Taipei County Shots
Photos by MJ Klein
So, what does a blogger/photographer do when he stays in a hotel room on the 11th floor?
What were you thinking?
Archive for the ‘customs’
Home Attack
Photos by MJ Klein
It was just after 3:00 am when I heard a crash and what sounded like breaking glass. I was asleep of course so I couldn’t be sure what happened, exactly. I distinctly remember the sound of something on the roof maybe? Definitely that sound of something hitting concrete and I swear, sheet metal. I leaped out of bed, flashlight in hand and did a floor-by-floor inspection of our house. I found nothing. I looked outside and I saw a familiar person walking around, smoking (that guy is always smoking). This guy is out and about in his parking lot office at all hours of the morning. He has friends joining him in his office (with blacked-out windows) very late at night. I guess the business of running a parking lot with 7 or 8 customers is so demanding that he has to work late at night to keep up with all that paperwork. I saw another person hurriedly exiting the tall building across the street, carrying a bucket. Mind you, this building is unoccupied and there were no lights on. I’m telling you, there is some kind of funny business going on in my neighborhood.
The following morning I went into our second-floor office and I got a big surprise:
Blue Sky Hoedown
Photos by MJ Klein, and others where noted.
It was almost a throwdown in some respects, but the party at the Blue Sky was more or less successful in that people had a relatively good time, and nobody got hurt, although the event was not up to my personal standards. First, let me thank everyone who ventured out on that cold windy evening to join us. Your company is what makes things like this worthwhile. Second, please allow me to apologize (more on that later).
Why I like Nikon cameras, reason #57: IR remote control. This shot was taken on a tripod from my seat at the table at the far end of the shot.
Many of Taiwan’s famous people were on hand at the surreal Blue Sky.
How Busy Was Your Chinese New Year?
Photo by MJ Klein
Hui-chen and I were in Kaohsiung for Chinese New Year. We decided to go to the Liuhe tourist night market for dinner. After finding this huge crowd, we decided to pass on dinner there!
So, how busy was your Chinese New Year?
Taiwanese Meat Pies
Food Photos by MJ Klein. Food by Hui-chen’s mother!
Oh my. I was introduced to yet another heretofore unexplored family tradition, and one based on cooking. Hui-chen’s mother has yet another original recipe up her sleeve that I didn’t know about, and I got to check it out up close and personal.
It starts out with this meat mix, which is similar to dumplings.
Winter Food Photos
Photos by MJ Klein
What do you do when it’s cold outside, and you happen to live in Asia? You make a ripping hot spicy hotpot dish - that’s what you do! Just look at that jar of chili sauce!
10 Things I Admire About Taiwanese People
Readers of ex-pat blogs notice that we tend to complain about a lot of things. I certainly have my share of gripe posts on our blog. Heck, I’ve even based an entire series around complaining, called Sound Off! But, it’s very important for our readers to understand just how much I love Taiwan, and admire the Taiwanese people. So much so, that I’m making a list:
10 Things I Admire About Taiwanese People
Communication Breakdown
I’m pissed. No, I’m effing pissed…..
- 11/21: Morning, we emailed drawings to a machine shop Boss that has done work for me in the past.
- 11/21: Afternoon, we call to make sure the shop got the drawings.
- They don’t know because they haven’t checked their email for the day.
- We call an hour later and confirm that they did receive the email.
- 11/22: Call to confirm that the machinist can read the drawings.
- He can “no problem.”
- We ask how long for the quotation. The answer is “about a week.”
- 11/28: We called the Boss to find out if he finished the quotation.
- The Boss is not in his office.
- The Boss is not answering his mobile phone.
- 11/29: We called the Boss to find out if he finished the quotation.
- The Boss is not in his office.
- The Boss is not answering his mobile phone.
- 11/30: We called the Boss to find out if he finished the quotation.
- The Boss is not in his office.
- Finally, the Boss answered his mobile phone:
Us: “Do you have the quotation for us?”
Boss: “No.”
Us: “What is the problem?”
Boss: “The quantity is not high enough for us to bother with. Besides, we can’t read the drawings.”
Us: “Why didn’t you call us sooner and let us know?”
Boss: “Sorry.”
I have written volumes about how people here refuse to communicate. I’m not the only one either. Much has been written about the Westerner’s need for explanations. The above situation is our fault because we weren’t able to successfully deduce the machine shop Boss’ intent on our own. He isn’t required to tell us anything. Why should he? He’s a rich, successful business owner and we can kiss his ass.
