Do you like?

There seems to be an apparently mis-communication in the Taiwanese education system with the verbs ‘like’ and ‘want.’ This has been evident with my host family in the week that I have lived with them.

Host brother: Carlos, do you like ice cream.

Me: Yes, I like ice cream.

Host brother: Mother, Carlos wants ice cream, he likes it a lot and wants to eat it.

Host mother: Husband, let’s get Carlos some ice cream.

Me: I don’t want any ice cream right now.

Everyone: (confusion ensues)

Another prime example of where the Taiwanese confuse the verb ‘like’ with the verb ‘want.’

Host brother: Carlos, do you like mountain climbing.

Me: (with my inability to express a mild liking for things I say…) Yes, I like it a little.

Host brother: Mother, Carlos loves mountains and climbing them.

Host mother: I will call my sister, she lives near a mountain we can climb. Tomorrow morning we will go, okay?

Me: I don’t want to go mountain climbing today or tomorrow.

Everyone (confusion ensues)