Chitchat over Rice

Join us in this episode as we dive into the captivating world of Wavemakers, a relatively new show on Netflix. This 8-episode short series offers an intriguing glimpse into the intricate workings of a political party operation and election, through the eyes of its dedicated staff. We explore the show's exploration of topics such as sexual harassment and work-life balance, and discover why it has become a sensational hit since its initial release. Tune in to uncover the secrets and allure of Wavemakers!

This was recorded a while ago mostly motivated by one of our friends visiting Taiwan for the first time, and Chen was talking about the most shocking thing to him in Taiwan - traffic. In late 2022, the issue of pedestrian safety in Taiwan gained media attention as it's reported on CNN, but the government's reaction/improvement was limited, if any. Join us now to learn about the controversy.

We recently binged the Chinese political drama, "Empresses in the Palace" (also known as 甄嬛傳/甄嬛传). This long-time classic explores the intricacies of harem life and the intense power struggles within both the harem and the official court. If you haven't delved into the realm of Chinese harem shows before, this is the one to try. Tune in to hear us geek out over all the plots and twists and maybe you'll decide to pick this up as your next binge.

We found a carpet beetle at home and decided to do some cleaning. We went on to discuss about the different traditions of cleaning, including the kind of cleaning you do in Dragon Boat Festival time!

When Everything Everywhere All at Once won Oscar, we watched Director Kwan talking about his Taiwanese mom and the mom's interview. This is an episode us talking about our Asian moms - in the US and in Taiwan. Not all Asians come in the same size and shape, neither do Asian moms.

In this episode, we discuss what is a "real" name and it means in our cultures. We also share the confusion and feeling about adopting an English name as a immigrant and an Asian American.

We're back! Chen and Han visited Taiwan at the end of 2021. Taiwan still has pretty strict quarantine rules in place right now. We went through a 14-day strict quarantine and 7-day soft quarantine. We also discussed the cultural background that supports these policies in Taiwan. Comments welcomed.  Music by lemonmusicstudio from Pixabay

Everyone complains about the healthcare system in the US, but it's not all bad. In this episode, Han shares her experience in Taiwan and talks about the pros and cons of different systems with Chen.

We watched a Taiwanese music video (Why Not by JiaJia and Eggplantegg) together and had very different interpretation on a line. Could this be because of our different cultural background? We also talked about pop songs and the lyrics. 

While we are pretty far from our college days, we realized that college admissions had a profound effect on our high school days and upbringing. 

Boba, or bubble tea, is symbolic for Asian Americans. In this episode, Han and Chen talk about their first experiences with Boba and some of the history and cultural significance it holds in our lives.