This post was supposed to be titled impressions after 6 months but for obvious reasons I changed it.
Things are going quite well and I've settled into a nice little life here. I've been trying to see as much as I can around Taipei and Taiwan. I went to Alishan mountain a few months ago and that was awesome. The scenery was amazing. A few weeks ago I went to Leofoo Amusement park and that was cool too. Not quite on par with Canada's Wonderland or other North American parks but it was fun. In between there were visits to rivers for BBQs and a mountain much closer to Taipei called Ya Ming mountain. There was a concert at a beach about 2 hours from Taipei called Fulong beach. The music was horrible but the beach itself was fun.
I am so far loving my time in Taiwan. The people seem very nice to me and patient with my lack of Chinese. A lot of them like talking to me in English so they can practice their English. Of course when I'm trying to practice my Chinese it can sometimes be frustrating but I find it enjoyable too. I'm enjoying the cheap food and variety of eating establishments. I hesitate to use the word restaurant because many eating establishments are nothing more than a kitchen or BBQ set up outside. Which brings me to the night markets. I find the food can be quite enjoyable as long as you don't mind standing or walking and eating. I've gotten used to that. However many places do not serve cold drinks and most do not serve alcohol. There are many times where I have had to walk out of a restaurant to purchase a drink at 7-11 or another convenience store and bring it into the restaurant. And most restaurants are nothing more than tables and stools. My favourite kind of restaurant is called a Taiwanese or quick fry restaurant. It is as it sounds. Just wooden tables and stools, most times plastic. The food is quick and tasty and there is a variety of dishes. There are bottles of beer in a fridge and you just keep picking up and drinking bottles until you are finished. At the end they tally up your empty bottles and add it to your food bill.
I brought a friend of mine from Toronto, Omar, to my favourite Taiwanese restaurant a couple of months ago and a funny thing happened. First off I'm sure it was the first time two foreigners went there without a local. We were treated like celebrities. After Omar left I went back with Kelsie and the owner had the entire menu translated into English. I can now order whatever I want all by myself. We're changing Taiwan for the better! And on that note I've gotten used to the fact I can read almost nothing when it comes to food or anything else I want to buy in a store. I rely heavily on hand gestures and body language.
I've also gotten used to my school and it's so called English teaching. We're not teaching English at all. The kids just learn to parrot everything we say. They don't learn how to speak English, they learn how to repeat English. The positive thing is I no longer worry about what to teach day to day, there's no point.
And now on to things that piss me off about Taiwan. I've already done a post about fashion so there's no need to repeat myself. One thing that really steams my whistle is the total lack of courtesy, politeness or respect for others the Taiwanese have. They don't care if they walk into you or cut in front of you in line or push you out of the way to get on the bus. I've had old ladies try to muscle me out of the way on the bus and walk into me on the street. I'm getting used to it but I still don't like it. There just seems to be a lack of civility in the way they interact with each other. And the best part is they avoid confrontation like the plague. So if they do something like bump into you and you even look at them angrily they will profusely apologyze. But only because they are deathly afraid of furthering the confrontation.
The other thing that really pisses me off is the total lack of service at restaurants and bars. Orders are often incorrect, late or forgotten altogether. Entrees never arrive together so you're either forced to start before the other person gets their's or you have to wait while your food gets cold. And it's the same with drinks. Drinks are often made incorrectly and usually take forever to come. I guess it's the lack of tips. Funny how someone's salary isn't enough to motivate them to do a good job, they need something on top for them to give you adequate service.
Plans are to visit other countries in the near future, including Thailand, Japan and Hong Kong. Also to tour around Taiwan a bit more and see the south part. I guess that's about it for now. Keep on the lookout for more updates.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Typhoon day
So today is my first Typhoon day. Taipei County and Taipei City both declared today to be a Typhoon day. That means it's a holiday for those areas.
Yesterday we went to the supermarket to stock up for the next day spent in the apartment. It was like one of those scenes from a movie about the impending apocalypse. The shelves weren't totally empty but they were definitely sparse. The lines at the checkout were very long also. We of course stocked up on the essentials: tonic water, chips, beer...oh and water of course. We also went to the video store and got a couple of movies. All the while it was pouring rain with gale force winds.
Typhoon day: today was the actual typhoon. I ventured out in the typhoon for more essentials: coffee and breakfast. Plus I had to go out in my first typhoon. Just about everything in my neighbourhood was closed, except for a couple of breakfast places, a coffee shop, convenience stores, and of course the internet cafes. The weather was great, more pouring rain and driving winds. It almost tore my umbrella to shreds but I survived.
The unfortunate part about all this is I only get paid for four hours of work when normally I work seven hours on Mondays. Ah well I'm getting paid for staying at home and watching movies all day.
