Concert celebrating Taiwan's ROC founding

"Sure I'm Taiwan-ese" 

Hukka singer and rapper

Taiwanese ethnic music and costume

Singer from Alishan Taiwan

Taiwanese music with a strong twist of rock

Announcer in Taiwanese outfit

On May 7th I attended a concert with musical groups from Taiwan a.k.a. Republic of China.  The event was held at University of Minnesota's St. Paul campus in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of China (ROC).

Most of the concert and announcements were in Chinese, which my daughter and wife could far greater appreciate than I.  Though I really enjoyed the music and the ethnic costumes, I was totally lost with the comments from the master of ceremonies and music lyrics, which the predominately Chinese audience seeded to find quite touching and humorous.

This was a brief evening for me, to be in the minority and not understand the language.  I think it is a helpful exercise to spend time outside of our comfort zones in order to gain different perspectives and also to understand just a little of what if feels like to be an outsider in another culture or country.

It is no easy thing for someone to be able to adapt to an entirely different language, customs and food.    For example, jokes are culturally specific.  So, when one travels to another country it is practically impossible for that person to ever be as funny as they were in their native land, or to fully understand the local humor.