On Intentional Storytelling and Commentary in Taiwan

I’ve been posting a lot of food content @bessie_eats account, which was a food Instagram I got into during the tedium of the pandemic to relive all the great meals I ate on Remote Year, which I chronicled here. I posted food while trapped in my tiny Manhattan apartment while ambulance sirens where wailing and it felt like the world was ending, and I had no idea when I’d be able to leave New York City again.

After moving to Taiwan, I’ve noticed so much of English language social media and commentary about Taiwan is dominated by people who are not like me, it’s a lot of younger people here adventuring or true foreigners that have no blood relationship or nationality.

No hate on that, but I think Taiwan also needs its story told through the eyes of more people like me, someone with a more established career, who is Taiwanese and American, a woman, is actually literate in Chinese, and has access to society beyond night markets and surface-level politics and isn’t an academic or a leftist. I’ll be doing more storytelling as well as sharing good eats.

Anyway, here’s a nice view of the pride parade this weekend in Taipei. Felt great to walk, party, and support our LGBT friends with the American Institute in Taiwan (the not provoking China name of the US Embassy) and American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan.