4.

Yesterday we went to the main Tamsui campus of Tamkang University to have lunch with the Dean of International Affairs and have a tour of the campus. Afterwards, we took a bus to some former Dutch and British consulate buildings for a guided tour and went to the nearby old town to look at shops and eat fish balls. At the end of the day, some of my classmates and I decided to go to Burger King for dinner in order to have a bit of American cuisine. It was the first time I had had any American fast food during my trip to Taiwan, so I was interested to see how similar and different the Taiwanese Burger King would be in comparison to the American restaurants.

The menu was similar to the American menu, including familiar things like Whoppers, chicken sandwiches, and fries. There were a few new additions, such as a “Poussin chicken” and fried chicken drumsticks. These changes may have been made to better suit Taiwanese tastes; the fried chicken drumsticks reminded me of the fried chicken that we sometimes see at the Shiling night market. The regular portion of French fries that came with the combo was also significantly smaller than what I’m used to seeing in the U.S. This might reflect a smaller appetite for fast food in Taiwan and more portion control.

The overall restaurant also seemed slightly more formal than the American counterparts. In addition to the downstairs area with the cash registers, there was separate upstairs seating. The Burger King appeared to be more of a sit-down restaurant than in America, where many people take their food to go or eat their meals very quickly.

Finally, as we were getting ready to leave the restaurant, we noticed that the trash disposal was different than in America. Above the trashcan, there was an area to dump out the remaining liquid from the drink cups and stack the paper cups for recycling. This difference reflects the fact that Taiwan sometimes implements more “green” initiatives, such as increased recycling and encouragement of bike riding, than the U.S. I was also impressed that most customers seemed to follow the rules and sort their trash and recycling as directed. In the U.S., I’m very used to seeing people disregard the recycling bins and throw their recyclable trash in the regular trashcans because they think it is more convenient. The Taiwanese customers’ willingness to adhere to these green initiatives demonstrates the more collectivist society that Taiwan and many other Eastern cultures have, in contrast to the very individualistic society of the U.S.

This weekend we will be going on another weekend excursion, this time to Ilan and Hualian. Next week we will also be taking a culture class on the Chinese knot.