I’ve said over and over: “Taiwanese communicate about everything, except important things.” The sheer volume of innocuous communication is staggering. But when it comes to important pieces of information, people are reluctant to give that information out? It doesn’t make sense, but that machine shop boss thought it was “impolite” to tell us that he wasn’t going to produce those parts for us. He knew from the very beginning too, because the quantity of parts we needed him to machine was clearly stated in the email, in Chinese.
I have even had Taiwanese businessmen tell me “I don’t like to talk about money” when trying to get an estimate for their services! You’re laughing. I’m not.
Of course I’m never going to give him another job to quote. Of course he won’t even notice.
Sound Off! - Loud Talking
Q: Why do speakers of Chinese feel the need to yell everything?
A: “There is no why….”
I cannot tell you how many times I have been sitting at a table with my wife where I couldn’t carry on a conversation with her sitting right beside me, because of people shouting in Chinese at the next table. This isn’t an isolated situation. Several times a week we will be in some place where the noise level is just unbearable. And the noise is coming from people’s mouths. The issue with me is the fact that it is completely unnecessary.
Another thing that I’ve noticed is that often, people will try to hold conversations when the surrounding noise level is clearly too high to sustain an intelligible conversation - but they try anyway. I’m always amazed when the karaoke machine is blasting and some drunken idiot is screaming into the microphone, yet someone will insist on talking over this already too-loud noise. When I am confronted by that, I never answer. I just point to my ears and shrug my shoulders. My reasoning is lost however, and that person will just find someone else to yell at. And its totally innocuous conversation too. Nothing that can’t wait. Nothing that actually needs to be said either.
I have also noticed a direct correlation to the sound pressure level and the number of empty bottles on the table, most noticably Taiwan Beer. The SPL goes up by at least 3dB per bottle.
Just a few days ago, Hui-chen and I had the displeasure of sitting next to some little red-faced shit who yelled every single utterance from his mouth, even though he was the only one talking and the people were at the same table. There was no reason for him to be shouting. Every time he got up out of his chair and went to the beverage cooler, he came back with 5 bottles of Taiwan Beer (the smaller they are, the louder they sound, seems like). HC and I were there for about 30 minutes and he just kept getting louder and louder. Finally we had to leave! Besides the co-workers at his table, we were the only ones there.
In the US and other Western countries, people will ask others to pipe down. Once I did see a guy ask someone at his table to speak quieter because he was embarrassed (must have been in the US before). The drunken yeller just said “mei guan chee” and kept right on making an ass of himself, even saying that no one could stop him from talking. Wanna bet?
I’ve been told that Taiwanese people don’t notice that anything (including themselves) is loud. I believe this to be true. Ever been woken up late at night by people coming home, and talking in full voice? That is one of my personal dislikes! It seems that no one ever taught those people to think about others - but only about themselves. I’ve been in Taiwan hotels numerous times, and have had to step out into the hall to ask people to talk quieter after being woken up. Of course I’m met with blank stares. How could I possibly be disturbed by just talking?
Recently Hui-chen and I went to eat shabbu-shabbu and a couple with a kid came in. This kid was about 4 years old and the minute he got to their table he started on a loud diatribe. He stood on the seat beside his mother so he could command the attention of the whole restaurant, and began a gibberish monologue, which lasted until Hui-chen asked his mother to quiet him down. Of course, the mother gave Hui-chen a “what’s your problem?” look. Of course, he went quiet for 30 seconds and then started right back up with his parents eyes glazed over, obviously oblivious to just how annoying hearing their kid really is. No, we don’t all think your kid is cute. Not when he is disrupting the tranquility of the dining room
That really is the issue. For me, I enjoy peace and quiet when I’m dining. If I am dining alone, the most common question I’m asked is “Are you eating alone?” People here hate to sit or eat alone, and they are genuinely concerned about me being bored while sitting alone. They want the noise and confusion, and the bigger the group, the better. I am used to being on my own and I think this all comes down to the “individual vs: group” cultural difference.
Readers, what are your thoughts? Have you found a polite way to ask people to stop shouting?
Bushman Plays SE Asian Music Fest
Photos by MJ Klein & Hui-chen - Video by Hui-chen
This past Sunday, Hui-chen and I attended a SE Asian music festival called “Thai Rock ‘n’ Roll Festival and Philippine Karaoke Competition.”
MJ with the band “Fong” moments before starting up the first song
Actually I did more than just attend, as I was invited to perform with one of the Thai bands. The reason that I did not tell anyone in advance about it was mainly because I did not want to detract from the Blues Bash that went on during the same weekend. Plus I didn’t know much about the festival until I got there, so I didn’t feel comfortable saying anything about it beforehand.
So, read on about Thai rock bands, Philippine traditional dancing, drinking, karaoke, bad weather, boats on the river, etc.! There are a ton of photos in this article!
