Taiwanese Soaps

I have found a new guilty pleasure in life: Taiwanese soap operas. They are incredible. Do not be misled, though, by the term "soap opera." They are more the equivalent of our mini-series, not nearly so shallow and meaningless as American soap operas.

My roommate Kristin (who is an ABC) introduced me to my first one last fall. After not sleeping for a week until I finished "命中注定我愛你" (translated Fated to Love You), I decided that Taiwanese soaps were a vice I needed to do without. Well, alas, winter break arrived, Kristin ordered her favorite soap off Amazon, and I was a lost cause. Carol and I finished the 30 hours of "流星花園" (translated Meteor Garden) in two days. It is considered a classic here, having started off the careers of many current stars and breaking ground in the industry. Nine years later, it remains extremely popular here as well as in Korea and Japan.

After Meteor Garden, I started "下一站，幸福" (Autumn's Concerto or translated Next Stop, Happiness). I have actually been irregularly watching this one for the past two months with Kristin, but now have gone back and re-watched the whole thing from the beginning online with English subtitles (amazing how much more one can learn from English subtitles lol). The final episode comes out in two more weeks, and Kristin and I are in agony waiting for it. The series has become a sensation here, and it is so fun for me to watch interviews of the cast on the evening news or eavesdrop on conversations in Starbucks where girls are discussing how attractive the leads are (I really wanted to jump in and join them, but my Chinese is just not good enough for that – and besides, it would truly have been too embarrassing). It is a great way to bond with locals, since all I have to do is mention the Chinese name to my Taiwanese friends (adults or middle schoolers), and we start jumping up and down and getting really excited (yes - it is that good). Even the ETAs up in Yilan are watching it - we have g-chat sessions while watching it every Sunday night. I am currently trying to memorize the two main songs from the show - they are so beautiful! And I get so excited when I hear them playing in department stores and can sing along. :)

So that’s that for my guilty pleasures. But before you judge, you really should try looking them up. :)