It's Weird Being Interesting

So Saturday was my adult class’s last day. We had a normal class (no Woodland pizza party for us!) and took some pictures during the break. Then they took me out for dinner! We went to Chun Shui Tang, which I believe I’ve mentioned before because Mike’s students took us there once and it’s famous for its bubble tea. It was a blast! We hung out for like three hours. One of my students ordered grapefruit green tea and beef noodle soup for me, and they were both great! I hated grapefruit nine months ago, but once you put it in some green tea, it rocks. We took lots of pictures (they asked me to do these poses with them) and just hung out. Kudos to them, for speaking English for so long!
They asked me lots of questions, especially about my boyfriend and America. They were shocked when I told them I was 24. Some thought I was 22 while others were simply mortified to learn exactly how much older they were than me (not that they’re old, I think we’re a very young class…the oldest can’t be more than early early 30’s).

They were surprised when I said that Chinese food was popular in the States, and they wanted to know what kinds of dishes were popular. I said it’s mostly Cantonese-style Chinese food, including fried rice, noodles, and maybe dumplings. But I can’t seem to remember what other dishes exactly are popular…I completely blanked.




They also asked me if, when I go to Kenting (a beautiful beach city in southern Taiwan), I will wear a bikini or a swimsuit. Why that question came up, I don’t know, but I told them I only own a bikini, and they all gasped. This of course only deepened my mortification for wearing a bikini to my kids’ swimming class. They said bikinis are rare in Taiwan. I explained that, in America, one wants to get tan, and a bikini enables you to tan as much of your body as possible (here it’s fashionable to be as white as possible). In the States, I’m always wishing that bikinis weren’t the norm for people my age, and here’s my chance to wear a comfortable non-bikini, yet I’m still wearing one. Eh, I’m a skank, oh well.

They wanted to know if I want to get married, if I want to have kids, if I want to marry my current boyfriend, if I’ve ever wanted to “change my boyfriend” (get a new one). I don’t mind these questions. It’s kind of funny, all the gasping and giggling that goes on. It’s weird being interesting. They said, in Taiwan, if you’re not married by 25, you’re kind of old. I told them I feel too young to get married right now, and they said, “No!!!” Hey, “feel” was the key word there. I still think I’m 18.



I feel a little strange answering questions about America. I’m afraid they’re going to take my word as gospel, and I don’t feel qualified to represent all of America. When I was explaining our medical system, I felt like I was making America sound really awful (on the Fourth of July, no less!). But, our medical system is a giant mess, no? I tried to explain that, while I was making it sound really awful, I was lucky growing up that I had good insurance and my family was OK. But I also told them that I found my doctor experience here in Taiwan to be quite pleasant and affordable. At least the 20% tax on my income feels like it’s going somewhere.

So it was a great time. I was very lucky to have them as a class for four hours on a Saturday afternoon. If they hadn’t been so cool, it would have made that time much more painful. They were a fun group, and their next teacher is lucky to have them!