As you all know from my previous post, I came to Taiwan in 2015 for the first time. Being the first time out of my country, I did face multiple cultural shocks—the differences in language, how people and food have left a significant impact on me. I was getting cultural wonders at almost every level of my interactions with Taiwanese here. In this piece, I will be sharing some of the cultural shocks I faced.
Language
During my masters in India at O.P. Jindal Global University, I learned Chinese for 2 semesters from my lovely Taiwanese language instructors. My master's University was the first in India to host the "Taiwan Education Center." But I was never a good student. With little bravery and support, I could muster the courage to come to Taiwan. But I realized the challenge of language was much more than I anticipated.
For example, the Blue Line of Taipei MRT is called Ban Nan Line. But in the MRT, it is written, "Bannan Line." In my mind, I was reading it as "Banana Line" for months, until a friend corrected me. In another instance, I ordered Chicken fried rice with my inconsistent Chinese in Hsinchu. But I got a big bowl of Chicken Porridge instead.
The difference between "4" and "10" pronunciation still gives me trouble. I tried learning Chinese here in Taiwan but never managed to do so together with my Ph.D. studies. One day, I hope to focus on learning Chinese for a while after my Ph.D. gets over.
People's behavior
People are the national assets of any country. It is one of the first things you see when you travel. During my exchange period, I met with many Taiwanese. One thing I realized is that the Taiwanese saying, "thank you." It is not that in India we don't appreciate the help. Still, here in Taiwan, I saw "thank you" everywhere between friends, family, strangers; it is all over the place. But it was very different here. With time, it changed me as I have myself started saying "thank you" always. A few times, when I went back to India and say thank you to my good friends, I got a weird look from them, and I got asked—"buddy, are you alright?"
The second difference I found here is when people want to seek an appointment, they ask to come to the coffee shop or a restaurant. In India, where I come from, we invite people home for a meal or tea. At first, I felt terrible, but I learned that that is the Taiwanese way with time. When I spoke about this with my Taiwanese friends, they said, they usually call people home to those they consider a close friend or family.
In another instance, on my fourth day in Taiwan, I had to take a train to Zhongli at a particular time, and I was lost in the maze of Taipei Main Station. I didn't know where to go. I approached a Taiwanese, he went out of his way to help me. Such experiences slowly broaden my thinking.
Food
Food was something that I was not prepared for. I remember my first breakfast in Taiwan (Danbing) given to me by my host. I had to remove the ham in it as I didn't eat pork by then. After finishing it, I asked, "What's next?". His response was, "That's it. That's your breakfast, are you not full enough?" My eyes got big with utter disbelief. I then questioned myself—"Did I make the right choice to come to Taiwan?" The portion of my food was too less. It didn't take me much time to realize that Taiwan's food portions are smaller than in India.
On the same evening, I went out to have dinner at 8.30 pm. I realized all restaurants are closed by then. I ended up waiting for my host to come back from the office, and he took me to a 7-11 to have food. It was another difference between the eating habits of India and Taiwan. Our lunchtime varies from 12-3 pm, and then we have evening tea and snack time from around 4-7 pm. The dinner is usually from 8 pm onwards. This was the major lesson I learned from my second day in Taiwan.
On my third day, I had the opportunity to have dinner with another host in Taipei. I was shy and afraid of getting to the dinner table. As you can see, the picture of my dinner that day. There were in a different setup than what I was used to. First is the chopsticks. I was used to eating with hands or a spoon. Second, the rice bowl, and then the vegetables were mostly steamed. While we were having dinner, my host's father asked me to try the plate's pork. Bravely, I tried one, but I almost puked. It was my first time eating pork. When the father wanted to give me the soup, I took my bowl near the soup pot. I pulled it back immediately when I saw complete "chicken feet" in it. Everyone asked me if I am ok? I then told them that I am shocked to see "chicken feet." They all laughed at my reaction.
For some reason, I had to stay in Hsinchu from my fifth day in Taiwan. I met Fred. After I met him, I started getting more shocks. I was his first foreign friend. With time, Fred became like an elder brother to me. One day he took me to eat Sashimi. I started to think, how can one eat raw fish and seafood!! I had to check with Fred, don't they want to cook the fish? After getting a negative from him, it took me 15-20min to accept in my mind to eat the dish. Until now, my stomach is not able to accept raw Sashimi or Sushi, which have raw meat in it. In another incident, I had to try Sesame oil chicken. I almost cried because I didn't know how to eat. Fred, again, was my savior. He tried to comfort me and helped me to order other food.
I wanted to share all such experiences because the exchange time was my first attempt in a different environment. It pushed me to my limit. It slowly opened my eyes and made me accept the differences. During my exchange period of one semester, I lost my weight from 78kg to 61kg. When I went back to India, my friends themselves couldn't recognize me at first. I had to buy all new clothes. I learned how to be patient and have preservice.
During my last month of exchange in January, I got an opportunity to participate in the AIESEC camp at NTU. Where I got the chance to interact with school students of Taiwan. It allowed me to share about India and made me experience typical stereotypes that the students had towards India. It was a wonderful experience. I was sad when I was leaving Taiwan after finishing my exchange, but I applied for the Ph.D. at NCCU, and I came back to Taiwan on September 4, 2016. In the next article, I will be sharing some more of my interactions, experiences, and thoughts that I have faced in Taiwan.
*For the Chinese version please check: 什麼？湯裡有雞腳？！──印度交換生在台灣：我的 3 大文化衝擊
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