(Post by Alisha)

I was walking through a familiar, semi-run down section of town before entering the downtown area, and a group of locals were sitting outside their moped repair garage perched on upside-down buckets and stools gathered around a large bowl. They were a jovial bunch, and I knew as I walked past they were going to wave and smile and beg me to join -- tall, unusual, blonde, foreigner that I am. Usually I just smile and say "xie xie, thank you" and point to my wrist as if I'm in a hurry to get somewhere.

However, this particular night, I thought, "Why not?" After all, that's partly what I'm here for- to really see what another culture is like. And while I have been doing this to a point, the menus in English, the malls, and the generally English-speaking Taipei itself can sometimes feel like I'm getting a safe and foreigner-friendly dose of this reality. So this time I did accept their invitation- granted it was given completely in Chinese, but waving hands and pointing at a dish of food can only mean one thing. As soon as I shook my head yes, they literally ran around wildly searching for a bucket for me to sit on and gestured insistently towards the bowl of food in the middle.

Here's where I found myself suddenly unsure of my decision. It was a large sea of broth with unidentifiable vegetables and thick, greenish bodies of fish floating inside. Just as I began to frantically imagine some excuse I could communicate to try and get out of this, they pulled out a clean bowl and new pair of chopsticks and motioned for me to help myself. Knowing there was no turning back at this point, I scooped up some of the soupy-looking concoction and a big piece of the fish. They all stared at me as I brought the fish to my mouth in false confidence, masking my trepidation, and took a big bite...only to find it was delicious! I couldn't believe it- fresh fish cooked in this steamy seasoned broth tasted great. They laughed and laughed- in the joking way of good cheer- and indicated they were very pleased with the way I ate with the chopsticks and enjoyed the food. They broke out a cold Taiwan beer and kept saying "Taiwan pi jui, (beer) good good good!" I couldn't help laughing too, mostly at myself for how nervous I was at trying something new, and responded "dui, hao! (yes, good)." We sat around "talking" for about 15 minutes, though they couldn't speak any English and my Chinese is very limited. I finally left after much protest, and continued on my way.

On my return home, I brought them a small bag of candy and dried fruit I bought from a street vendor and tried to give it to them, having read that gifts are expected in Taiwanese culture in return for a meal or invite to someone's home. They adamantly refused to accept it, as I had anticipated, but after much insistence on my part, they finally took it and shared it around. Wow, what an awesome glimpse into a different way of life.