Adam CP # 10

Today I met with Yen Yin Chen again at Atomic Coffee. We talked briefly about Taiwanese films. He said "In the Apple of My Eye" is one of the most popular films in Taiwan. It is kind of to Taiwan what John Hughes films are in America, in that a lot of people relate it to high school nostalgia and to their high school experiences. We also talked about Chinese history, including the period of warlord rule in the twentieth century, the Chinese Civil War that led to Taiwan's current government, and the influence of eunuchs (this was a new word for Yen Yin Chen - he understood the concept but did not know the English word) in Ming Dynasty China. He said that all of this had been covered as important material in his formal education. We talked about how highly education is valued in Taiwan. I saw this as a good thing and said that I wished America placed higher value on education. Yen Yin Chen said that this had drawbacks because it meant competition for jobs in Taiwan was very fierce. After meeting at Atomic Coffee we later went to FSU, since Yen Yin Chen needed to get a new student ID card to use while he is enrolled as a graduate student here. We walked through campus, where a lot of the new international students were present for orientation. We noticed a number of Asian women carrying sun umbrellas/parasols, which Yen Yin Chen said was very popular in Asia, and which I commented was very unusual in America (he said that this is only common for women in Asia - for a man to carry a parasol is seen as effeminate and unmasculine). I had to meet with my family for lunch later and he needed to retrieve his apartment key from another part of FSU, so we parted ways. We also discussed the GRE, and he offered to help tutor me on how to pass the Quantitative section. Once again, I enjoyed my conversations with him, as he was very pleasant and enthusiastic about discussing Taiwanese (and learning about American) culture.