#056 2009-05-18: What Foreigners Don't Understand: International Bonding Session

Episode Quotes and Trivia by Ciaranne:

AoQuan, to WeiLian: Fleshy boy!

A-Wei, bravely letting the Japanese guest, Da Gu, kick an apple from his head: I am going to challenge him with something more difficult... I am going to put this on my head... Thank you to the producers for organising this stunt for me!

Ah Jie and Canadian French guest, Jerome, have known each other from their participation in a singing competition before.

Jerome: Bonjour, tout le monde, je m'appelle Jerome et...
All the didis: Handsome!
RongJia: He could be swearing at all of you and you're all just telling him he sounds handsome!
HuYa: It sounds so romantic...

Dominican guest, Jin Wang, rapping: Miss, nice to meet you!
All the didis, rapping: How is it?
MaoDi: Haha, so how is it?

FanFan: Do schools in your country have uniforms?
Dutch guest, Mr. Bean look-a-like: No, we don't have any clothes (meaning no uniforms).
FanFan: So you mean you're all naked?
RongJia: Wow, that's a very natural way of life.

XiaoLu: Do you think girls from foreign countries would be attracted to the uniforms we are wearing?
Japanese guest, Da Gu: Do you want the truth? Well, I don't think so!
AoQuan: Who do you think looks the ugliest in our uniforms?
[AhJie crosses his arms]
Da Gu, referring to AhJie: I think that boy over there has an opinion that isn't shared by anyone else.

Foreign Guys' Question for the didis: Why is it compulsory in Taiwan schools to have a line-up procession every day?

MaoDi: On a really hot day, it's like dominoes. You see one person faint, and then people around start fainting too.

Du Jie shared that in Canadian primary schools, they also have line-up processions but only once a week, and only for a few minutes.

Mr.Bean look-a-like: I heard that in Taiwan schools, there is a contact book between parents and teachers.
FanFan: XiaoJie, you know all about this.
XiaoJie: I suspect the contact book's purpose is to allow our parents and teachers to plot against us! Firstly the teacher would write some comments about us, and then our parents have to give them FEEDBACK...
RongJia: Look, he is using English phrases!
XiaoJie: And in the end, we are the ones, who would get punished.
RongJia: So we all just end up signing the books ourselves.
XiaoJie: That's right!

Aben: The thing I hated most about school was the routine, every afternoon at 3pm, where we would have to sweep the floor and clean the toilets. I think it is rather absurd and I'm wondering if people from other countries have to do this.
Mr. Bean look-a-like: Yes, but for us, it is a punishment, when we do something wrong.
FanFan: When I went to school in America, we also had to do these things as a punishment.
Jin Wang: In our country, we have something called detention, and we get punished to do that kind of stuff after school.

FanFan: In Japan, is it correct that you have to take off your shoes before entering the classroom?
Da Gu: Who said that?
FanFan: I've seen children take off their shoes before...
RongJia: Yeah, like in Japanese dramas!
Da Gu: I think you've been watching too much TV!
All the didis: Someone might have been tricking you...
FanFan: I'm going to have to confront Makiyo on the phone after this!
Aben: I remember Chibi Maruko-chan had to take off her shoes in the cartoons!
Da Gu: Some schools actually do have that rule, but not all schools do that.

Foreign Guys' Question for the didis: Why do Taiwanese students all have to go to tuition class?

A-Wei: It's a fashion...

AoQuan: There's a mentality that, if you don't go to tuition class, you will fail the exams.

Da Gu: When I went to the Taipei train station, I saw tuition classes everywhere. I don't understand why there are so many. In Japan there are some, but not to this degree! Is it really useful?
WangZi: Well, in exam papers, there are bonus questions that are especially written for those who have had tuition. The school curriculum tends to be easier and more basic, whilst the tuition classes touch on harder tops. Therefore, they write harder questions for those who have had extra tuition in the subject, to allow them to earn bonus marks.
XiaoYu: But the real point is, there are lots of pretty girls in tuition classes!

A-Wei: I think it's a way to feel comforted. If everyone around you is having tuition, then you feel that you need it too.
XiaoJie: It also becomes something of status. There are tuition classes with a better reputation than others, so everyone would go around asking each other, 'So which tuition class are you from?' We also compare the number of questions we've touched on in our tuition classes that get asked in the acutual exams.

