It’s a sophisticated British thing. As you’re from the wrong side of the pond no-one expects you to understand such concepts. 
(Our wall sockets have an on/off switch)[/quote]
Hmm, considering that US wall sockets also have an on/off switch just which side of which pond are you referring to Mr. “Sophisticated”?
[quote=“tmwc”]
Another thing to bear in mind is that in Taiwan you don’t question authority, and the process of enquiry is not taught. There is one right answer, dictated from above, and that’s that. Having accepted the right answer, your lady friend is in a difficult position if you challenge her. She’s probably never though about whether her belief is really right or not, and may not be equipped to analyse it through with you. (What do most people know about electricity anyway?) You’re asking her to question authority, go through a reasoning process she’s not comfortable with, to arrive at a ‘truth’ about a topic she doesn’t really know a lot, and potentially lose face by admitting that she’s wrong.
Just refusing to discuss it is a lot easier.[/quote]
Wow, right or wrong that makes a lot of sense.
Not to be rude, but…
maybe you have become accustomed to not being contradicted that any opposition seems like stubbornness to you now. Taiwanese won’t let you have your way ALL the time but you know how careful they are not to indicate strong disagreement or disapproval.
In Taiwan I’ve become so used to bloviating on any topic without interruption or contradiction that Americans seem downright rude! How dare they interrupt my lecture?
===Spam in America===
Spam: “The real power is held by a conspiracy of congenitally amoral lizard-people who occupy positions of influence in the worlds of international politics and high finance.”
Westerner: Just exactly when DID you become a nutbar, Spam?
===Spam in Taiwan===
Spam: “The real power is held by a conspiracy of congenitally amoral lizard-people who occupy positions of influence in the worlds of international politics and high finance.”
Taiwanese: ::hesitant nod:: “Maybe…” (Translation: My fondest wish at this moment is for you to go away and stop talking at me.)
It’s a sophisticated British thing. As you’re from the wrong side of the pond no-one expects you to understand such concepts.
(Our wall sockets have an on/off switch)[/quote]
Hmm, considering that US wall sockets also have an on/off switch just which side of which pond are you referring to Mr. “Sophisticated”?[/quote]
I’m of course referring to the more sophisticated side (that’s the side with rain and sheep, in case you’re still in any doubt). If old sojourner is familiar with wall sockets with an on/off switch, why’s he even asking the question?
[quote=“rob_the_canuck”]I’ve been told by my wife not to put anything that’s even remotely warm into the fridge because I’ll break the fridge…
…alrighty…[/quote]Same. Thing. Here…exactly…word. for. word.
…and who in the hell is this mysterious and all knowing “They” who she constantly refers to in situations such as this…?
[quote=“TainanCowboy”]
…and who in the hell is this mysterious and all knowing “They” who she constantly refers to in situations such as this…?[/quote]
I’m guessing Big Brother…or a race of intellectually superior ameoba…
[quote=“TainanCowboy”][quote=“rob_the_canuck”]I’ve been told by my wife not to put anything that’s even remotely warm into the fridge because I’ll break the fridge…
…alrighty…[/quote]Same. Thing. Here…exactly…word. for. word.
…and who in the hell is this mysterious and all knowing “They” who she constantly refers to in situations such as this…?[/quote]
That’s a refrain I’ve heard, too. “I left the food out. When it cools down, can you put it in the fridge?” 
But not because it will break the fridge, but because it will save electricity.
What’s going on here?
[quote=“Chris”][quote=“TainanCowboy”][quote=“rob_the_canuck”]I’ve been told by my wife not to put anything that’s even remotely warm into the fridge because I’ll break the fridge…
…alrighty…[/quote]Same. Thing. Here…exactly…word. for. word.
…and who in the hell is this mysterious and all knowing “They” who she constantly refers to in situations such as this…?[/quote]
That’s a refrain I’ve heard, too. “I left the food out. When it cools down, can you put it in the fridge?” But not because it will break the fridge, but because it will save electricity.
What’s going on here?[/quote]
Fridges use electricity to cool things down. A warm thing needs more cooling, therefore more electricity gets used. Makes perfect sense, unless you’re living in a house with no bloody insulation.
if you boil water in a kettle, do your Taiwanese friends tell you to keep the water bubbling for a while with the lid removed so that harmful substances can evaporate?
[quote=“Chris”][quote=“TainanCowboy”][quote=“rob_the_canuck”]I’ve been told by my wife not to put anything that’s even remotely warm into the fridge because I’ll break the fridge…
…alrighty…[/quote]Same. Thing. Here…exactly…word. for. word.
…and who in the hell is this mysterious and all knowing “They” who she constantly refers to in situations such as this…?[/quote]
That’s a refrain I’ve heard, too. “I left the food out. When it cools down, can you put it in the fridge?” But not because it will break the fridge, but because it will save electricity.
What’s going on here?[/quote]
Both statements – breaking fridge, saving electricity – have some merit. Refrigerators are temperature regulated and the compressor only turns on when the interior temperature goes above a set temperature. By putting hot food in the fridge, you increase the temperature of the fridge by a small amount, which in turn, forces the compressor to turn on a bit earlier than it would have with room temperature food. If you do this often enough (i.e. every day, every meal), by the end of the year, the compressor will have been used more than it would have otherwise.
An increase in compressor usage means an increase in both electricity usage and wear-and-tear (breaking down sooner).
