While everybody that I have met so far in Taiwan seems extraordinarily friendly and helpful, the language barrier is indeed significant. Besides my need for copious amounts of coffee, or maybe because of, I also have one other necessity that seems to require me to learn some basic Mandarin. While we were having dinner, I excused myself to find the restroom. Feeling that I am somewhat self-reliant and capable of complex navigation, I decided to try and find the bathroom on my own. Not being able to read a single word in Mandarin, I walked to a hallway in the restaurant that looked like a bathroom belonged there. I found a door marked with Mandarin characters, opened it and walked into a private dining room. After apologizing to the group that occupied the room, I went to the next hallway to repeat myself and again walked into another private dining room. I then found my way to another door and walked into the kitchen. Fortunately, there was a waitress coming out of the door with a tray full of tea. I asked her where the bathroom was and she just looked at me. I then proceeded to do what any good American would do and began saying over and over really slow and loud “where is the toilet?” Obviously quite scared, the poor waitress quickly walked around me and left. I later learned my first Mandarin word…”cesuo jien.”