A nickname for Taiwanese people is "children of the sweet potato," and I totally understood why the other evening when I was roasting this starchy snack.
Another oblong specimen to be found in my room as of late is pictured above (though in much greater quantity than 1!). I think they're stink bugs...or milkweed bugs...you guys know?
6 comments:
The image of the insect is not sharp enough for us to identify.
children of the sweet potato? that is surprisingly humble. usually people choose a proud, fierce animal as their nonsense, national animal ancestor. take for instance koreans who claim they are descended from bears.
oh and do you know the story? i really like origin myths.
Hey Jeanette!
I THINK the Dutch gave them this nickname simply because the island looks like a sweet potato. And then the Japanese brought it to the fore as a profitable crop...
So I guess that makes the nickname a relic of colonialism . But Taiwanese people don't seem to have any bad blood about the name :)
this person wants to know too:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/willhood/2332428860/
Cool, Erin! My search for "red, black insect taiwan" was inconclusive
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