I made a small cultural mistake the other day. While drinking tea with some other teachers I made a comment about another teacher's shirt. His shirt had a guy riding a motorcycle and it read, "Young man so cool". I told him I liked his shirt...oops! I know better but I forget sometimes. The teacher is now obligated to give me his shirt. It was not a big deal, but another teacher did remind me of the social mores. Think of it this way. I am seen as a 'guest' and in Taiwanese culture the guest is treated with a high level of respect. When eating out, the guest eats first at the table and the guest eats last at the table. The guest gets their cup filled first. The guest gets the shirt off your back.
The conversation also turned to politics. I avoid politics as much as I can, but, let's face it, as social creatures we are political creatures. Basically, the Taiwanese teachers were complaining that the government was too much talk and too little action. I explained that the U.S. is the same way, but this is the way of democracy where various parties have a voice. It is hard to have agreement on action, thus it is hard to get things done. A teacher said, "But, we watch MLB and when they play your anthem everybody sings. It is not like this in Taiwan."
"Yes," I say, "we may not agree, but we are all very proud of our country."
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