Let's teach Alberto Munoz of Spain to learn to love cho dofu (臭豆腐), since he says he loves Taiwan so much (yet he criticizes cho dofu as being his "worst experience in Taiwan")....

(臭豆腐)! yummy!

Yes, Alberto Munoz of Spain, who has been in Taiwan for 1.5 years, says he loves Taiwan and the Taiwanese people and that he will soon appear on a Spanish TV show called MADRID CITIZENS AROUND THE WORLD, having answered a questionaire about what he loves and dislikes about his life in Taiwan. In a very good letter to the editor of the Taipei Times, Mr Munoz severely criticzied CHO DOFU as if it was worse than SHIT, merde, as they say in French, I don't know the word in Spanish, but I am sure Alberto will add it here when he reads this blog.

So Alberto, why do you HATE cho dofu so much and don't you realize you were insulting the Taiwanese people by writing that otherwise very good letter to the newspaper the other day? Would you like it if someone came to Spain from a different country and criticzied YOUR SMELLY AND GOD-AWFUL FOOD DISHES TOO? Dish! Tell the truth! And repent and find God!

SMILE

reference
LETTER TO EDITOR
http://www.taipeitimes.com/
April 24, 2010



DEAR EDITOR



re The Best and worst of Taiwan



A few days ago, I received a questionnaire from a Madrid TV station that is sending a team to Taipei to shoot a cultural program called Madrid Citizens Around the World. The team goes around the world looking for people from Madrid so it can show Spaniards back home how different their lives are in other countries.



Among the many questions they asked — Why did you move to Taipei? What are you doing here? What do you miss from Madrid? — was the inevitable query as to what was the best and the worst experience I’ve had in Taiwan.



I have to say, without a doubt, the best thing about Taiwan is the people. I have never met such a friendly, kind and generous people in my life. They are always ready to help, far beyond what one would expect; always smiling at you, even if you are making a mess; always willing to listen to what you are trying to say even if your command of Mandarin is as lousy as mine.



After so highly praising the Taiwanese people, I imagine that it would be difficult for anybody to guess that, for me, the worst thing about Taiwan is the lack of respect that drivers show to pedestrians.



It is still very difficult for me to understand how such beautiful, nice people, once they are behind the steering wheels of their cars or the handlebars of their motorcycles, suddenly transform into such aggressive, rude and reckless drivers.



Taiwanese drivers will run you down if you don’t jump out of the way when you are crossing the road, or even walking on the sidewalk, as sidewalks are often used by motorcycles and bicycles, and sometimes even cars.



I could write a book about all the incidents I have suffered or heard about in just one-and-a-half years of living in Taiwan.



One funny example was when a police car failed to stop at a crosswalk, cutting us off as we were crossing the road, and the policeman inside just waved at us as we pointed at him in shock.



Unfortunately, the other stories are not so funny, like when a friend of mine was hit by a motorcycle while crossing the road at a crosswalk intersection; the young driver even yelled at him — no bu hao yi si (不好意思) this time.



So yes, the Spanish media will cover this phenomenon.



I really hope that the ROC Ministry of Transportation will take this issue seriously.



Not only does the law have to be enforced (which it currently is not), but a driver education program must also be created to teach better traffic behavior.



I wish that the next time I am asked about my worst experience in Taiwan, I could answer with a big smile: chou doufu (臭豆腐).


signed, in disgust at that terrible foul food dish that Taiwanese people love called cho dofu, because we Spaniards are superior to the yellow hordes of Asia,
ALBERTO MUNOZ



Taipei


YOU? = Jorge Alberto Muñoz, Jr. (Materials Science) B.S., The University of Texas at El Paso
2007.