One thing I quickly learned in Taiwan is that asking somebody what their major in college was, is a bit of a rude question. Not that it's a secret, but that it usually brings up some feelings of anger. This is because nine times out of ten, a person's major was chosen by their parents. And in Taiwan it's almost a given that you will get a job in the field of your major. Meaning most people will blame their current unhappiness in a career they dislike, on them listening to their parents about their major oh so many years ago. So to ask somebody their major is to bring up some bad feelings about their current life and past decisions.
I on the other hand am quite pleased when people ask me my major. This is because I have a great reason for choosing my major, and after explaining the reason people will usually respect me more. Ha, that sounds extremely arrogant, but really whenever a Taiwanese person meets you, you are dealing with lots of stereotypes they have for foreigners. So my explaining my choice for my major, I feel is the first way that people can really start to see me as a real person and not as just another foreigner.
There is one drawback to discussing my major though, it's that nobody has any clue what it is. In Taiwan there really isn't any word that clearly relates to what we would call "theatre" or more specifically a "theatrical play." The usual response I get is "like a movie?" and when i say no and try to explain a bit more they say "oh! like opera!" It usually takes a long time to explain and sometimes I will just give up. It's funny that in my studies I've actually learned five different ways to say a "play" in chinese, but none of them really seem to match up. I have yet to get a clear answer when i ask what the exact word for a play is in chinese.
This is partially because there aren't many plays in Taiwan. There are theatrical halls, but mostly these are for operas, both chinese and western. Also each year about four foreign theatrical companies will come to taiwan to perform but those are almost always musicals. Which yes is a play, but not the exact kind i'd like to express.
Fortunately there are starting to be some real dramatic plays and even some comedic ones being performed in the city. These are by Taiwanese and usually express the difficulties of living in a multi-generational family where each generation grew up in a completely different Taiwan. I would actually love to see some of these, but unfortunately most of them are in Taiwanese, not Chinese.
The one place where I have seen plays, is at various universities. It seems like schools are the one place where theatre is alive. I've seen plays, in chinese, english, and even a plays in german and french. one of the best things about these plays is that they usually have a projection of subtitles on the wall. So I can read the english or if there is none, cobble it together using what chinese I can read.
In honor of these universities, the picture above is looking in on NTU's theatre department's workshop. It reminded me of my days toiling away in the workshop building various types of furniture. I'd actually like to build more of my own furniture for my apartment, but wood in Taiwan seems as if it's more expensive than gold.
