The Female Perspective

For my first blog post, I would like to give you the Taiwan experience from the female perspective. Dave has covered a lot, however there are a few things that I think should be noted. First, I will share my feature presentation regarding the good, the bad, and the ugly sides of Taiwan as I have experienced it thus far. Then, so as not to end on a sad note, I will discuss the interesting differences that have stood out in my mind upon arriving here. Enjoy!

Now for my feature presentation...

Taiwan: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

The Good:

-The black tea is absolutely AMAZING!! Dave and I are completely hooked. Iced black tea has become a daily indulgence for both of us. And it's so cheap! Only 15 NT$ (which is about $0.50 US). If you come here, you must try it!

-The people are extremely kind. The other night upon the closing of Ghost Month, a family who was eating dinner outside their home invited us to join in their feast. We did not partake, but this just goes to show how welcoming the people here truly are.

-The children at our school are adorable. I must admit the first few days of teaching were dreadful. All of the kids were testing the limits to see what they could get away with under the new teachers. But once I laid down the law, they straightened right up. Everyday gets better and I've been able to appreciate their wonderful/different personalities more and more.

-Our apartment building has a rooftop deck from which you can see the mountains in the very near distance. It's absolutely beautiful. It's also great for viewing sunsets. And as noted below, since there seem to be no electric driers, it's great for line drying our clothes.

The Bad:

-This humidity is killer! It's been really tough getting used to. Luckily the worst is over for now, and fall will bring much more temperate weather. I'm definitely missing the midwest fall colors and smells though. Especially since everyone on facebook is posting about the wonderful fall days they're having.

The Ugly:

-The stray dog and cat population is literally breaking my heart. On our first weekend here, we excitedly strolled over to the enormous park on the edge of the city only to be confronted by a stray puppy within minutes of entering the park. He was tiny, week, dirty, and obviously malnourished. I gave him some water, but had nothing more to share with him. Luckily for Dave we had not yet moved into our permanent apartment so I couldn't take him home with me. But mark my words if I could have, I would have taken him home in a second. I very reluctantly walked away from the puppy at Dave's urging and proceeded to cry my eyes out. It was just too much for my animal lover heart to handle. Then last weekend as we were walking home from the grocery store, there was an adult stray dog standing in the middle of a very busy intersection with his ears back and his tail between his legs. He was obviously terrified, but everyone that walked past him just walked by as if they didn't even see him. I was outraged! I desperately wanted to go help him, but Dave put the kabosh to that as we did not know the temperament of the stray population and I really can't afford to get bitten since we don't have our ARC card yet. Anyways, I made Dave stay and watch with me until he finally got out of the intersection and trotted down the street. I walked away from this situation in tears as well. I've decided I'm definitely going to start carrying dog treats with me for just such encounters. If I'd had treats I could have at least coerced the dog into crossing the street. I also would have had something to share with that stray puppy. The cat situation is not much better, however cats are at least more agile and independent. For some reason, they seem much more capable of caring for themselves. This doesn't make me ok with it by any means, but I'm at least comforted in knowing they have supreme hunting skills.

Now to lighten things up a bit...

The Different:

Here is a list of the things that are so different here than in the US that it is worth noting before they become the norm for us.

1. Garbage is picked up every day of the week, however there are no dumpsters. Every night the garbage truck drives around playing the same song over and over again, loud enough so that people in their homes/apartments can hear it and everyone comes out into the street and throws their trash in the truck as it slowly drives by. One could argue that your entire social life revolves around the garbage collection. (***see video at bottom***)

2. Urban Planning is nonexistent. There are beautiful mansions and expensive condos next door to run down shacks that look as though they are not fit for human habitation. It's quite interesting. I suppose it's kind of nice in the sense that there are no "bad" parts of town. Everywhere you go in the city is pretty much the same in terms of appearance and safety. And let me note, crime is extremely low here.

3. Apparently, staring at people is not considered rude. We get stared at constantly everywhere we go. Whether we are just walking down the street, are in a restaurant, or are grocery shopping, the people see so few foreigners here that they can't help but stare at us. Just the other night we were eating dinner at a restaurant we frequent (one of the few places with an English menu), and the two girls sitting behind us were giggling and "nonchalantly" taking pictures of us on their phones. We don't mind terribly, it's just very weird for us.

4. No matter how hot it is, almost everyone wears long sleeves (especially the women). I thought this was absolutely insane the first day we were here and we were sweating bullets in the lightest clothing we owned while everyone else was wearing long sleeves, and in some cases long pants. I asked our director that day if it was culturally ok for women to wear tank tops here as I had yet to see a single female revealing her shoulders and he said it was perfectly fine. Then I asked, "So why is everyone wearing long sleeves in this hot, humid weather?". He responded, "it's the same as people wearing a hat in the US." They do it to protect from sun exposure. I didn't say anything but my first thought was, "hasn't anyone heard of sunscreen over here?? This is madness!!" Anyways, I later found out that contrary to the tan standard of beauty in the US, the standard of beauty here is to be as pale as possible. The lighter the skin, the better. Therefore, rather than relying on sunscreen to protect them from the sun, they just completely cover their skin. I guess better safe than sorry. I, however, will not be joining the masses. It's just WAY to hot for this senorita!

5. Toilet paper does not get flushed down the toilet, it is always thrown in the garbage. It's really not as gross as you would think though because like I said in #1, the garbage goes out everyday. It's definitely been tough to get used to though.

6. There seems to be not a single electric clothes drier in the country. Every single apartment I've seen has a small outdoor area for drying clothes. Although I'm sure the wealthier population has them, the rest of us must line dry our clothes. This has resulted in some very stiff clothing, which is less than desirable when you put on a nice clean shirt. Oh how I miss the soft, wonderful smelling clothes that are fresh out of the dryer. We did however discover that our rooftop is a much more effective place to dry our clothes. They also come out minus the stiffness due to them flapping in the breeze.

Well that's all I can think of for now. I hope you've enjoyed the female perspective :-) Until next time.... Love and miss you all!

-Sara