Random Observations in Taiwan

So just a few random things I found interesting about Taiwan...

For some reason people in Taiwan and in Shanghai think it is more hygienic to wear masks. I'm not sure if it is to keep dust out of their faces or not inhale germs or what. Either way, as we are walking around we saw tons of people riding around on their little vespas wearing masks over their face. They even handed them out for free in the airport in Taiwan.

I think people here study English a lot but they seem really shy about using it and only do it when there is no alternative. They all seem scared of making mistakes. Just a few English mistakes I found funny...

At the National Palace Museum we were told: No Eating, No Drinking, No Photo...ing

Danny made fun of me for taking pictures of Pimp and ASS but it was funny.

We also saw some Hebrew.

My Dad wanted me to write how much things cost here. So a brief overview... a lot of brand name things are priced similarly to the states. Chinese foods are a lot cheaper, but American foods seem about the same as in the states. The bus here only costs like 50 cents and the subway is about 75 cents. In Shanghai the subway is 50 cents. In Shanghai the cost of labor is really cheap so hiring a cleaning lady is extremely affordable. Our place in Shanghai has daily maid service included in the rent but I'm not sure how much they pay. In Taiwan it is a bit more expensive for labor since there are fewer workers.

When things are on sale here they write the number you would multiply by to find how much it costs instead of the percent to take off. So here when it says 8 the price is 20% off because if you multiply the cost by .8 to find the price.

Taiwan is a tropical island so it is extremely hot and humid. You pretty much start sweating the second you walk out the door. Danny said as a kid most places didn't have air conditioning or "lun chi." I don't know how people deal with it but I guess you get used to it. Danny's grandmother won't turn the air conditioner on in her apartment even though Danny's dad installed one when he visited a few years ago.

I think bugs here seem worse than in the states... except for maybe bedbugs. The mosquitoes here are awful. In addition to it itching when you get bit it stings like a bee sting as they bite you. They also have giant cockroaches that I see on the street occasionally which can fly.

Last thing... People here are much more respectful of following rules. In the states people just shove their way onto the subway, here they have marked off where to form lines. On escalators people actually follow the stand right, walk left rule. It is really nice...