Karaoke and Chicken Feet

"Let me show you something really cool." my friend Zac told me. We had just finished up with our Chinese tutor and he led the way as we set off on a brisk walk. It felt as if we were in the heart of the city, but the wonderful thing about Taipei is that one turn will take you to somewhere completely new. One minute we were walking on a busy sidewalk with traffic rushing by, the next we were climbing up a steep stone staircase completely surrounded in lush green foliage. We climbed and climbed working up a sweat. Finally we came out on an opening and spread out before us was the entire city. Neither words nor pictures can justify the feeling of looking down at it all spread before us, the river running through the middle, the bridges and mountains off in the distance.
As we looked for a way down, we ran into a couple climbing down. We stopped to ask for directions and to see if there was a hiking trail further up. From the little I could grasp, the only way left to go was back down. Things took an unexpected turn when the man grabbed Zac's arm and said "Karaoke!". Zac protested saying he couldn't sing, but the man wasn't taking any excuses; almost by force he led Zac down the path to and open pavilion. I was laughing, but of course had no choice but to follow. Out in the middle of nowhere, on the side of this mountain, there was a karaoke machine and a gathering of people singing and having Sunday fun. On the table was spread a variety of food ranging from chicken, fish, chicken feet, noodles, etc. No one questioned or wondered how we ended up there; instead, so hospitable, they began to force food on us. I was served noodles and plates were pushed in my face as the encouraged me to eat and not be shy. They kept peeling oranges for me and refilling my cup of tea - even when it was almost full. It was immensely hysterical because I could only understand a couple words - although Zac seemed to manage better than I did.
Then the inevitable happened - they asked us to sing karaoke. Zac pawned it off on me telling me that they had fed us and I should sing in return. A song was chosen and for the first time in my life I did karaoke. I had always sworn before that I would never be able to do it without at least a couple drinks in me, but it wasn't as embarrassing as I thought it would be. I rendered my own version of "My Girl" and then managed to get Zac up to sing "Yesterday". At that point I'm not sure what happened, everyone obviously assumed we were together and poor Zac (who has a girlfriend) kept saying "No! No!" but hysterically we ended up with arms on each others shoulders singing away. Finally, we left them and descended once again to the busy city below; but not without a feeling of having been refreshed.
I was so impressed by how lovely and kind these people were to complete strangers. They fed us, let us hang around, and didn't expect anything in return. Not something I would ever have experienced in the United States. So far, it is one of the most memorable moments I've had. I am very much reminded of the culture in Mexico - where hospitality is such a wonderful gift.