You are not Alone
Normally I just post links to great videos but this is pure video gold. Apparently this is some kind of video put out by some branch of the Taiwan government to promote Taiwan. I think it was made to promote Youth Tourism but don't really care. There are two really good things to look for; tomatoes on stick and the creepy puppet. Oh to be the tomato on the stick
Tags: [Taiwan Tourism] [Foreigners in Taiwan] [Tomatoes on Sticks] [Creepy Puppets]
Tags: [Taiwan Tourism] [Foreigners in Taiwan] [Tomatoes on Sticks] [Creepy Puppets]
8 comments:
Oh to be the tomato on the stick???
Oh No~Don't even think about it!!
Good thing they don't teach "irony" in school here. What a great video!
This reminds me of the MRT announcements they used to make during the SARS scare- a native English accent, but terrible Chinglish grammar. I wonder who they get to read it?
Speakin of "irony"...
I feel sorry for those who have stayed in Taiwan for SO long but still find no connection with any messages that the film was trying to convey...
Irony....indeed.
Yah, who cares about the 24hours 7-11 and book stores!
Well, guess only we Taiwanese do.
p.s. I don't see perfect or even any Chinese signs everywhere in other countries when I go travelling either...who should I sue I wonder...
Positive Taiwanese,
I happen to love the fact that so many things in Taiwan run on a 24 hour clock. I am drinking a Gold medal Taiwan Beer that i bought at OK at 1:00 am. Which is an impossibilty in my country. It makes life very convenient.
My reading of this video is that they are trying to 'take the piss,' out of Taiwan. Getting lost, getting bad directions, smog filled sky covering 101 etc.
I see, if that's the case, forgive me for misinterpreting your lines. Forgive we Taiwanese not only can’t speak perfect English, but can’t understand “perfect” English perfectly either! :P My apology for jumping into the conclusion so soon.
Suppose I overreacted as I couldn't help being a helpless patriot. Hearing enough my own people and foreigners bitching about my beloved island has become rarely unbearable. I hope one day I would be rich enough to send these people to India or Africa to stay for some time. To give them a real reason to bitch about.
Suppose we see things in different ways. To me, I was delighted to see the government finally made a move of making a film to promote Taiwan. Sure, it's not perfect but I think we can always give one some credit for doing things the first time, can't we?
Sky in Taipei is blurry most time of the year that even myself can't deny it; one does get lost easily (I'm speakin for myself too! LOL) in big cities and no doubt a foreigner will definitely cause a great commotion asking directions in a small alley. Being a foreigner one must know how we Taiwanese worship foreigners, let alone helping them!
Suppose the foreigner will get a wrong direction, that's only bcoz we Taiwanese don't speak perfect English and at the same time are too polite to blame others for not taking that god damn difficult Chinese lessons. Our bad…
Suppose here I can enlighten you those two things that you mentioned. First, those things on the sticks AREN'T tomatoes. They're a kind of "plums"! Foreigners might not find them tasteful but for centuries these plums have made billions of Chinese children's childhood rarely unforgettable and colorful. I say "billions" bcoz they're also very popular in China.
I remember when I was a kid we had to beg our parents for a long time in order to get some. It surely didn't happen very often coz everyone was poor back then. (Suppose back then was more like your grandparents' generation in Canada? although I think we're about the same age)
We hardly had any snack, and would be lucky to even have enough food to eat! Having a plum stick that time was considered luxury...yah, who would think! So whenever I did get a stick in hand (suppose only once or twice a year? three if I get lucky!).....oh, that red color, that glittering red! One can only imagine how beautiful it looked in a kid's eyes!
These red plums, therefore, do represent a lot of sentimental feeling to many people on this island - or suppose I should say to the "older" generation - that my friend, you might not understand.
And about that creepy puppet…Ha! Well, he isn’t that good looking that’s true, so I don’t blame anybody finds him creepy. But if one grew up in Taiwan one would definitely know his name is “哈賣兩齒”(Ha-Bae Two Teeth - he says"Ha-Bae, Ha-Bae" when he appears, and has only 2 teeth left as you can see) which was translated from his Taiwanese name.
He’s suppose to be a really funny character, always showing off his 2 only left teeth when speaking and cracking up jokes all the time. We had a lot of laughter with him when growing up.
Suppose this film was done horribly and made Taiwan looked unattractive, but it’s not all together a bad thing. You see people might be surprised when they do come and find Taiwan isn’t as bad as the film presents....which, goes back to the theory that we Taiwanese like to do things in a conservative way. We don’t, and can’t, BRAG about ourselves…..gotta hold on to our good karma!LOL : )
Sorry for taking up so much space. And if I haven’t said it, I do like your blog a lot despite we have different ideas about things.
Now that is a long post. You have valid and interesting points Positive Taiwanese, regarding the video. I actually love the candied fruit on a stick they seel in Taiwan. I have had the candied plums but don't see them very often. In Central Taiwan I normally find candied cherry tomatoes and candied strawberries when they are in season. I love the candied strawberries.
My comment about the candied tomato/plum is not about Taiwan at all. It just looks like she is really enjoying putting it in her mouth. If you know what I mean.
yah, I did get that joke.... : )
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