Wow Taiwan Episode 4 Taboo? Jinji 禁忌

Wow Taiwan Episode 4 Taboo? Jinji 緊急

Wow Taiwan Episode 4 Taboo? Jinji 緊急

Also Read: Episode 3 Salmon https://everydaywithgen.com/wow-taiwan-episode-most-popular-salmon-sushiro/

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Wow Taiwan Episode 4 Taboo? Jinji 緊急

Hello hello everybody! Wow it’s been a while and we’re on the fourth episode already. I’m just wondering like when am I going to tell everyone about how to haggle in the night market because this time it’s gonna be postponed. I’ll be talking about a different topic but before that and since it’s really interesting, I just have to say something about Evergiven, that Titanic ship we call in the news that’s owned by Evergreen Taiwan.

I really do hope that it’s gonna be rescued soon because it affects the whole world like, it may be stuck right there alone but all the rest of the ship just can’t go on with whatever they have to do, like the schedules and everything and not only that we have pandemic, we also have Titanic. Like, my god it’s 2021 and that Titanic thing is happening!

Wow Taiwan and Avril Lavigne

So because of that and with this Taboo I’m gonna be talking about I just want to like, share a little song that would make us all feel a little bit better before we’ll open up with the Taboo here in Taiwan. Alright! Do you guys know Avril Lavigne? You know this is my favorite song, well one of the favorite songs and hm, since 2004 I kinda like Avril Lavigne ‘coz she’s punk and rock style and I felt like I could, I could see myself, well my youth, in her and..

You know guys? Avril Lavigne also has this conspiracy, well very sensitive to talk about right now, which is also relevant with our topic but well, one thing that I, I can share to you is that, she can also have that ability to change her voice.

Like, have you noticed sometimes you’ll gonna hear a high pitched tone and then you’ll gonna hear a low tone? That’s really possible because I can do that too! Weird right but then I, I really can do that! However, so much for the intro, without further ado, clap your hands, yeahhhhhhh! Where’s my sound effects here? It’s live!

Wow Taiwan Song for the Frontliners

Uhm, I’m gonna sing to you guys in a capella the song entitled “Warrior” and I wanna dedicate this to everyone that’s gonna listen to this Wow Taiwan Episode 4 and to all the frontliners to, to the Evergreen ship that’s stuck in Suez Canal, and to everyone that’s workin’ just to rescue the Titanic ship of 2021. They call it Titanic so this, this is for all of you and for all of us that’s trying to survive this pandemic. You are a warrior.

Read Suez Canal obstruction here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Suez_Canal_obstruction

I'll pick my battles 'cause I know I'm gonna win the war
I'm not rattled 'cause I shattered all of this before
Steadier than steel 'cause I'm ready with my shield and sword
Back on the saddle 'cause I gathered all my strength for more
And I won't bow, I won't break
No, I'm not afraid to do whatever it takes
I'll never bow, I'll never break
'Cause I'm a warrior, I fight for my life
Like a soldier all through the night
And I won't give up, I will survive, I'm a warrior
And I'm stronger, that's why I'm alive
I will conquer, time after time
I'll never falter, I will survive, I'm a warrior
Woah, woah, woah, woah
Woah, woah, woah, woah
I'm a warrior

Woooh! I think one person is very happy listening to this! Thank you Ben Chen for always listening to Wow Taiwan and I hope you like this song, this is from Avril Lavigne and you are a New Yorker so I, I’m pretty sure you are familiar with Avril Lavigne. – Wow Taiwan 1st Live A capella Cover Warrior

Wow Taiwan and number 4

Now, you know why this is Taboo? I shouldn’t be having Episode 4 I think, it should be like, Episode 1, 2, 3 and then skip to 5. Do you guys know why? Because 4 is a Taboo in Taiwan and in many Chinese community or culture! Do you guys know why? Like, aren’t you curious about it?

Ok, ok, ok, let me make this simple because for me it’s so complicated. It’s so hard to pronounce you know?

In Chinese we say 4 as si, number 4 is si, in Taiwanese number 4 is shi, so when you say shi in other meaning it also means dead that’s why they don’t like number 4 because it sounds like dead in Taiwanese language.

Well not only that it’s a Taboo here in Taiwan, It’s also a Taboo in other parts of the world like in China, Japan, Singapore, Korea and Vietnam. This is the reason why everyone here or anywhere you go, when you go to a hospital, hotel or a house they skip the fourth floor.

Like have you heard of the famous building in Hongkong, the Arch? They skipped the 40th up to 49th floor! So you basically see 39th floor and then woooop, 50th floor! Isn’t that amazing? And also, if you buy the fourth floor here in Taiwan for a house, it’s much cheaper. Well, well, it’s because of the Taboo! That’s the reason why.

And if you go to the restaurant, they will not ask you for four persons. They will say Oh, is it three plus one? And here’s the catch, you will never see number 4 in every car plate. Never! Why? Because four is si, si is dead, which is shi in Taiwanese.

