As mentioned in the previous post, my parents are coming over and I thought it might be a good idea to give them a head's up of Taiwan.
To that end, I have compiled a small list of things that may be different from the life in
(Oh, if people reading have anything further to add, please do so!)
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Transportation and Traffic (the bane of my life here for so long...now accepted...)
There are lots of motorcycles. Wendy found this out. Just think little mosquitos buzzing all around you (I have a large mosquito).
The rules of the road are getting more organized, but still confidence is key and the bigger vehicle usually wins.
There are few sidewalks in
If there are sidewalks, they are cluttered with shop wares and items so at times walking in the street at times is preferrable (although Jo knows I dislike this)
Crosswalks are by and large meaningless - see the "confidence is key" above - basically if you have the chuchacha's to walk in front of a car, they will often stop, if not, they will not let pedestrians by. I often put on my "Don'y Try It" face if I need to walk through the city and that seems to work.
Jo has a tiny car (her Little Bu Bu) but this is very practical in the city since parking is tough, even for motorcycles at times.
There are many small intersections with no traffic lights (there are no 'stop' signs here), so yet again, confidence is key prevails.
Traffic lights are still 'guidelines' but with new laws, this is getting better.
Police cars and ambulances will keep their lights blinking to let people know they are around - if a situation develops, they will turn on their sound.
Traffic fines are mailed to you from pictures taken by cameras on the side of the road or by policemen doing 'photo-shoot-bys' They do not always have to stop you to give you a ticket. That is why you may suddenly see cars slow down without 'reason' until you notice a little camera on the side.
There is no right turn on red here ( I have been pulled over about 7 times for this....)
Emergency is 119, not 911
Ambulences are bascially little vans with minimal equipment to get you to the hospital (there are many). They are very uncomfortable.
I will have blindfolds in the car for any that want them.....haha
Eating (the BEST part of
Brushing up on chopstick skills? Good, but there should be plenty of forks and knives....
Restaurants are basically the same - just with better Chinese food - much better.
Usually we share dishes with each other, unless we are sick.
There is a lot of great food here (albeit some weird things) and my motto is "Try it first and THEN ask" ( I am saving more Stinky ToFu for Wen...)
Although letting us know your allergies, if any would be better....
We rarely have cereal for breakfast - instead loving to eat Omlette cakes and other funky things with Soy Milk. Again, we will try a variety of things and see which ones you like. Wen can offer opinions here as well...
Jo makes great coffee so we will be lucky to have good coffee most days!
There are numerous stalls near the side of the road selling everything. Often this is where the best food is. We live right by a maket area now and you will see how stalls take over the street, basically not letting cars through.
Oh, speaking of market areas, there is a word for a place with many many people all hustling and bustling about buying and selling things: Re Nao (Rih Now). In Chinese, this is a good thing since selling or buying is brisk. To many westerners, it is just 'crazy' but you will get a glimpse of this.....
Jo does not eat after 2 pm since that is part of her wish, and I have followed suit by not eating after 2 on some nights (M,W,F) so there will be some nights that we will only drink with you while introducing you to some great food.
Jo also chooses not to eat meat at breakfast, but lunch is eat-anything.
You need to let us know what you are allergic to or don't really like in terms of food.
Jo and Family
Jo's mom does not really speak Chinese that much so communication will be basically around Jo's translating and body language.
Jo's mom, sister and brother's family live in San Chong, about 10 min from
Jo's father was originally from
There are some cultural differences between people who were born here and those that were not (of course).
Bathroom Facts
Most Taiwanese take showers at night and think taking showers in the morning is strange. Anyway, I still do this - old habit.
Oh, taking a shower here will be no problem, but there is hot water for only 20 minutes before it automatically shuts off. That is no prob since we just stop for a min and start it up again. But I would suggest when you are all here - to do 2 at a time (we have 2 bathrooms) and then take a small break while the other 2 can shower later. Or if you want to take a shower at night that is fine too! Or hell, both morning and night is ok!
Also, more info about bathrooms: you will notice little trashcans next to the toilets. This is for the tissue paper or toilet paper to go in since the septic system is not able to work well with loads of tissue. So please try to remember to use the trashcan - but this will take some getting used to.
We will take our shoes off in the house and wear slippers, but this is flexible.
Often bathrooms are made to get wet - I mean the whole place, so often they do not have curtains. We do, but since Jo likes to clean the bathroom (god bless her!) sometimes wearing flip flops is necessary since the floor will be wet.
Misc Cultural items
Everyone and their mother has cell phones and uses them too often.
Many stores close at regular hours -
There are 7-11 stores almost on every streetcorner
This is only a small list but I hope this helps!
Just remember to have fun and smile......you are on the other side of the earth now!
See you soon!
Jeff & Jo
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