Posts tagged tips

A year ago, I scoured Lonely Planet Taiwan, Rough Guide Taiwan, Culture Clash: Taiwan, and the grand interweb, searching for ways my Western habits might be offensive to the Taiwanese.

But, I found living here a far better tutor.

I’ve noticed certain traditions and gestures remain meaningful, remain adhered to, and I thought they’d be useful to share.

So, if traveling to Taiwan, you can assuredly avoid culture clash induced awkward situations with these tips:

Don’t beckon someone to “come here” with your finger(s) curing upward and toward your face—it’s interpreted as a very crude gesture. Instead, flip it over: face your palm toward the ground, bend your fingers downward toward your legs.

Don’t leave your chopsticks standing straight up in your rice—this display appears at funerals and so, has a morbid connotation.

Use two hands to give and receive gifts, business cards, awards and, if you can, money, although in the haste of the western pace that is infiltrating, this is not always followed at stores.

Don’t give white flowers or a watch as a gift, they both symbolize death.

Be prepared that basically without exception, if a Taiwanese person invites you to an event or meal, they will insist on paying and most likely will get their way no matter how much you try to beat them to the check. In turn, it would be culturally sensitive of you to pick up the tab if you are the invitee, but on this rule the Taiwanese are flexible and understanding of the cultural differences.