Wow Taiwan and number 4

And then well, the most, the most favorite part of Chinese culture is when you give red envelop to your family. You’re, you’re not allowed to put 4000 there or anything with number four! Let’s say 400, 4000, 1400 or 8400, never! You can never put 400 there. Why? Or anything with 4 because it’s a Taboo! It means dead for them. So you, you just can’t do that!

So, that’s it! That’s exactly why our episode 4 is very important because you have to know that! That’s basic in Wow Taiwan culture. You should know that so when you come here, Oh I remember, Gen’s Wow Taiwan Episode 4 clearly introduces the meaning of 4 which is si, that means dead in Taiwan. I mean in Taiwan language.

So that’s it! But, there are also other taboos or maybe let’s say beliefs we should know since it’s very relevant to the word si or dead. We also have a ghost month here in Taiwan that falls on a lunar calendar. Normally between July and August and I’ve heard like, everytime I had a class before because I quit my job for quite a time already, my co, my colleagues would say, Gen! It’s ghost month! You should not go out! You should stay at home!

Wow Taiwan and Taboo

And the most important thing is, you, you just can’t go to the beach! You know why? Because that the, the ghost in the water, the creature in the water would, would get the people and get their soul for a replacement. Hm, I’m not scaring you ok? This is Wow Taiwan! It’s such an amazing culture. And I think it’s very important for anyone who wants to travel in Taiwan to understand the culture so you would be very careful and you know how to deal with the people right?

Wow Taiwan and Pregnancy

And aside from that, in Taiwan, they, they also have this Taboo, when you’re pregnant. Like, you can’t tell anyone that you’re pregnant unless it’s, it’s more than 3 months. Like its 3 months and above. You know what I mean? Well in, in their belief, like a superstition, there’s a god of pregnancy, and this god or goddess, I’m not so sure, hm, this goddess is so stingy, so greedy that if you will tell everyone that you are pregnant before the 3rd month, the, the baby’s gonna be taken away from you.

So that’s their superstition but in science speaking, scientifically speaking, miscarriage is very prone at the first trimester of the pregnancy. So that’s like, more or less 15% you’ll gonna have miscarriage within the first to third month. So that’s also one reason why you don’t tell anyone so you can like take good care of yourself and you know, you can like, relax from the pressure of the people and everyone who’s, who’s gonna be talking about the gender of the baby. Yeah, the gender is so important.

Wow Taiwan and Tradition

Well Taiwan used to like uhm, male gender before but recently, like right now, being here for 14 years, I noticed that everyone’s accepting female, like they don’t really care about the gender. They care about you having a baby because more and more young women wanted to reserve themselves and prefer to just you know, stay as they are, and ah, didn’t really have a plan yet of having a baby.

So there are so many couples right now who’s staying with them, with the two of them without a kid or a baby. So this is I think, one reason why the pressure of having a male gender for first born is taken away because baby, having a baby, and kids are very important. It’s always part of the report or news here inTaiwan that the young generation is not so much here. Like they need more babies..more babies.

They even thank New Immigrants because most of the new immigrants or the foreign wives are very generous in, in giving birth like, many of the foreign wives here, really have like at least 2 kids. Now aside from that because I’m a foodie, I, I love to eat. You guys have to remember, when you come to Taiwan, and you eat with chopsticks, never put your chopsticks on top of the rice, like poking it on top of the rice.

Well, why do I have to tell this to you, because it’s very typical for a foreigner who’s not so good in holding up chopsticks to put a chopstick and poke it on top of the rice to hold it so so it won’t fall down on the, on the floor or on the table but then that’s a taboo here. It’s like a no no here in Taiwan. Because aside from it means dead, like you, because it kinda look like, when you go to the temple, it kinda look like there, how do you call that?

Wow Taiwan and Tomb Sweeping

It’s like an incense that they poke it and it’s like praying for the dead so hm, it’s their tradition here, it’s not really good to do that because it’s like you, you give that food to the dead people. You let them eat your food. See, it’s very relevant to Episode 4 for a si, si is dead.

So, are you scared enough? Don’t be scared. You know it’s just part of the culture here in Taiwan. And I’m just so happy because I was able to finish this episode. Because it’s so difficult to make this episode as, as light as I can be. It’s talking about the dead.

And it’s April, everyone in other country celebrating April Fools right? But in Taiwan, they’re celebrating the day of the dead here in April. Like every 5th day of April, they have to go to the tomb and sweep it and clean it up which is very similar to the All Souls Day in the Philippines which falls normally on the 2nd day of November. So see the gap? It’s April and November.

So when I came here, I’m, I’m just so happy. Every 5th day of April, I’m gonna have a vacation because it’s a national holiday. And I don’t, I don’t go to tomb sweeping so, that’s it! It’s a nice one! So I think that’s the best part of the word four right now. Four for April and I love the word April.

So getting back to April, who is Avril, Avril Lavigne, the conspiracy about her, well, let me ask you this question, and this will end the episode, Do you believe in cloning?

This is Gen your Wow Taiwan host! And see you guys on my youtube channel Hellophiltai Tv and hope we can have more episodes in the future. Bye guys!

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