Things I Will Miss about Taiwan

It's not even the last week of MISTI Taiwan, but I already know what I will miss about Taiwan. There are too many things to list. I look forward to returning to MIT because I miss the Charles, the four seasons, Boston, and the people at MIT. I simply can't have the best of both worlds, as much as I wish. After I graduate, I plan to stay in the U.S. I don't see myself living in Asia after graduation unless I am working at an international company and the pay is similar to the U.S. I have adjusted to life in Taiwan, but I guess life in the U.S. is more comfortable for me. 

The various things I will miss about Taiwan can be divided into the following categories: food, people, culture, everyday life, and language. 

Food 

Food in the U.S. isn't bad per se, but as a college student, I eat on a budget in the U.S., which means eating the same cooked lunch six days in a row (not that it has to be like that, but it's cheaper and easier), eating the same breakfast of oatmeal and apples, finding free food if possible, you get the idea. In Taiwan, however, I can buy something different every day for lunch and dinner partly because of the number of options and how cheap the food is relative to the U.S. I am going to miss the simple things that people in Taiwan find to be ordinary, whether it is freshly made rice milk in the local breakfast shop or eating passion fruit. Some things don't exist in the U.S., or if they do, they aren't easy to find.  

There are yummy things in the U.S. for sure, but I think what makes food in Taiwan more meaningful to me is the memories it carries, especially ones of my childhood as I lived here before. Tofu pudding makes me think of the local shop I ate at after dinner with my family. The ginger taste that lingers on my tongue after drinking sweet potato soup reminds me of my mom's cooking in Taiwan. Also, it makes me feel more connected to my cultural identity, as Taiwanese cuisine has a lot of overlap with Chinese cuisine. There's this sense of feeling rooted and secured to a place, I suppose, which I don't quite feel as much in the U.S. 

People 

I really appreciate the warmth and friendly nature of the Taiwanese. My lab mates are quiet, but if I have a question, they are happy to help me. The people I encounter in public whether it is the 7-11 cashier or the train station manager are very approachable and are happy to help. I find it amusing that the first question some of them ask me is where I am from because my accent is obviously not Taiwanese. Maybe it is because I am a foreigner, but the people here are pretty curious about life in the U.S. and ask a lot of questions. The service here is excellent, whether it is my experience on the airplane or exchanging currency at the mall. They know how to do hospitality well. 

My brain is probably biased, but I feel like I notice more conversations with store owners and customers here versus in the U.S. There are lots of franchise shops in Taiwan, but there are also a lot of family-owned businesses like restaurants that have lasted for decades and are still running. I really like seeing these interactions because it reminds me of how frequent small encounters over time can build up to something quite nice. I wish I saw this more in shops in the U.S. Perhaps I need to look more carefully next time. 

Culture 

One cool thing about living in Taiwan is the coexistence of old traditions and modernity, which I don't experience that much in the U.S. Some people may find embracing old traditions to go against or contradict modern life, but I disagree. For instance, a lot of people still go to the temple to pray and burn incense. In night markets and some streets, there are some people who do fortune-telling by analyzing your Chinese name or using a "God bird." I just find it nice that some cultural and religious traditions have endured for thousands of years. 

As someone who strongly values my cultural identity, coming to Taiwan was very beneficial in teaching me various aspects of Chinese culture, whether it was looking at Chinese art in the National Palace Museum or walking around the Lin Family Garden. Being immersed in this environment definitely made me practice my reading, speaking, and writing skills more, which I barely use in the U.S. When I was in the U.S., I was concerned that I was forgetting my roots and culture, so I was happy to come to Taiwan because I viewed the trip as a pilgrimage to learn more things about my culture. 

Likewise, it is nice that traditional Chinese holidays are celebrated here. Unfortunately, my time in Taiwan is only for the summer, so I can't go to the Pingxi Lantern Festival or other holiday events. In late June, however, I got to see the Dragon Boat Festival for the first time and it was fun seeing how they held the boat race. 