I have now experienced my first typhoon. One more notch on the belt of Taiwanese experiences.
Yesterday we went to the supermarket to stock up for the next day spent in the apartment. It was like one of those scenes from a movie about the impending apocalypse. The shelves weren't totally empty but they were definitely sparse. The lines at the checkout were very long also. We of course stocked up on the essentials: tonic water, chips, beer...oh and water of course. We also went to the video store and got a couple of movies. All the while it was pouring rain with gale force winds.
Typhoon day: today was the actual typhoon. I ventured out in the typhoon for more essentials: coffee and breakfast. Plus I had to go out in my first typhoon. Just about everything in my neighbourhood was closed, except for a couple of breakfast places, a coffee shop, convenience stores, and of course the internet cafes. The weather was great, more pouring rain and driving winds. It almost tore my umbrella to shreds but I survived.
The unfortunate part about all this is I only get paid for four hours of work when normally I work seven hours on Mondays. Ah well I'm getting paid for staying at home and watching movies all day.
I have now experienced my first typhoon. One more notch on the belt of Taiwanese experiences.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Artsy Fartsy pictures
Here is my attempt at being artistic, enjoy.
Alishan national park
Random tree
Some cool fountain looking thingy in another park
Alishan national park
Random tree
Some cool fountain looking thingy in another park
Lover's bridge in Danshui again
Fashion (continued)
Just wanted to mention something I forgot in my post about fashion. Roots is everywhere. Yes that Roots, as in the Canadian clothing store. I literally don't go a single day in Taiwan without seeing someone wearing something from Roots. I think it might be more popular here than in Canada.
I've actually seen two people with Maple Leaf sweat shirts on. They don't seem to sell any other team stuff but the Leafs, makes sense I guess, they are the only team that matters. Ahh there's that Toronto arrogance I miss so much...not really but it's just a little taste of home.
Anyway that's it for now.
I've actually seen two people with Maple Leaf sweat shirts on. They don't seem to sell any other team stuff but the Leafs, makes sense I guess, they are the only team that matters. Ahh there's that Toronto arrogance I miss so much...not really but it's just a little taste of home.
Anyway that's it for now.
PICTURES!!!
I have a lot more pics up on my facebook but here are a few.Havin a little too much fun at the zoo.
Taiwan has the coolest bridges. This is Lover's Bridge in a tourist area on the ocean called Danshui.
I have developed this weird fascination with Taipei 101, I can't stop taking pictures of it.
This is Alishan mountain at sunrise.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Fashion
Taiwanese fashion is a mix of just about everything. There doesn't seem to be any real trend or style per say.
Let's start with the ladies. The first thing I noticed is that they like to show their legs. And I mean all of them like to show their legs. The old and fat ones too. And it's not just when they go out Saturday night, it's all the time. Here when a women wants to show skin it isn't cleavage, for obvious reasons, it's leg. Their favourite part of the leg to show is from just below the knee to the middle or upper thigh.
Then there is the actual clothing they wear. They all dress much younger than they are. It's almost like when they hit pre-teen, they loved the style so much they never left. And of course their bodies never really left pre-teen so it makes a lot of sense. One of their favourite articles of clothing is the knee high stockings or socks. Everyone here wears knee high stockings or socks. And in the funkiest colours. Orange and purple seem to be favourites amongst the youngsters. I guess it's all about the legs here. Shirts are never low cut, again for obvious reasons. And skirts are much more common here than in T.O. Of course the climate lends itself to skirts much more than back home. It's actually nice to see women who want to be feminine rather than always trying to be like men and wearing pants. Pants aren't very feminine. Celebrate your femininity ladies!
Then there is the hair, and this goes for both the men and women. Many of them get perms, again both girls and boys. I guess it's because their hair is otherwise thin and limp. (Get your mind out of the gutter.) And the weirdest hairstyles I've ever seen, especially on the men. The amount of money spent on gel and hair spray in this country must be astronomical.
And this brings us to the men, and I use that term loosely. I remarked to someone soon after arriving here that there are no Taiwanese men, and I stand by that remark. Apparently Taiwan is the second largest purchaser of male cosmetics, behind Japan. Men here wear make up! They really do look like women too, even without the make up. Of course none of them can grow facial hair, and when they do it's funny looking because they have about 1 hair per square inch of facial area. And their chests are as bare as a baby's bottom. Don't ask how I know about the chests or bottoms. And the men dress very feminine too. I guess it's European or something. Then there are the murses, that's right, man purses. Men here carry purses. And I don't mean book bags or messenger bags, I mean honest to got purses. They carry ones with logos from Louis Vuitton and Gucci.
The women in Taiwan actually try to look feminine, and so do the men. No wonder foreign men have super powers here, the women are starved for real men.
