Letter to Lisa part 5

Letters to Lisa Part 5
Pubs, Discos, and Bars
Dateline: everyday

Dear Lisa,

I have two basic groups of friends in Taiwan. I have Pub friends and non-pub friends. My non-pub friends are quite literally shocked when I tell them there are pubs in Jhongli. I am quite literally shocked in return at this acknowledgement. I’ve had this conversation many times with non-pub friends:

Me: I’m going to the Pub tonight.
Friend: There are pubs in Jhongli?
Me: You’re joking right?!
Friend: No. Really. There are pubs in Jhongli?
Me: You are from Jhongli, right.
Friend. Yes.
Me: You grew up here, right?
Friend: Right.
Me: And you have no idea that there are pubs in Jhongli?!
Friend: Really. Where are pubs located in Jhongli?
Me: About a 3 minute walk from here.
Friend: REALLY?!?!
Me: REALLY!!
Friend: How many pubs?
Me: In 3 minutes you can walk to umm…(thinking) 6 pubs. That’s not counting the “bad” KTV’s.
Friend: “Bad” KTV’s?
Me: Stay focused, that’s another conversation, but yes, bad ktv.
Friend: OK, 6 pubs in three minutes walking.
Me: Yeah, but I walk like Taiwan people ride motor scooters. You walking might be 7 minutes.
Friend: (Laughing)
Me: In 3 minutes, I can get to 6 pubs. If I walk 10 minutes I can get to 20 pubs. Again, not counting the bad KTV’s.
Friend: 20?!?!
Me: Dude, I’ve been in Taiwan 1 year. You’ve been here your whole life. How do you not know this?!
Friend: 20 pubs. How do you know where all the pubs are? I get bored and walk everywhere. I’m learning my world in Taiwan. In my world, there are pubs. I thought it was normal.
Friend: No, it’s not normal.
Me: Trust me. It’s normal. There are 20 pubs, just in this area. People in Taiwan drink their asses off. Especially men. Trust me.
Friend: You know drinking is bad for health.
Me: Stop! I’m a grown man. Don’t give me lecture on drinking.
Friend: Ok, sorry.
Me: No Problem. Thanks for caring.

Pub is a universal name for a place to go get a drink. There are three basic types. I’ve been to all three here in Jhongli. There is what I would call a bar in America. You might even call it a Pub. You go in sit drink, shoot the shit with your friends or sit alone at the bar and talk to the bar tender or other customers. Then there is the Pub/Disco. Yes, they use the term disco here, ugh. I would say night club or club. Someplace like Déjà vu. There’s drink and dancing. Don’t waste your money going to those places here in Jhongli. The cover charge is way too high. It’s supposed to be all you can drink. But you spend the whole night standing in line to get a damn drink. Seriously, there’s always in the neighborhood of 30-40 people standing in line for a drink and service is terrible. The music is at a decibel that I have never heard before. I made the mistake of going on a school night my first time and I couldn’t hear my students in my first two classes. My ears were just numb. Additionally, don’t go there because people in Jhongli are too shy to dance. The whole scene is very surreal. There is a dj that puts on a show, of bad mixes, and maybe some girl dancers. In Taiwan, it’s considered sexy. In the US, nowhere close to sexy. It’s somewhere in the range of dance team in short skirts with a bikini. The guys think it’s so hot and I yawn thinking, what’s the big deal. It’s a big big, cultural difference.

(As a quick aside, I once described an American strip club to some friends here. The looks on their faces were a mix of shock and horror. It was a slightly better, when I remembered to explain a dollar in America is paper money. Here a dollar is a coin. A completely different mental image. Hahaha!!!! Based on the trauma I caused that day, I don’t talk about strip joints anymore. I am continually amazed at how naïve some of my friends are. Again, a big cultural difference from America.)

OK, lastly, what is most commonly known as a pub in Taiwan, is a place where you can go have a drink, but there is a girl that will come and sit with you and have conversation. That’s all, just conversation, or maybe play some drinking games. The place where I go most often now is this type of pub. It’s a chance for me to try my Chinese, learn a different aspect of Taiwan’s culture, and meet new friends. Remember I’m a Panda. So, there is almost always someone interested in at least having a drink with me. If it’s busy and there’s no one to talk to, I study my Chinese. Yes, I’m a goof and take my Chinese book to the pub with me. If I run out of conversation, the girls will practice with me. They learn a little English, I get some Chinese practice, it’s all good.

Does it mean anything that I study better in a pub than I do in a coffee shop? That wouldn’t never happened in the US that’s for sure.

I’ve been told the pub/bar scene in Taipei is different. It is a lot more western. I don’t know and don’t care. Jhongli is my town, my home in Taiwan. Taipei has little to offer me. Especially if I gotta hang out with western people. More on that later.

See ya later,
D