AoQuan to A-Wei: Can your Mandarin pronunciation be more accurate in front of foreigners?

A-Wei: I heard that in foreign countries, people can have a break after they graduate from university, to travel around the world. Is this true?
Mr.Bean look-a-like: Yes, I saved up money to travel for three years after university, all around Europe.
AoQuan: Wow, whilst we have to do army training.

HuYa: I think Chinese children are quite pitiful because we are forced to study all our lives. In primary school, our teachers would tell us to work hard, in order to get into a good junior secondary school and then we would be allowed to play. But then, when we enter junior secondary, our teachers there would tell us to work hard, in order to get into a good high school, and then we can play. Then, when we enter high school, it is about getting into university. Then we graduate from university and we don't want to play anymore!
WeiYu: Just like Aben! I think he should be doing army training too.
Aben: No, I still want to play!


Foreign Guys Question for the didis: Was hitting students an effective form of punishment?

WeiYu recalled that he had been caned on the bottom of his feet before.

Jerome stated that French schools also used to allow teachers to hit children.

However, teachers hitting students is now illegal in Taiwan.

Foreign Guys' Question for the didis: Why are there so little foreign exchange activities in Taiwan schools?

WeiLian: I used to be in an advanced group for athletics. Once, when we had a competition, our school teachers told us to perform poorly so that we wouldn't have to travel around to compete and can just concentrate on our studies instead.

A-Wei: Some teachers are even competitive with teachers in other subjects. Teachers often want to make themselves look like they're teaching their subject particularly well.

The Dutch guest (Mr.Bean look-a-like) used to be allowed to go drinking with teachers at nightclubs, because their legal drinking age is 16 but children often start drinking much earlier anyway.

FanFan: Do you know the legal drinking age in Canada?
Jerome: I'm not sure because I am French and we start drinking when we are one year old!

Foreign Guys' Question for the didis: Why do Taiwanese do so few activities on their dates?

Popular Taiwanese activities for couples include going to the movies, singing karaoke, fishing for shrimps, watching DVDs, sightseeing and chatting on MSN.

The most romantic thing Jerome has done is bringing his girlfriend to watch the fireworks at the top of the Eiffel Tower for the turn of the millenium.

Jin Wang lives right next to the beach so he would go swimming with his girlfriend every morning!

Foreign Guys' Question for the didis: Why do couples in Taiwan like to make up strange nicknames for each other?

WangZi: Just like Feng Ding ('Stinging Bee', which is HeiRen's nickname for FanFan).
FanFan, pretending to be angry: Be careful to not let me find out what you end up calling your girlfriend!

Jin Wang: I'm not used to Taiwanese girls calling up to check up on their boyfriends all the time.
A-Wei: He is actually trying to complain about his current girlfriend!

Da Gu: In my opinion, Taiwan is a heaven for girls. I think Japanese men can learn from the Taiwanese.

Mr.Bean look-a-like: I'm not used to how Taiwanese girls love to nag in a cute voice, like when they want you to buy something for them.

Foreign Guys' Question for the didis: Why do Taiwanese guys seem to not dare to chase girls from foreign countries?

XiaoYu: In fact, I've been on school exchange twice and I know a French boy from my exchanges. I asked why there is so little cross-cultural dating around, and he replied it is because they think all Chinese look the same!
[Jerome disagrees]
AoQuan: So do you guys think A-Wei and I look the same?

XiaoJie: Sometimes, when we walk around in DongQu, we would spot a pretty girl. Then, this cars would pull over and it would be her foreign boyfriend! So we think, why do they have to come and compete for the pretty girls with us?

XiaoLu, with his 'ABC' accent: YO, WHAT'S UP? I have just returned from Canada! YOU KNOW, WE ALL GO CLUBBING EVERY NIGHT, YOU KNOW, THAT'S RIGHT, THE GIRLS ARE SO HOT, YEAH?
Jerome: I THINK THAT YOU ARE VERY THREE-EIGHT.
XiaoLu: OH, YOU KNOW YOU GOT IT, MAN!

FanFan: XiaoLu, use your Japanese accent to chat to Da Gu.
XiaoLu: Would you like to go to the club with me at night? We can go and drink some sake there.

YouTube Links
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 (Credits to sugoishowV)