However, if hot food is only placed in the fridge occassionally, there should be no noticeable effect.
The downside to leaving food out until it cools (especially in hot weather) is that it increases the chance of bacteria buildup in the food. Thus, the extra pennies or dollars used in putting hot food into the fridge may be very much worthwhile in avoiding food poisoning and an even more expensive trip to the doctor’s.
BTW, this is not solely a Taiwan practice. Here’s a thread from the google-answer web site: http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=562760
I didn’t really describe things very well in my original post. I wasn’t talking about any specific person or example as much as what I percieved to be a general pattern. But it was probably just a bit of general whining on my part!
Anyway, thanks for all the thoughtful on and off-topic replies! An interesting discussion it has turned out to be, though I wouldn’t blame the D & R mods for putting it somewhere else.
[quote=“sjcma”]The downside to leaving food out until it cools (especially in hot weather) is that it increases the chance of bacteria buildup in the food. Thus, the extra pennies or dollars used in putting hot food into the fridge may be very much worthwhile in avoiding food poisoning and an even more expensive trip to the doctor’s.[/quote]It’s important to cool rice down quickly and get it into the fridge. It surprises me that people don’t get food poisoning all the time with all these lukewarm and re-heated lunchboxes around.
To cool rice down fairly quickly I put the aluminium rice pot in a pan of cold water for a few minutes. Then I transfer the rice into another container and put it in the fridge. I could put it into the fridge straight away but this way cools it down more quickly.
But I’m sure the amount of electricity used would be negligible.
(Yeah, another off-topic reply. But that happens!)
putting hot food in the fridge actually uses less energy. the molecules in hot foods move faster and cool down faster as a result, more so than the slow moving molecules of room temperature foods. hot foods straight into the fridge uses less energy and prevent bacteria.
However, it seems many of the examples given are actually not stubbornness by the locals, but rather stubbornness by the person complaining for failing to realize that there is indeed valid reasoning behind the action. Of course, I’m not saying all the locals understand these reasonings behind their actions, but to say that they are stubborn based on the examples given thus far with regards to cell phone adapters, headlights, hot food in fridges, seem to say more about the complainer than the locals. This is not to say you don’t have a point in your initial post, but if enough of these examples gets knocked down (either through lack of knowledge or cultural misunderstanding), perhaps those smart and stubborn women don’t seem as stubborn as before. Maybe they are now only semi-stubborn. 
I remember in grad school, a Romanian colleague was essentially calling me stupid for using chopsticks to eat my meal (I wasn’t eating a steak here…it was Chinese food in a bowl bought from Chinatown). He simply cannot understand how eating with chopsticks can be easier than eating with a fork and knive. He thought I was being stubborn for refusing to acquiesce to his point of view.
They do? Mine didn’t.
[quote=“sjcma”]This is not to say you don’t have a point in your initial post, but if enough of these examples gets knocked down (either through lack of knowledge or cultural misunderstanding), perhaps those smart and stubborn women don’t seem as stubborn as before. Maybe they are now only semi-stubborn. 
[/quote]Well, I don’t really feel that those examples represented well what I was talking about. That’s entirely my fault; I didn’t give any examples in my original post and haven’t given any since.
What I was talking about was more like when someone’s talking to you about their plans, and you make a friendly, polite suggestion (“Maybe you could think about doing this…”), only to have it shot down instantly, with a flat “No.”, and not even any kind of an explanation of why the suggestion wouldn’t work or the person doesn’t like it. As I say, it’s not just one person or one situation I’m thinking of.
But on reflection I realise that I’ve done exactly the same thing myself in the past, and when particularly preoccupied still do so on occasion.
This “phenomenon”, if it is one, may or may not be a psychological defence mechanism formed in reaction to family pressures etc. But there’s nothing I can do to change it in others, and if I do it, well, that’s my problem!
I know what you’re talking about. There seems to be no sense of collaboration with them, even in very small things. “Have you tried…” “I HATE IT!” Either a person goes along with everything you say or instantly shoots it down; they don’t go through a process of considering, almost as if they can’t or won’t process information in real time. Like you I’ve noticed this more often with women than with men but that may just be because there are so few men here.
[quote=“naijeru”]
I know what you’re talking about. There seems to be no sense of collaboration with them, even in very small things. “Have you tried…” “I hate IT!” Either a person goes along with everything you say or instantly shoots it down; they don’t go through a process of considering, almost as if they can’t or won’t process information in real time. Like you I’ve noticed this more often with women than with men but that may just be because there are so few men here.[/quote]
Well, it’s a two way street. I used to politely listen to every suggested piece of advice offered like “You have to drink lukewarm water when you have a cold.” or “You just coughed; you must go to see the doctor and get some medicine right away.” Now I just say: “Horses**t.”
I thought every guy knew that the secret to getting along well with one’s wife and/or long-term girlfriend largely revolves around memorizing and repeating, at the appropriate moment, one of four phrases:
“You’re absolutely right.”
“I’m sorry. My fault. Won’t happen again.”
“You look absolutely lovely.”
“You’d like to go shopping? Sure, take the credit card. Have fun girls!”
Men and women both are ridiculous creatures. I often think that love is just another word for “endlessly amusing.”
I’m confused. Is #3 interchangeable with “Of course your bum doesn’t look big in that,” or is that a seperate category, or what?