The hospitality of Taiwanese people has left me shocked. Whenever I went to a shop, a night market stand, asked someone a question or had a problem occur, people would always be so friendly and stop what they were doing to help me out and welcome me. Those are some things I’ll try to do more of when I get back to Minnesota. My homestay family is an example of the hospitality of Taiwanese people. When we first met, it was somewhat awkward because we were seeing each other for the first time and were supposed to live with them for the next day, but they tried to make it as comfortable as possible. They welcomed Eli and I into their home and let us sleep on their beds while they slept on the couch. When they saw that we weren’t eating much, they thought we didn’t like the food. They insisted to take us to another place even though we told them we weren’t hungry because in America it was midnight. Today when we were just walking around in the outside mall and we went into a cooking store. The employee there were very welcoming, complimented our Chinese and asked how we were doing. The Taiwanese people have shown outstanding hospitality that I have never seen anywhere else.
– Alex Hinrichs
The hospitality I found in Taiwan was boundless. When I first arrived at my host family’s house, the conversations were awkward and bland. I started feeling guilty as they showered us with food and gifts, but we gave nothing in return. Though, after a few hours, the talk became exceedingly warm, jovial, and gregarious. Perhaps, when my guilt truly fled was when we gave the father our gifts. He accepted them with great joy and the grandmother brought us a platter of white pears. This experience has taught me that when we host guests, we should not only try to please them with treasures of the material world, but also those of the social kind.
– Nicholas Koessel
The hospitality at Taiwan was so surprising because I never knew anyone was capable of being the welcoming. Whenever we saw someone on the street and greeted them, they lit up like we made their day. It was wonderful how something so simple as “hello” can brighten up someone’s day. It was also just wonderful how easy it was for them to talk to us. They would say stuff like, “Wow, your Chinese is amazing! Is this your first time in Taiwan? Where are you from?” If anyone comes to America, I now know what I should do. I should greet them and just try to be as welcoming as I can.
– Brianna Heinen
I thought the hospitality in Taiwan was amazing. They all looked so happy to see us. For example, at the schools when we walked in everybody started clapping. They had the biggest smiles on their faces. Another time that they showed amazing hospitality was the home stay. They kept making sure we had everything we could possibility need. They were also giving us so much food and saying, “Eat more, eat more!” I thought that was really sweet but I got so full after. Overall, the hospitality in Taiwan is amazing. I hope America can learn from them.
– Abigail Heinen
The tour guides might be some of the sweetest people I’ve met thus far throughout our trip! Their colorful yellow shirts and their kind voices enlighten me. I’ve been on two buses going around Taiwan so far, C and B, and all of the guides were great to me. My friends say good things about them too. How great and nice they are lets me know how hospitable Taiwan is. I love every second with them and every second to come!
– Ozzie Paine
The tour guides have not only been very friendly, but have also been very informational. Especially my tour guide, who talks non-stop. I like it because I get a lot of information out of it. For example, earlier today, she talked about how the river was a little grayish-blue because of the rocks in the river. She also noted how there were shrines along the path to remember all the people who died while building the roads along the mountainside of Taiwan. She said that in Taiwanese and Chinese culture, if the souls aren’t remembered, they will cause car accidents and pther bad things to happen. This is why they built those shrines, so that they would be remembered and bad things wouldn’t happen. All in all, Yuna has been very informative, kind, and patient. The information she has given us has improved my experience in Taiwan, and has made my trip all the more better!
– Mitchell Hinrichs