Many people in Taiwan want to know foreigners and talk about a wide variety of things. It's a way for them the know more about the world and gain experience interacting with foreigners which is useful for most jobs here. Nobody bats an eye when somebody says "I want to know a foreigner." But I always wonder how it would be viewed if I did the same thing.
For example the picture above. It's of cups made by the aboriginal Taiwanese. Looking at them, they seem a bit grandiose and with their being a two person one, it seems like these would have been used for just special events.
So then what do normal cups look like? Unfortunately there is not much information about aboriginal Taiwanese culture. However I not only want to learn more about it, but also about the current life and culture of aboriginal Taiwanese. Meaning I would really like to know some aboriginal Taiwanese. However I worry that seems rude, to want to just be friends with somebody because of their race. Also I know what it's like to be bombarded by questions about your culture and background.
So for now I'll keep secret my desire to learn more about a culture because I don't want to seem like a jerk for being friends with somebody just so I can learn from them.
