By Bianca Tsuo
Taiwanese Misconceptions Four hours by plane (and half a month if you take a ship) from Taiwan, Malaysia is a tropical country next to Singapore and Indonesia. Malaysia is famous for its Twin Towers, tropical islands like Pulau Redang, and its multi-racial population. Malaysia is lucky, for it has no natural disasters like typhoons, earthquakes, or tsunamis. Malaysia consists of three major races: Malay (66.07%), Chinese (25.09%), and Indian (7.42%). And there are many MBCs – short for Malaysian Born Chinese – studying in Taiwan, but I’ve also discovered many misconceptions about the country. Taiwanese people often ask: so are you guys Malay? The answer is: definitely NOT (with a grimace)! Most of us speak Chinese, which Malays don’t. Like many Taiwanese, most MBCs are from China, many of them having settled in Malaysia since the nineteenth century. We speak Chinese so well because we all speak it since we were little and we use it with our family and friends. It is our native tongue. Some Taiwanese also ask: why are you so dark? Well, many of us have dark skin, simply because of the hot climate all year round and people normally don’t use sun protection. And we can’t help loving outdoor activities! Many MBC boys play soccer, exposing themselves to the sun every now and then. Some Taiwanese ask: why is your skin so greasy? That’s irritating, but it’s likely due to our culinary culture: fried noodles, nasi lemak (traditional Malay rice steamed with coconut milk), deep-fried seafood, all of them oil-rich. We just love them! And we normally don’t do much in the way of skincare when we are little. And some Taiwanese will even ask: since Malaysia is a developing country like India and Indonesia, do you live in a tree? Once a Malaysian friend of mine replied: “of course! And I have to swing along ropes to move between the trees. It’s tiring!” The last frequently asked question is: why are you here? Haha, such a funny question! No, it’s not because AirAsia tickets are incredibly cheap, although that may be part of the reason. If an MBC’s parents choose a private high school for their children, once their graduate they almost always study overseas. This is because universities in Malaysia don’t normally take students from private high schools as they use Chinese or English as their language of instruction; national high schools use Malay. And for us, Taiwan is a lot cheaper than many other countries, and Taiwan welcomes foreigners. Also Taiwan is a lively and vibrant place, especially when compared to a Muslim country. Lastly, we speak Chinese as well as most Taiwanese. Some Funny stories Our accent is somehow thought to be funny. The thing is, we cannot help but speak the way we do, generally stressing our words more than many Taiwanese. People who aren’t familiar with our habit just think it’s a little scary. Once while with some Taiwanese friends I ran across an MBC friend, and we began to talk to each other excitedly. After he left I switched back to my Taiwanese “phonetic channel.” My Taiwanese friend asked, “what were you quarreling about? It sounded like you were shouting at him the entire time!” Once my friend went out with a Taiwanese friend and said (in Chinese) “I need to click money at the ATM.” “Clicking money” just means to withdraw money. Later, when they were boarding a bus, he realized he had no coins with him and asked “Do you have any coins? Can you ‘dong’ money into the coin box for me?” His friend was completely bewildered. “You want me to knock on the box?” Once when I went back to Malaysia for Chinese New Year, my father put some white shoe polish on my sport shoes by mistake. We used to do that for our school shoes to keep them white. So when I came back to Taiwan I went shoe shopping with a Taiwanese friend, and when I took off my shoes she screamed: “Look, the paint on your shoes is peeling off!” Latest Hottest MBC Movies Playing in Taiwan Great Day, 2010 Filmed by novice Director Chiu Keng Guan (an MBC), this story is about love, love, love: boy-meets-girl love, parental love, and neighborly love. A lonely old man, Lim, escapes from the old folks home in search of his children who live in the city. Realizing his son and married daughter are not happy with their lives, Lim chooses to spend more time with them and his granddaughter Zi Xin, and they really have fun together. Finally, Lim has to go back to the old folks home, and at the end there is a big dinner for everyone at the old folk’s home just in time to celebrate Chinese New Year. The message is: don’t forget to spend time with the ones you love! Ice Kacang Puppy Love, 2010 Cast with MBC singers who are famous in Taiwan, Gary Chaw, Fish Leong, and Sinje Lee, the story is set on Penang island, Malaysia, in the early '80s. Botak, the son of a coffee shop owner, is secretly in love with tomboy Fighting Fish, who has been separated from her father since she was small and has become bold and stubborn. Their teenage friends all have crushes on each other but are too shy to reveal them. In the end, everyone leaves to chase their future, which is inevitable, but their memories will live with them for the rest of their lives. An earthy plot and great acting blends with native humor, a peculiar movie telling stories of romance among '80’s Malaysian Chinese. Malaysia boleh! (Malaysia can do it!) a
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Authors
The Taida Student Journal has been active since 1995 with an ever-changing roster of student journalists at NTU. Click the above link to read about the authors Archives
May 2024
|