Taiwan - Chenjean's Village, Betel Nut Tree Line / Betel Nut Nastiness

As mentioned in earlier posts, these betel nut trees were not part of the landscape when Chenjean was growing up; much of the native foliage was cleared to make room for this cash crop.  And why is it such a cash crop?  Like chewing tobacco, it contains a substance that gives a buzz, is very addictive, and makes a whole lot more money than the bamboo or fruit that was there already.  So here it is.  The villagers in the area don't seem to mind much.

I don't mind much either, as they are interesting trees and have a beauty of their own.  And conveniently, they stick out from the landscape, providing for photo-ops such as this and others you'll see in this series.

Much more interesting than the trees themselves, however, are the people that use the stuff.  Like cigarettes, kids that try it get hooked young, and by adulthood their teeth betray their habit for all to see every time they open their mouths.  It's nasty...often there are several teeth missing, and the ones that are left are stained multiple shades of dark red.  And it seems that the kind of people that get hooked on betel nuts don't much care about showing the world the grotesque evidence of their addiction.

Surprisingly, my nephew Terry knew very little about betel nuts, so it was up to me to show him how the little fruit was ingrained into the culture.  In the larger towns and cities, places that sell them have very distinct flashing signs, and when you see a whole row of them in an area you know you're not in the best part of town.  One day when we were shopping in a nearby market I took him to one and explained how they wrapped them up in leaves as packaging for sale.  (The guy doing it couldn't understand English - that I know of - but seeing our interest he offered us one for free, which we turned down.)  And to press the point of how seedy the business is, I shared that they had to crack down on these places because the shops at one time were very brightly lit with bikini-clad girls prominently displayed behind glass to attract attention.  It got so risque they started to resemble venues for prostitution, which the relatively-virtuous Taiwanese found repugnant.

Terry had heard me talk about how the habit affects an addict's teeth, and I found a great opportunity to show him first hand at Chenjean's elementary school reunion a little later in the trip.  While visiting in the restaurant one of her classmates showed up with a propensity to open his mouth wide whenever he laughed, revealing the nastiness inside resulting from his life-long habit.  Terry was out wondering around at the time, but when he came back inside I gave him 30 seconds to pick out which of these adults chewed, a quiz he had no trouble passing.