Grandpa’s Attic 阿公的故鄉記憶

問：請問你心目中甚麼東西最能代表台灣?

答：番薯是非常重要的東西。它不僅是台灣的地理形狀，也曾經是很多人的主食。

問：每個人? 或只是某一群人?

答：我生長的年代裡，大多數的台灣人都吃番薯，雖然很大一部分是窮人。

問：他們怎麼吃番薯的?

答：很多人把番薯削成番薯簽，拿去室外曬乾。妳猜猜看吃起來是不是很像洋芋片?

問：我想是吧!

答：事實是，番薯簽吃起來非常平淡無味，一點都不好吃。貧苦人家會拿來曬乾保存，富有人家才能奢侈地吃新鮮地瓜。 中下階層家庭把曬乾的番薯簽配鹽巴煮食，吃上一整年。

問：我一定會吃到想吐!

答：我試過一次，實在是不好吃!

另一個番薯可以代表台灣是因為番薯很好種植，就如同台灣人的生存力強大一樣。番薯不需要太多水，在暴風中也可以種植!一句台灣諺語是這樣說的：台灣人是番薯的孩子。(番薯仔)

問：為甚麼會這麼說?

答：有首台灣歌謠是這麼唱的：「兩千三百萬的番薯仔啊，請你們不要嫌台灣」這首歌讓許多台灣人民流淚，可能是很多生長在台灣的人，不認為自己是台灣人。

問：你對此感受如何?

答：當我聽到這種說法會非常難過。台灣人好似美國人是個移民社會。大多數的美國人祖先從英國、愛爾蘭等歐洲國家來此，台灣人的祖先有中國移民的背景。但是美國人獨立建國後，早已不再把自己當成祖先那國的人，而是自稱美國人，以當美國人為榮。古諺這麼說:「番薯不畏被埋在地下，因為它是堅強的植物，再堅困的環境都能生長。過去20年來，台灣人重拾番薯的價值，番薯搖身一變成為火紅健康食物，就像台灣的各式產品在世界各國得到肯定，台灣經歷了經濟起飛，改善了生活環境。我衷心期望台灣作為一個國家的身分，能早日被世界各國支持，如同我們的產品被世界肯定。

R: What do you think symbolizes Taiwan the most?

G: I think that the sweet potato is very important. Not only because of the geographic shape of our country, but many people also ate sweet potato as their main food.

R: Everyone? Or was it a specific group of people?

G: Most of the Taiwanese population ate sweet potatoes although many who ate it were poor.

R: How would they eat it?

G: Many would take the sweet potatoes and shred them. They would take them outside to be dried by the sun. Don’t you think they would taste like chips?

R: I would think so.

G: Actually, they taste very plain and yucky. The poor would do this to preserve the sweet potatoes. The rich would eat raw sweet potatoes. Some lower class families would take the dried sweet potatoes, cook it, and eat it with salt. They would eat this the whole year.

R: I certainly would have lost my appetite!

G: I tried it once and did NOT like it at all. Another thing about the sweet potato is that it is very easy to grow, just like Taiwanese people! They don’t need much water and they can even grow in storms! There is a saying in Taiwan, it goes, “Taiwanese people are the sons of the sweet potato.”

R: Why would you think they say that?

G: For a couple of years, there has been a song called, “Please don’t dislike Taiwan”. One phrase/line is, “23 million sons of the sweet potato, please! Don’t dislike Taiwan! This song makes many Taiwanese people cry, because some Taiwanese people don’t call themselves Taiwanese.

R: How does this make you feel?

G: It makes me feel very sad to hear people say this. You know, Taiwanese people are very much like American people. Some American ancestors are from England, like Taiwanese people are from China. Although they are from England, they don’t call themselves British/English.

There is an ancient saying, “The sweet potato is not afraid to be buried in the ground, because it is a tough plant. It can grow in bad circumstances.” For the last 10-20 years, sweet potatoes have become expensive. It has become a nourishing food for the rich people. Just like the other Taiwanese products that have become popular in the world. Because of this, Taiwanese have become richer. I hope Taiwan will be admitted as an independent nation by every country in the world, just like Taiwanese products are accepted worldwide.