Let's start with the ladies. The first thing I noticed is that they like to show their legs. And I mean all of them like to show their legs. The old and fat ones too. And it's not just when they go out Saturday night, it's all the time. Here when a women wants to show skin it isn't cleavage, for obvious reasons, it's leg. Their favourite part of the leg to show is from just below the knee to the middle or upper thigh.
Then there is the actual clothing they wear. They all dress much younger than they are. It's almost like when they hit pre-teen, they loved the style so much they never left. And of course their bodies never really left pre-teen so it makes a lot of sense. One of their favourite articles of clothing is the knee high stockings or socks. Everyone here wears knee high stockings or socks. And in the funkiest colours. Orange and purple seem to be favourites amongst the youngsters. I guess it's all about the legs here. Shirts are never low cut, again for obvious reasons. And skirts are much more common here than in T.O. Of course the climate lends itself to skirts much more than back home. It's actually nice to see women who want to be feminine rather than always trying to be like men and wearing pants. Pants aren't very feminine. Celebrate your femininity ladies!
Then there is the hair, and this goes for both the men and women. Many of them get perms, again both girls and boys. I guess it's because their hair is otherwise thin and limp. (Get your mind out of the gutter.) And the weirdest hairstyles I've ever seen, especially on the men. The amount of money spent on gel and hair spray in this country must be astronomical.
And this brings us to the men, and I use that term loosely. I remarked to someone soon after arriving here that there are no Taiwanese men, and I stand by that remark. Apparently Taiwan is the second largest purchaser of male cosmetics, behind Japan. Men here wear make up! They really do look like women too, even without the make up. Of course none of them can grow facial hair, and when they do it's funny looking because they have about 1 hair per square inch of facial area. And their chests are as bare as a baby's bottom. Don't ask how I know about the chests or bottoms. And the men dress very feminine too. I guess it's European or something. Then there are the murses, that's right, man purses. Men here carry purses. And I don't mean book bags or messenger bags, I mean honest to got purses. They carry ones with logos from Louis Vuitton and Gucci.
The women in Taiwan actually try to look feminine, and so do the men. No wonder foreign men have super powers here, the women are starved for real men.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
The land of efficiency
Taiwan really is the land of efficiency. Everything is done to get you in and out with the minimum of both human contact and hassle, and they usually are connected in some way.
First off there are no lines in banks. You walk in and immediately grab a number, sit down and wait for your number to be called. There is a person at the door to greet you and direct you to the appropriate desk according to the type of transaction you wish to carry out. Even for a foreigner like me who doesn't speak the language, very quickly they find someone who speaks English and they kindly direct me to the appropriate area. Compare that to banks in Toronto where you have to stand in line like cattle and wait for a teller, who is busy chatting to their coworker, to decide they are going to actually work today.
The second is restaurants and bars. Here you don't have to call the server over and ask for the cheque and then wait 20 minutes while they try to figure out what you ordered that night and finally bring your cheque over, as if it's a privelage that they allow you to pay for your meal. When you are ready to pay for your meal here you just walk up to the cashier and your cheque is ready there for you so you can pay and be out in less than a minute if you want. It's great. Oh and of course there is my favourite part about Taiwan, no tipping! I have always hated the whole idea of tipping. (If you've ever seen Reivoir Dogs you know where I'm going with this). Why is it that some people who provide a service to you, not all services only some, deserve a tip for performing their job competently. So if I go to a restaurant and order a meal and it doesn't take an hour to show up and I have actually received exactly what I ordered, the server gets something on top of their salary. Wow good for you, you didn't totally fu** up my order, congradulations for not being totally incompetent. And why don't the servers at McDonalds get tips, if anything I say their jobs are actually harder, they have to get your meal to you in less than 30 seconds or you start complaining that it's taking too long. I enjoy the fact that here you pay the price on the bill, not the price plus some extra gratutity for actually performing your job the way it was intented to be performed.
I am officially in love with the MRT (subway) here in Taipei. It is so efficient it makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. First off there are signs everywhere, in both Chinese and English so it's almost impossible to get lost. Secondly there is no putting cash in the box and waiting in line to get into the MRT. Everything is done by one time tokens you purchase at machines or cards you buy and put money on akin to the metropass at the TTC. However you can put money on whenever you wish and the card doesn't expire. Also there is no stupid stripe to swipe, it's all magnetic so you just flash it in front of the machine and keep walking right on through. I've never seen a line up to get in or out of the MRT here. Then of course there are the trains themselves. First of all they always stop at designated spots so the doors always open in the same spot so there is no guessing where the doors will stop then all cramming towards them so no one can get off the cars. Here people line up in front of the lines on the ground nice and orderly. Secondly there are electronic signs above every door inside the cars that tell you what stop you just came from, what the next stop is, and the stop after that, and the stop at the end of the particular line you are on. And the signs are in Chinese and English. The signs also tell you when you need to get off to transfer to another line. Thirdly they announce the next stop in 4 different languages, one of them being English, and also announce when you need to get off to transfer to another line. Fourthly the signs showing all the differnet lines and stops also at every door inside the cars are always oriented so they are facing the correct way. This way no matter which side of the car you are looking at, the sign is always facing the way the train is going. It's a small thing but once again it is designed to be uber efficient. Fifthly there are electronic signs everywhere in the stations telling you exactly when the next train is coming so you know if you need to run to catch it or if you can take your time getting to the platform.
