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Research post- with 50% more research!

Well I decided to go around stalking some Taiwanese people and bugging them about customs that foreigners wouldn’t know. Along with the exasperated looks, I managed to get some tidbits of information.

Here’s a list of what I got from cursory research

Gift giving: When receiving a gift, refuse it at least twice before finally accepting. Otherwise you’re going to be seen as greedy. Always make sure you gift wrap it carefully with auspicious colours and keep in mind that odd numbers are considered unlucky.

Research: I decided to find out the historical basis for most of these things. I ended up reading a bit in Confucianism. This took me to a book called, “Place and Spirit in Taiwan: Tudi Gong in the Stories, Strategies and Memories of Everyday Life” by Alessandro Dell'Orto. I still have to read it- I just got through the first few pages. 

Food: Don't stick chopsticks into your rice and leave them standing there. I got some more- but I need to verify some of the stuff.

Something that’s not really connected to food but I’ll list it here for now- When greeting someone, Taiwanese ask "Did you eat?" rather than "How are you?"

Research: Well, for the “did you eat?” greeting, this seems to be a well known thing to do. The person in the video uses this greeting in his speech- so I’m assuming- not an unknown custom. Have you guys heard of this greeting before?

Technical stuff.

Intro and outro music- I was definitely thinking of an oriental themed opening. Something to give you a hint of what the podcast is about. A fast paced one would definitely fit better than a tranquil one. Haven’t found anything concrete yet, but will have something up here by the end of the week.

Sound fx- Again loads of oriental sounds that give listeners an immediate association with my content especially when I try and create scenarios to introduce certain customs. So far, I’ve found dishes clanking for the food customs scenario and even a couple of festival sounds.

Authentic Taiwanese speaker- Have found willing participant who will record actual Taiwanese dialogues/phrases for my podcast scenarios. I only had to use a coffee bribe.

This entry is not really complete and will be subject to edits as I find new things.

Posted March 3, 2010