When I think of a land of joy and happiness – I think of Taiwan. While in Taiwan, I met many great new friends who were happy to show me around. Taiwan has some wonderful sites to see, such as Taipei 101, Queen’s Head, Taroko Gorge, Hot Springs, night markets and much more. I loved absolutely all these places, but what made them truly special were the people who introduced them to me.
By Mike Price
When I think of a land of joy, happiness, and countless blessings – I think of Taiwan. Taiwan is famously called Illha Formosa, a name given to it by the Portuguese which means Beautiful Island. I decided that Taiwan meant much more to me than just another island or country and wanted to come up with my own personal name for it. I finally settled on “The Island of Bobee (保庇).” If you’re not natively Taiwanese, you’re probably wondering what bobee (保庇) means. Roughly translated, it is “Blessed by the Gods.” I truly believe that Taiwan is an island blessed by the Gods, and I will always think of it as the Island of Bobee.
If you’re wondering where the name Bobee (保庇) came from, certainly not from my fantastic Taiwanese language skills (those are nonexistent). While I was living in Taiwan in 2010, there was a very popular song at the time called Bobee (保庇) by the Taiwanese singer Lotus Wang (王彩樺). The song’s music video embodied the great Taiwanese heart and spirit, which is both playful and spiritual at the same time. The people are really what makes Taiwan the Island of Bobee, they have a warmness in their heart that is hard to come by anywhere else in the world. They are open to all foreigners and welcome them to Formosa with open arms.
While in Taiwan, I met many great new friends who were happy to show me around the country they were proud of. Taiwan has some wonderful sites to see, such as Taipei 101, Queen’s Head, Taroko Gorge, Hot Springs, night markets and much more. I loved absolutely all these places, but what made them truly special were the people who introduced them to me.
One person who particularly surprised me with his kindness and generosity was none other than RPG RapGuy. RPG is a underground Rap artist in Taiwan, originally from Tainan, who now lives in Taipei where I met him. On our first meeting, RPG took me out to a night market in Taipei and introduced me to all the different foods since I couldn’t read the Chinese characters on the vendor’s booths. He convinced me to try some of his favorites, which I ended up loving. My favorite? Knife-cut noodles! For our second meeting, he invited me to his home, then drove me on his scooter to a traditional day market where he showed me how to buy ingredients for a real home-cooked Taiwanese meal. Back at his house, he walked me through all of the cooking he did for our dinner. Our delicious meal, shared with all of his gracious roommates, was followed by my very first game of mahjong. They taught me the game that night and I ended up winning a couple of times! The point of this story? To show how truly blessed by the Gods this island is! Although this is just one example, the people are truly blessed and make joyful all those visitors who want to see what Taiwan is all about.
This is why I created ThinkTaiwan.com, a site that aims to connect the world to Taiwan. ThinkTaiwan.com showcases and highlights all the great talent and cultural aspects of the Island of Bobee (Taiwan). In the near future, ThinkTaiwan.com will have much more to offer all of its visitors, whether they be Taiwanese or just great fans of all things Taiwan! So please become a fan of ThinkTaiwan.com at www.facebook.com/ThinkTaiwan and stay tuned for the latest developments!
Mike Price is Creator & Founder of ThinkTaiwan.com
This is an edited version of the article that was first published at Taiwan543