I have taken the MRT here many time and haven't gotten lost yet, and I really don't see how I could. I have seen advertisements claiming that the Taipei MRT has been rated the most reliable in the world for 3 years straight, and I can believe it. It really does put the TTC to shame. I have always hated the TTC for its absolute lack of efficiency and seeing possibly the best system in the world really makes me realize the TTC is a big pile of steaming horse sh**.
We in the west can really learn a lot from the 'uncivilized' people in 'backward' Asia. Efficiency is the word and the economist in me loves it!
Enjoy your inefficiencies westerners.
First off there are no lines in banks. You walk in and immediately grab a number, sit down and wait for your number to be called. There is a person at the door to greet you and direct you to the appropriate desk according to the type of transaction you wish to carry out. Even for a foreigner like me who doesn't speak the language, very quickly they find someone who speaks English and they kindly direct me to the appropriate area. Compare that to banks in Toronto where you have to stand in line like cattle and wait for a teller, who is busy chatting to their coworker, to decide they are going to actually work today.
The second is restaurants and bars. Here you don't have to call the server over and ask for the cheque and then wait 20 minutes while they try to figure out what you ordered that night and finally bring your cheque over, as if it's a privelage that they allow you to pay for your meal. When you are ready to pay for your meal here you just walk up to the cashier and your cheque is ready there for you so you can pay and be out in less than a minute if you want. It's great. Oh and of course there is my favourite part about Taiwan, no tipping! I have always hated the whole idea of tipping. (If you've ever seen Reivoir Dogs you know where I'm going with this). Why is it that some people who provide a service to you, not all services only some, deserve a tip for performing their job competently. So if I go to a restaurant and order a meal and it doesn't take an hour to show up and I have actually received exactly what I ordered, the server gets something on top of their salary. Wow good for you, you didn't totally fu** up my order, congradulations for not being totally incompetent. And why don't the servers at McDonalds get tips, if anything I say their jobs are actually harder, they have to get your meal to you in less than 30 seconds or you start complaining that it's taking too long. I enjoy the fact that here you pay the price on the bill, not the price plus some extra gratutity for actually performing your job the way it was intented to be performed.
I am officially in love with the MRT (subway) here in Taipei. It is so efficient it makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. First off there are signs everywhere, in both Chinese and English so it's almost impossible to get lost. Secondly there is no putting cash in the box and waiting in line to get into the MRT. Everything is done by one time tokens you purchase at machines or cards you buy and put money on akin to the metropass at the TTC. However you can put money on whenever you wish and the card doesn't expire. Also there is no stupid stripe to swipe, it's all magnetic so you just flash it in front of the machine and keep walking right on through. I've never seen a line up to get in or out of the MRT here. Then of course there are the trains themselves. First of all they always stop at designated spots so the doors always open in the same spot so there is no guessing where the doors will stop then all cramming towards them so no one can get off the cars. Here people line up in front of the lines on the ground nice and orderly. Secondly there are electronic signs above every door inside the cars that tell you what stop you just came from, what the next stop is, and the stop after that, and the stop at the end of the particular line you are on. And the signs are in Chinese and English. The signs also tell you when you need to get off to transfer to another line. Thirdly they announce the next stop in 4 different languages, one of them being English, and also announce when you need to get off to transfer to another line. Fourthly the signs showing all the differnet lines and stops also at every door inside the cars are always oriented so they are facing the correct way. This way no matter which side of the car you are looking at, the sign is always facing the way the train is going. It's a small thing but once again it is designed to be uber efficient. Fifthly there are electronic signs everywhere in the stations telling you exactly when the next train is coming so you know if you need to run to catch it or if you can take your time getting to the platform.
I have taken the MRT here many time and haven't gotten lost yet, and I really don't see how I could. I have seen advertisements claiming that the Taipei MRT has been rated the most reliable in the world for 3 years straight, and I can believe it. It really does put the TTC to shame. I have always hated the TTC for its absolute lack of efficiency and seeing possibly the best system in the world really makes me realize the TTC is a big pile of steaming horse sh**.
We in the west can really learn a lot from the 'uncivilized' people in 'backward' Asia. Efficiency is the word and the economist in me loves it!
Enjoy your inefficiencies westerners.
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