Day 6: Beyond Stereotypes

Admit it. We all have stereotypes to others, one way or the other. It’s not our voluntary fault, most of the time. They are created, strengthened and amplified by media, be it TV, movies, internet, and books, especially guidebooks. It has a far-reaching effects to tourists and others.

I am translating a GV post about stereotypes, and it talks about how media and create and break them. According to my 1.5 years of experiences working in a bookstore, Lonely Planet definitely stands top in the chart. It’s influential as so many people buy them as the sole reference for travelling around. Solana brings a Lonely Planet Taiwan with her this time (but she still has Global Voices as references). It’s the latest edition (published in November 2007, ISBN 9781741045482), but it still has some things that may need to be clarified.

The section “Don’t Leave Home Without” is on P. 23. It has a few lines sound interesting to me. It says you need to bring “Tampons – If you are travelling outside Taipei” and ”A Towel – If you are staying at cheaper hotels and don’t like to dry with tea towels”. I don’t know why people have to be panic about that, since we have drug stores, wholesale stores and supermarkets, not to mention many of them are opening 24/7. By the way, we also have somthing you may be familiar: 7-ELEVEN. The total number of franchises of this convenient store is 4810 today on their website (at the lower left corner of the page). Relax, people.

In the same page, it also warns tourists to bring “Underwear – especially for women; you won’t like what’s here.” I am not sure why authors, Robert Kelly & Joshua Samuel Brown, are interested in women’s underwear in the first place, but we do sell Calvin Klein here, fortunately according to our field trip to department stores. Solana, as a female at least for this moment, says it looks totally the same as in the United States. I wonder what they saw and/or bought.

At the night of this day, Solana and I go clubbing for dancing and relax, which happens to be my first club experience, both locally and internationally. It shows that Taiwan does have quite a few tourists from Western countries. Maybe they just live like owls and all concentrate to clubs and bars at night. I suppose that is also a new thing to learn - beyond stereotypes.

Day 5: Who’s Who?

After having a talk with a group of translation students in the university, Solana and I have a lunch with Brigitte near campus. With the background from Malaysia and Canada, Brigitte is currently learning Mandarin in Taiwan. Thanks for introduction from a friend in Global Voices, we get to meet her and make a new friend. Luckily with a class of four (it’s normally up to ten), Brigitte’s Mandarin is impressive. With this speed, her friends in the United States may soon be surpassed.

As tourists, we visit National Palace Museum in the afternoon. Solana mentions a few times during this trip that she doesn’t see many foreigners, even tourists, on the street. It turns out that many of them are here in the museum. I tell her actually we have met quite a few travellers from Japan, Korea and Hong Kong during the past few days, but it would be difficult to recognize them from their appearances if not knowing their languages. After the museum, though, Solana can tell which tourists are from China: They are louder and in groups. Good eyes.

Night market is always a must for travelling around Taiwan & Taipei. It often reflects the energetic, diverse and vibrant side of local society. It provides cuisines, shopping, experiences, entertainment, memories and surprises. For example, an toilet theme restaurant.  Their seats, their menu and their food all represent the toilet environment. Too bad that I didn’t persuade Solana to taste poo-poo shape chocolate ice cream.

At the museum, seeing buses and buses of tourists leaving, we wonder where their next stop will be. It results in the same night market, and some of them are still louder and in groups.

Day 4: Meet the Students

Today is the first time Solana meets with a group of local students in Taiwan, mostly major in mass communication. We go to Fujen Catholic University for the event in this rainy afternoon. Good to see many students attend without any pressure from instructors. Normally attendance drops a lot in rainy days, but it doesn’t happen this time. Solana and GV are sexy, obviously.

  

It’s a great success. Students and professors offer relevant questions, and Solana provides eleborated answers. It’s an encouraging sign that students/audience come up with questions immediately after the speech, because normally in Taiwan, due to shyness or other reasons, audience remains silence for at least 30 seconds at the beginning of Q&A session. Several students come to us afterwards with an interest in contributing for Global Voices. Don’t know how much will really turn out, but we leave with best hopes.

Work and fun are always as important. Before heading home, Solana and I enjoy sushi at the main station. We talk about life and work, freelancing and lifeplan, customs and traditions. I always think beer is essential to all Japanese restaurants, but surprisingly not this one.  It was outside of the store, we prove again that Solana is stronger than dinosaurs, even when being sober …