They have a very rich history. It goes back several thousand years. And that's reflected in the people's attitudes towards their families, towards their history. One thing you'll notice is that people are generally very focused on their families, and especially on venerating and respecting their ancestors as well.
Biking past Buddhist temples and just appreciating that you kind of are living in a real life Mulan is the best thing in the world. Now granted there's the stuff like respect the people that are older than you and don't stab your chops who can send food and like don't wear red to a funeral and stuff like that but other than that the culture is something that is super special and I think the more you're willing to immerse yourself the more you'll be willing to appreciate it and the more you'll learn about it. Recognize that dead fish handshakes are normal no one's going to give you a firm handshake, that people are going to be shy they're going to be timid and they're going to be kind of afraid to lose face as they say more like they want to protect themselves and their identity so don't be afraid of shyness because you're able to keep them out of their shell.
Taiwan's like a different planet, at least for me growing up in Utah. It's, people are different, the language is completely different, the food's different, just, just everything, everything is unique. And if I was going to give any advice, as cliche as it sounds, you just got to embrace it, need it up. They love Americans there. They're so excited to see you and ask you questions about where you're from. They're really nice and really awesome. And you're just going to feel so good every day as you talk to them.
One thing that I wished that I had known before going to Taiwan was just how much the people there love and respect their ancestors and their family. They believe very strongly that ancestors have a strong connection to our lives here on earth.
Food is important in a lot of cultures. I'd say it's important, you know, in the Taiwan culture. So, you know, be really respectful. Tell them, you know, the food tastes good. Use the utensils they give you. Always offer to do dishes afterwards. You know, just be respectful in that way. Also, they're gonna love it that you speak their language. So, really learn the language. Try to just do the best you can with the language because that's going to show your respect for the culture there.
I love the culture. The Taiwanese people are just amazing. They love Americans. They're super, super friendly and everybody is just very, very kind. There was only a few people that I come across that were kind of rude. So just learn to love them. They're amazing people and one thing is education and kind of their future and work is a huge part of their life.
Some culture tips I have are respect the elderly. You know, older people are looked, you know, up to and when you walk with an older person you usually walk behind them and be really courteous and have be full of etiquette at the dinner table. You know, use chopsticks. Don't put your chopsticks in the bowl. That's bad when you're done. Thank them for their meal. Just be super polite, especially to the elderly, and respect their family beliefs. Family is everything to them. The adults work a lot just to provide for their kids, give them a good education. The kids are in school for long hours of the day and their parents really care about their kids' success and their family's success. Whenever they have free time, they're always out with family. So I would just say, you know, family is really crucial and important to them.
Something that I had to get used to was how blunt people are there. Well, they're not afraid to tell you if you have a zit on your face, or if you got fat, or if you lost weight, because that's also a bad thing, but they're not meaning to be rude at all. It's just purely out of like consideration for you, and they want you to look prettier, and they want you to just be aware of what's happening. They're not trying to make you feel dumb or put you down. That was something that it took me a couple months to get used to.
People in Taiwan are just really friendly, you know. We love to enjoy different cultures, we enjoy people come to visit Taiwan. Also, we have a lot of good food and the culture is like, we mainly are like Chinese people, so the family relationship is really close. And also, I feel that if you really enjoy a lot of different food, Taiwan is definitely the best place to go. You can visit a night market at night and you can have a lot of different food around and it's all very cheap. Back home, I can probably spend only like two to three dollars a meal and I can really have a lot of good stuff happening. So Taiwan is definitely the best place to visit.
The Taiwanese people are just such amazing people. They are good friends, they're humble, they're welcoming and comely. I would say that my biggest culture tip for you is when you get there, make sure that you're likewise with the people. So make sure you're ready for that warm culture. Do a favor and warm yourself up beforehand.
People in Taiwan are very blunt. You have to get that. They're not like here in America. If you're fat, they're going to go ahead and tell you. They're going to be like, 你很胖胖的,要喝多一點水。 Like, if you're fat, go ahead and drink more water. Or like, oh, you have pimples all over your face, go ahead and drink more water. They do it out of genuine concern for you. You have to kind of understand that. Also, don't ever stick your chopsticks into your food. It's kind of wishing death upon someone. That's because they go ahead and they buy their ancestors and they have these incense sticks. And so that's considered very rude.