Kaohsiung conference

Conference hosts, speakers, and attendees

Friends, this week, I am in Kaohsiung, Taiwan! I am an invited international scholar at the 2025 International Conference on Underwater Cultural Heritage. My favorite part about conferences is meeting new people, and I have had an excellent chance to do that in Kaohsiung. 

I've learned there's a proper way to introduce yourself to a new colleague in Taiwan. Every single person who approached me followed the same procedure, so it must be deeply culturally ingrained. First, they were prepared with a business card in hand. Nobody actually calls them "business cards" in Taiwan; instead, they are "name cards." Western and Eastern naming conventions are so vastly different - think about trying to repeat someone's name back to them to see if you have it right (you won't) and then remembering it for more than a second (good luck). The "name card" convention circumvents all of that. The person gives you their name card as they initiate the conversation. They don't just hand it to you, though - they present it. The card must be held in both hands with the person's name facing up, in the proper direction for you to read it. This presentation is a sign of respect. You receive the card with both hands, too. It's polite to give the person one of your name cards in return. Over time, you accumulate a record of everyone you met and talked with at the conference. I quite like the name card ritual for exactly that reason. 

I'm also learning that Taiwanese people really love to take group photos. Like, they really, really love group photos. Every event must be recorded, and every person must be in the frame. You take two photos: a normal one, and then one with thumbs-up. The gesture is called "tsan" (not sure about the spelling), and as far as I can tell, it's the equivalent of V or heart gestures in other parts of Asia. 

Teaching Maritime Heritage Ecology to the audience. 
Photo by Andy Viduka.

I was the second speaker on the conference program, and my talk went overall very well. I was asked to speak about the applications of my work to marine spatial planning, so I covered three projects in brief and explained how Maritime Heritage Ecology research can help managers decide which shipwrecks to protect and how. I was keenly aware that I was a biologist speaking to a group of archaeologists, so I made sure to keep my talk high-level and clear. One very interesting factor for me to consider was simultaneous translation. Two interpreters supported the conference by translating everything that was said in real time to either English or Mandarin. I was deeply impressed by these two ladies - how you can listen to a language in one ear and speak in a different language at the same time is beyond me. I made sure to speak clearly and slowly to give them a fighting chance. 

When the talks for the day had finished, we were ushered to a restaurant across the street for our conference dinner. Friends, if you've followed this blog for a while, you know how I feel about east Asian food: it is a spectacular adventure into the unknown. My rule is that I will eat absolutely anything, as long as I know what it is before taking a bite. I was really looking forward to experiencing new food in Taiwan this trip. 

Boy, did the conference dinner deliver. I can name and remember 9 dishes from the progressive dinner, and I'm sure my memory is missing at least one. There were strips of tripe (beef stomach). There was a whole pork leg that was steamed in soy sauce so long it almost seemed gelatinous. There were shrimp heads complete with hepatopancreas. There was an all-broth soup with a whole black chicken in it (my mind flashed to Palau - honestly not sure if it was a fond memory or PTSD). There were noodles made from beans, rice steamed in lotus leaves, and fruit - so much fruit! 

Taiwan is known for its fruit. Of course, being located in the tropics, all sorts of fruits can grow here, and they are much tastier than the shipped-while-under-ripe imitations we get back home. Dragon fruit was my favorite - it had a mild but intriguing flavor. The watermelon slices had orange flesh, which caught me off-guard. And the pineapple was juicy and not acidic and delightful. 

The conference is going very well, and I am so grateful to be in Taiwan!