Considerate, but still a little creepy

When traveling to a new place, it is natural to focus on the differences - people’s habits, dress, and language all seem so inexplicable and foreign in different countries.  I had traveled in Asia before coming to Taiwan, so some aspects of Taiwan felt vaguely familiar, but there were others that I found puzzling.  One such puzzle was the ubiquitous surgical face masks.  Old people, young people, people on scooters, people working in shops, kids going to school – about 1 in 5 people wear a face mask on any given day.  At first this made me imagine some terrible apocalyptic scenario caused by an unstoppable pandemic that I didn’t know about because I couldn’t read the newspapers.  Of course I quickly realized this was not the case, and that wearing face masks is common behavior.  It still struck me as impersonal and possibly paranoid behavior that did make me feel like the entire city was as contaminated as a hospital.  It was as though seeing how worried others were about germs made me hyper-aware of germs.  Luckily, this impression also wore off and I figured out why Taiwanese people feel it necessary to wear masks so often.

Not my photo, but a common scene on the streets of Taipei

My initial impressions centered on the assumption that the masks are meant to protect the user.  In most instances, this is not the case - people wear masks to protect others.  If you feel like you are coming down with something, if you have a cold, or any sort of cough, it is common courtesy to wear a mask so that you don’t spread your germs to those around you. I emphasized “common courtesy” because that is what is so remarkable about this practice.  This is a quintessential example of Taiwanese courtesy and thoughtfulness.  Wearing a mask is uncomfortable, not particularly attractive, and it offers the wearer no benefit, yet thousands of people do it every day as a courtesy to others.  I think if you look up the definition of “considerate” in the dictionary, there should be the picture of a Taiwanese person on the subway wearing a facemask.

I’ve asked myself several times if I will wear a mask when I get sick.  Luckily, I haven’t had even a cold yet, but most likely I will before we leave.  I want to say that I will because it is the culturally appropriate thing to do and the courteous thing to do, but honestly I don’t know if I can walk around with a surgical mask on my face.  Why?  I think I would look ridiculous.  Even with thousands of other Taiwanese wearing masks every day all around me, my own cultural norms are so strong that I will have to make a concerted effort to leave the house wearing something that I associate with surgery and hospitals.  How often do you see people walking around the US with surgical masks on their faces?  If you did, how would you react?  I know that I would not stand anywhere near them because I would assume that a) they are very, very sick or b) they are crazy.  Despite my hesitation, I will force myself to wear a mask if I have a contagious illness.  If I had any courage I would do the same in the US and demonstrate what real courtesy looks like – even if it does look creepy at first sight.