Hello, I’m a student from the US. I’m going to be studying in Taipei during the summer and I’m not sure what to give my host family. I was looking at some ideas and was thinking of bringing candy but I’m not sure what you guys don’t have over there. Please let me know what ideas you have.
Coffee cup from your town with some different coffee packages.
Barring that, something that represents your town or state.
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FFFFFOOOOOOOOOOOOODDDDDD!
Seriously, I spent years trying to understand how to gift not pricy things that would be appreciated (anything worth gifting is overpriced), when all I needed to do was pick up a bunch of stuff from Trader Joe’s. (Chai latte mix, chips and salsa, peanut butter cups, stuffed pretzels, ginger candy…Trader Joe’s is pretty much all stuff that’s hard to get here. Get one of those thermal bags that you can use to ship cold food though so any chocolate doesn’t turn into a melted mess in your luggage)
You can also get a gift box from your home state, but things like map outlines of states are not really something people seem attracted to (it’s also something tacky local governments will slap onto low quality T-shirts and towels and notebooks here, so a lot of people will think you did the same, even if you spent US$20 on that single tea towel or US$GodKnows on that cutting board), so stick with the local candy shop being basic but well thought out. (Remember no meat or cheese can be brought in)
Also, maybe soup powder? I know The Spice House has “exact packs”, which are all the spices measured out. Penzey’s also has some fun stuff. Note that most Taiwanese are not a fan of cinnamon…
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Thanks, I’ll definitely keep in mind the cinnamon thing!
I didn’t even think of socks, thanks for the idea!
Great idea, thanks for your input!
Not only socks. Weed socks, or some other kind of funny pictures.
I guess it depends on the family. Red envelope is always welcome, or fruits.
Personally I’d have been fine with some good meals…
Oh ok, thanks for clearing that up.
Do you have any fruits you’d recommend?
Usually asian pears, those large ones. I don’t know the official name for it, it’s apple shaped, but often with tan skins.
Thank you!
Don’t bring fruits from your hometown, or you’ll be fined at the airport, now they have special scanners for meat/dairy/fruits to prevent the African swine fever.
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Oh I didn’t know that, thanks for telling me.
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Sorry I forgot to say this, buy the fruit in Taiwan. Asian pears are not easy to find in the US anyways (they do exist but you have to go the extra mile to find it).
Be VERY careful with regards to what food you bring in!! It’s a pricey fine @ TPE if your foodstuffs aren’t permitted.
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Thank you, I’ll make sure to be careful.
Thanks, I’ll make sure to do that!
A gift box of dry ass biscuits or something. Because they love gifting dry ass biscuits. The most important factor being that the packaging is as fancy, elaborate and wasteful as possible.
Your own countrys snacks are a good idea but ive yet to meet a taiwanese person who didnt say some shit like 'too sweet ’ as a way to proudly proclaim they think your snacks are shit and they are too mature, healthy and controlled to ever eat sweet things while in reality they drink bubble tea every day.
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