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Oddly enough, it is a custom in Taiwan to serve warm water. I totally don't get it because Taiwan in the summer is, as you said, really hot and muggy. I was vi
by idoh 17y ago
Oddly enough, it is a custom in Taiwan to serve warm water. I totally don't get it because Taiwan in the summer is, as you said, really hot and muggy.
I was visiting someone in a mental institution in Taiwan and the nurses kept giving him warm cups of water when he really wanted a cold cup of water. Hilarity ensued.
- eob 17y agoInteresting language tidbit related to the warm/boiled water custom: a common term for drinking water in Taiwan is 開水 (kaishui3), which literally means "boiled water". The first few times people asked me if I wanted "kaishui" I got confused because I thought they were asking if I wanted boiling water... but cold, ice-cube filled drinking water is also called kaishui to indicate that it has been boiled and so is for drinking. I think those kinds of cultural-linguistic ties are cool in language.. I would love a book that gives you a linguistic tour of the world using words that reflect certain local customs.