As my time here in Taiwan comes to an end, I often find myself saying things like "I'm really going to miss Karaoke..." or "I'm really not going to miss the distinct smell of Taiwanese sewage..."Aside from the smell of sewage here in Taiwan, one of the things that I really will not miss is ice in my beer!
Picture this:
You're out for a night of singing and drinking with your friends. It's hot in the room and everyone is ready for a nice cold beverage. Someone brings in a case of beer and a smile comes to your face. As they take out all of the cans and fetch some ice, your mouth begins to water.
The air is muggy, sweat is gathering on your upper lip, and you're thinking to yourself "hurry up and get those puppies on ice, I'm ready for a cold one!"
Just then, your friends begin to open every can of beer, and pour them, one by one, into a pitcher full of ice. Before you even have a chance to stop them, the entire case of beer is defiled. Irreversibly transformed from a perfectly good beer to partially carbonated, spunky liquid with a strange after-taste.
With the exception of nights out with my colleagues - most of which are foreigners or Taiwanese who have lived in a foreign country at some point - this happens every time we drink beer here in Taiwan.
And if it's not ice in a pitcher, it's ice in your cup:
Even red wine is a victim of this kind of treatment. I cannot tell you how many times I have watched helplessly as a perfectly good glass of beer or wine has been debased by the addition of a few small cubes of ice. But as the old saying goes: If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!
I have to admit, it will be nice to be back in a place where a "cold one" implies that the beer is in the ice, not that the ice is in the beer!
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