Cultural Differences: Functional versus aesthetic

Many Taiwanese can be rather functional with the furniture in their living rooms - everyone is going to put their feet on the sofa so why bother with one that is too good.

My wife and I were watching American Beauty and it was the scene where Annette Benning refuses to have sex with Kevin Spacey because it might ruin the sofa.

“Hey, are you all like that in the west?” she asked.

“Pretty much so,” I answered.

“We Taiwanese never care about the little thing. What is the point if you can’t have fun in your house?”

“I agree but at the same it should be a compromise - No indeed to equip it like it is a prison common room either.”

Cultural Differences: Raw meat, cooked vegetables

This is one of my favorite petty squabbles: you can eat raw meat but not vegetables. I had it with numerous girlfriends and co-workers over the years, but my wife gave the best answer.

"Hey, don’t eat that?” she shouted because i picked up a piece of the carrot she was chopping into my mouth. “Why you keep putting raw food in your mouth? I tell you many times.”

The argument was something to do with the belief too many pesticides were used so the vegetable had to be cooked.

“When I stick it up my ass then you need to worry,” I replied. "So why is it ok to eat raw beef and fish but not vegetables? These vegetables were freshly picked, slaughtered and served.”

“Raw fish tastes good, stupid,”she replied.