Figure 6. Interviewee n°6 having mango shaved ice Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Source:

Instagram

In the post in figure 6, interviewee n°6 uploaded a post having shaved-ice in Kaohsiung, which graphics the process of local food exploration by the interviewee.

Moreover, some of the interviewees admitted stereotyping related to food associated with Taiwan, actually helped them get in touch with those food staples as soon as they arrived, exemplified by interviewee n°3:

I was expecting to have lots of bubble tea, mango shaved ice and all the stereotypes you can think of and I got them all. I love being able to run into a tea shop anywhere and try different kinds of bubble tea flavours.

Interviewee n°3, female, Bosnia.

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Figure 7. Interviewee n°8 having tea in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Source: Instagram.

In the post made by interviewee n°8, as shown on figure 7, can be read the caption,

“night train and tea”, which might suggest the interviewee’s inclination for this particular beverage, which is a staple beverage in Taiwan.

Food plays an important role en every festivity in Taiwan, which seems to have a particular dish associated with every mark on the calendar, as explained by interviewee n°10.

I was shocked to know that during Chinese New Year the country would be paralysed for a week. People really celebrate here and share with their families during this festivity. They would stop working and really immerse in the celebration. A classmate actually invited me to participate in her family’s celebration and it was amazing.

Every course had a meaning and people ate them all, I couldn’t keep up with them, it was too much food.

Interviewee n°10, female, Peru.

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Figure 8. Interviewee n°6 having zongzi in New Taipei City, Taiwan. Source:

Instagram.

On the post extracted on figure 8, interviewee n°6 captions, “studying is not everything in life, sometimes I also cook and do some crafts”, which suggest the interviewee was part of a zongzi making event. Zongzi is the staple dish during the Dragon Boat Festival, the dish is made with sticky rice “loaded with nuts, meat, egg yolks, and mushrooms, all wrapped in a large leaf and tied with string. These delicious snacks are the highlight of the day for many and can be found on sale throughout the region in the weeks leading up to the festival” (Culture trip, 2019, par. 9).

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Figure 9. Interviewee n°7 with pomelo hat in Taichung, Taiwan. Source:

Instagram.

On the post presented on figure 9, interviewee n°7 is sporting a pomelo hat, which seems to suggest she was celebrating Moon Festival, since the pomelo hat is a popular tradition during the holiday in order to “bring good fortune. The older generation believed that Chang’e, the lady in the moon, would have a better view of children wearing these hats made from her favorite fruit and so answer their prayers. These days it’s just a fun activity for kids and part and parcel of the festival” (Culture trip, 2019, par. 8).

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