My time in Taiwan is winding quickly to an end. I decided on my drive home tonight (after watching a man on a scooter hock a lugee on the street in front of me), that with only 4 days left in the country, I should attempt to put together some lists. Kind of a "best of" and "worst of" thing. So, here goes...
Things that I will NOT miss about Taiwan:
1. Watching a man on a scooter hock a lugee on the street in front of me.
2. Getting stared and pointed at because I'm white.
3. Riding a scooter in typhoon-like rain storms.
4. The nearly oppressive heat and humidity of July and August -- even at 9:00 in the morning. (Seriously, anyone who things Texas or Florida are bad... they've got nothin on Taiwan!)
5. The complete and utter disregard for any and all traffic laws -- i.e. running red lights, in the middle of the light, even on extremely busy intersections; driving on the wrong side of the road or the wrong way on a one-way street; the belief that anyone making a left-hand turn must have the right of way (but only if YOU are the one making the left-hand turn); people who make right-hand turns against red lights (that's "illegal" here) and don't bother to check to see if there's any on-coming traffic; old men who walk or ride their bikes into the middle of traffic. This list of traffic stupidities could go on and on, so I'll stop there... (This needs more explanation, though, to be fair to the Taiwanese people that I have just bashed. There are two explanations that I can see. #1 The Taiwanese believe in destiny. They believe that if they need to make a right-hand turn against red or walk across the street, they should just do it. If they get hit, that was their destiny and there's nothing to be done about it. They also believe that if they don't look, they can't see that someone is going to hit them. It's the person who sees the other's responsibility to stop. #2 reason for bad driving: Consider how long we've been driving in the U.S. Then consider how the car has evolved and changed with us as we have learned how to drive. My mom taught me to drive. Her dad taught her - on a much slower car than she taught me. His dad probably taught him - on a VERY slow car. Now consider the fact that Taiwan has been driving for 50 years (even less in some of the smaller towns). Someone shipped over a bunch of cars from the US or Japan and probably stamped "Good Luck!" on the cargo boxes. So, you put these two things together - the "destiny" idea and the lack of knowledge or training - and you get all of the terrible traffic violations mentioned above.)
6. Seeing an old man or a young boy peeing in public.
7. The fact that there are no clothes or shoes on this island in my size.
8. No kitchen in my apartment. No ovens anywhere. No chocolate chip cookies.
9. My scooter getting blocked into it's parking space by a car.
10. Cars who park in the scooter lanes, or use them as turning lanes.
Ok, enough of that. Now, some of the things I WILL miss about Taiwan:
1. The DIRT CHEAP cost of living! Seriously - less than 6 USD to fill up my scooter for one week.
2. Fresh pineapples and mangoes.
3. The fact that I can get an appetizer and huge main course at a fantastic Thai restaurant for less than 3 US dollars! That is cool enough to stand on its own.
4. The absolutely incredible, warm, caring people who have helped me and befriended me - Taiwanese and foreigners alike.
5. Driving a scooter is pretty dang fun sometimes.
6. My students, who I love dearly.
7. Veggie hot pot. (They need to pick up this trend in the US.)
8. In the summer, the air smells amazing. There's some flowering tree in town that is incredibly pungent and fills up the air with it's smell.
9. On a clear day, I can turn down my street and see mountains in the background of the city. As a Nebraskan, this never ceases to amaze me.
10. My boyfriend.
