You know you are in Taiwan when you make little kids want to run away and cry.

I do not know whether to laugh or take in personally that I made a little girl cover her eyes and try and get away from me today. For a second I thought she was going to cry and I am sure she would have if her mother wasn't there to "protect" her. White people are pretty common here, or common enough not to elicit too much attention for the most part, but we are definitely still an oddity for some...especially for young kids. I have gotten used to eliciting attention from curious teens as I walk down the hall and lots of random kids saying hi and starting random conversations...actually this last part has become one of the endearing things about Taiwan-the kids are friendly and genuinely interested in talking to you. These moments also give me a chance to try out some of my Mandarin..mostly for comedic effect rather than actual communication...sometimes I feel like its more of a comic routine than anything else. For example: Wo bu shi meiguoren...wo shi Jangaren (forgive my bad pinyin). This translates into I am not American. I am Canadian. Another one is Wo jiao James..My name is James. But by far the most important phrase I have leaned by far has to be: Keyi ni gaye wo kafe ma?...Can you give me a coffee?

There is one other curious thing about being a cultural minority: the white guy/girl nod.(Actually the existence of the white girl nod is more of a theory as I have never actually witnessed it. So far the phenomena seems to be limited to the male sex.) I am slightly perplexed why other white people who I do not know and may not even speak the same language as feel the need to give me the nod on the street based solely on the fact that we share the same color skin. Yes, honestly, I do look when there is another white person but I do not feel this is grounds for some kind of relationship or bond.

Though I have already said it once, I will say it again, the people in Taiwan have been nothing but friendly and enjoyable to be around. Now that we are coming to the end of the trip I realize it will be the relationships I have formed here and not any of the tourist destinations that will stand out in my mind and as well as the test of time.