Everyday Life 

This one is hard to explain, but I think I will miss some intangible parts of life in Taiwan that I can't quite articulate. It's hard to describe it to someone unless one gets a glimpse of my life here, which consists of walking the same alley from the apartment to the lab, passing by the local shops, etc. Taipei is indeed a busy city, as there are tons of major technology companies near where I live (HP, Intel, IBM, etc.), yet I feel like the pace of life in Taipei can also be slower if one chooses such a pace. Perhaps it has to do with where I live, but it's nice to see the elderly doing their morning exercise in the park, parents talking outside the tutoring center, children on bikes, etc. On the other hand, living in MIT feels much busier and the separation of work life and personal life isn't as obvious. 

I will also miss the stores here, even the stores I never went inside. There's this atmosphere that is distinct, whether it is hearing Taiwanese songs in the local dumpling shop or seeing a cat calmly sitting on the counter of a books and coffee shop. In other words, I will miss the essence. 

Language 

Unlike Mandarin spoken in Mainland China, Mandarin in Taiwan has some slight differences. It's nice to hear the local dialect (Taiwanese, which is based on Hokkien) in daily conversations because it makes a place feel more local, if that makes any sense. Kind of like how in the U.S. there are slight differences in accents and words depending on which region you are in, such as the Midwest or the South. 

I don't know any Hokkien, but I picked up a few words, such as pai sei, which is the same as saying sorry, but in a context where saying sorry isn't for something serious. Think of pai sei in Mandarin as 不好意思 (bu hao yi si), a word someone would say if they felt embarrassed for causing a mistake or extra trouble. On a less serious note, I also understood why some local Taiwanese swear words in Mandarin are pronounced the way they are. You can search them up on the internet if you are curious, but essentially they sound very similar to the Hokkien pronunciation. 

I guess this could fall under the people category, but there's something about the Taiwanese accent I like. Their pronunciation of certain sounds like zh/ch/sh isn't accurate, but it's the distinctness that makes a place feel more unique. One thing I noticed is that the people here speak more gently and soft, which I also like. 

I think something that I will miss most in terms of the language ties in with the culture. In Taiwan, I learned that instead of referring to my older lab colleagues (postdocs, research associates, technicians) by their first name, it is better to call them 學姐 (xue jie) for a woman and 學長 (xue zhang) for a man. I can't find a good translation of 學姐, but it's literally "school sister." For 學長, the Oxford English-Chinese dictionary gives me "fellow student." Here, people call their PIs 老師, which is "teacher." It is considered rude to call someone older by their first name, which is very different from the U.S. as the purpose of calling a PI or older person by their first name is to come off as less intimidating. Personally, I like the culture of calling older people by a formal title because it is a way to show respect and admiration. 

Somehow, it feels endearing when older people in public here call me 妹妹 (mei mei), from the hairdresser to a lady sitting next to me at the bus stop. In Chinese, 妹妹 means little sister. Obviously, I am not related to them by blood, yet the term is comforting to hear. Typically, people call young women in their 20s to 30s 小姐（xiao jie), which is the equivalent of Miss. I guess I am not considered old enough to be called 小姐, as some people probably think of me as an awfully big kid, which is fine with me. While it is common for people to use the word 小姐 in Taiwan, in Mainland China, it is considered rude because it is a euphemism for "prostitute." Therefore, one should use 姑娘 (gu niang). Going back to the subject, I am going to miss these small things in Taiwan. I don't know why, but I actually wish I heard more of this in the U.S.

Conclusion 

I am not sure how to conclude this blog post, but all I want to say is that there are so many facets of Taiwan I am going to miss. I think the nostalgia will be less compared to the time I moved from Taiwan to the U.S. because I also miss some aspects of MIT life, but I will still think back to these random moments of this summer. I wish I had an answer as to when will be the next time I can visit Taiwan, but I don't know. Hopefully sometime in the near future.