Turkey In Taiwan
Turkey in Taiwan has a nice sound to it. How it will taste is an unnerving unknown. Is turkey even on the menu in Taiwan? That's the dilemma my husband and I find ourselves in after I accept a wedding invitation from my grad school buddy for over the upcoming Thanksgiving break. My name is Monique Stampleman. I teach college sophomores to write advertising copy. To get this job a half-dozen years ago, I needed to go back to school for a Masters. That's where I met Tzu Hui -- or Sabrina. as we knew her.
Sabrina was young, smart, funny and beautiful. She came to the US from Taiwan to get her Masters in Communications -- despite the fact she didn't speak any English at the time.
Sabrina's a quick learner and excelled in class. I'd probably been out of school longer than she'd been in the world. But we paired to do a study of porn on the internet. What we saw was beyond translation. We became fast friends.
So now Jed, my beloved husband of 3 1/2 years, and I have told the relatives that someone else will have to bring the sweet potatoes with tiny melted marshmallows this year. We're flying to Tapei friday morning, November 20. We'll return in time for my 12:00 pm office hour on Monday, November 30.
Why Taiwan? Why now? Sabrina had flown in to New York for our wedding. So although about 17 countries outranked it on our intend-to-visit list, Taiwan -- the former Formosa, "the beautiful island," -- as we learned, jumped to the top.
"Did you know the tallest building in the world is in Taiwan?" I ask Jed. "Did you know two common street snacks are congealed pigs' blood mixed with rice and something called 'stinky tofu'?"
Jed is busy learning Mandarin from Chinese fortune cookies. Already he has mastered the word for watermelon and the phrase How are you -- Ni Haw Ma. "How are you and your watermelon?" I'll ask Sabrina's father first thing!
My knowledge of Taiwan and its particular character are limited. Jed tells me that the movie "Eat, Drink, Man, Woman" is Taiwanese. We watched it together soon after we met, almost seven years ago. As I begin to read about it, Taiwan's reputation as a food destination is confirmed. Sabrina's wedding to Rainbow (his name), will be a traditional Chinese ceremony on the afternoon of November 29. Until then, we can traipse about all week and eat, eat, eat.
"I see Drunken Chicken on several menus," I tell Jed. "Also, Peking duck," I add. These might be good substitutes for turkey, I think. "There are also plenty of restaurants that feature chicken feet," I say. Jed is ignoring me. He is studying the Taiwan MRT subway map. Its almost perpendicular intersecting arms makes navigating Taipei appear simple enough. From looking as indistinct physically and culturally as a big mushy bowl of congee just a few days before, Taiwan is being to take shape in both our minds.
Still the process is different than when you've had a lifetime of selective attention on one destination or another. I have a sense of Bhutan. I've never been but want to and have picked up impressions here and there. It's the same with Bali and Macchu Picchu. The place Taiwan holds in the world is an empty map for me. I'm embarassed to be so ignorant.
There doesn't seem to be much travel literature on it. Perhaps I could write a blog about our trip. I've never written a blog. I've read very few. I 'm not even on FaceBook. I don't know how to twit. However, my 20 something son -- who prefers to remain nameless -- has upped my techno-expertise by teaching me how to text. I leap.
I'll bring you to try Drunken Chicken !!
ReplyDeleteI hope that during your NYC office hours the day after the Taeiwan wedding include an office with a door and a desk where you can put your head down and nap.
ReplyDeleteHey, do you have the recipe for the sweet potatoes (you know the one I mean)???