The Banquet!! What an Experience!


















We just returned from a fantastic Taiwanese banquet. This particular one is held but once a year, shortly after the Chinese New Year, to signify celebrating the start of new beginnings. It was held in a posh hotel, and the ballroom was really beautifully decorated with pink floral arrangements and festively colorful balloons.


Ted and I were seated near the stage as guests of honor, as it was hosted by the School of Management. All the guest professors (about 5?) were introduced. Then, during the course of the evening, every time someone came to our table to welcome us (including the past and present Presidents of the University, an important legislator, the manager of the #1 radio station in Kaohsiung, among others), you stand and drink a toast, clicking your glass of wine. Fortunately, cranberry juice was also available for this purpose!!

The food was scrumptious, and mainly seafood ,for which Taiwan is famous. Don't ask us, however, what type of seafood we were eating; it really did taste good, but, as one guest professor from Australia said, it is sometimes better not to know exactly what it is you are eating. The man in the picture with Ted is I-Heng Chen, Ted's former student and now the Director of the Institute of Human Resource Management, the one who invited Ted to come and teach.


One part of the evening , after many had had a few more glasses of wine, I think, included karaoke singing on the part of some of the Taiwanese professors! They actually had pretty good voices, and sang songs, the words to which were written (in Chinese characters, of course) on a tv screen. Then, five very attractive assistants, pictured here, did a cute ste of songs and dances as entertainment as well! Ted and I did not understand a word of what was said most of the evening, but it was fun!

And, in case we were wondering, a course was served again with the fish's head available for our viewing pleasure! But seriously, it was a delightful evening.