The first few days in Taiwan

Puli, Nantou County, Taiwan

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Puli in Nantou County, sometimes called “The Heart of Taiwan” because it is the geographical center of the island, is an urban township, surrounded by beautiful mountains. It is also a very dense, bustling tourist designation. Like I mentioned in my last post, we got picked up from our hotel and immediately came to Puli where we had apartment viewings scheduled all morning and were going to have them until we found the one we would sleep in that night. The last woman that was showing us around spoke a little English so I felt comfortable having her as a landlord. I learned very quickly, the people of Taiwan are incredibly accommodating. Since Anthony’s school was going to arrange a driver to take him each morning, I wanted to make sure that our apartment was going to be close enough for me to walk to work every day. When some of the places were a little further than I preferred, the landlord sprang into action, saying “follow me!”, showing us many properties she managed all over the city until we found the one that felt the most like home. We had to chose very quickly but when we did, we gave her money for the deposit and first month, we got two keys, and there we were in a sparse, furnished studio with our luggage and our heads buzzing with everything we needed to do next.

Carrefour has everything and anything that we needed (with a few trips of course). From bedding to dishes, new snack to try to appliances, medicine and other home goods, electronics and bath items, EVERYTHING! It’s the Target-like store that I’m going to need for this next year and it’s only about a 15 minute walk away (and a $150NTD or >$5 taxi ride home when we’ve purchased too many things to carry).

Of course in this small town in the middle of Taiwan, we stuck out like a sore thumb if our confused looks and frantic running around the store, baffling by how much was there and how little we could read of it, didn’t make us stand out enough. Luckily for us, an employee made it her mission to help us around the store, talking to Anthony in Mandarin when they could and her pulling out some pretty good English when there was some things being lost in translation. Each time we came she was there to help us and each time we left, we felt a little better about adjusting to this new life change we were now completely immersed in.

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One of the best things we have been doing in Puli to help calm our culture shock and get to know the area has been exploring and finding our favorite restaurants in the city. What I learned very quickly is that almost all restaurants are outside (with doors that get pulled down when they are closed), and the majority of them food stands. I thing the more “upper-scale” restaurants are indoors but I’m honestly not sure yet. So far, my favorite has been the Veggie Boa (that I was able to order all by myself in Mandarin!) and the Bubble Tea (which I already knew I loved). Everything we have tried has been incredibly delicious and extremely cheap with the average meal feeding both of us for under $3 USD.

7 Eleven – They are everywhere

It’s true! We have probably about four 7 Eleven Convenient stores within a 15 minute walk and they are all operate 24 hours. We have these stores in the United States but the biggest difference: they are actually convenient. At 7 Eleven, you are make copies and print things from your phone, pay your utility and phone bill, buy bus tickets, set up a P.O. Box so you can have international goods shipped to you, buy any kinds of beverage or snack you are craving, prepare and eat a meal they have in the cooler, or browse their wide selection of home/health/beauty items they have on the shelves. They are also NEVER out of stock of anything. I do not know how they do it. Just like the rest of Taiwan, the employees AND customers will a assist you with whatever you need. It’s truly mind-blowing.

My biggest take-aways

Taiwan is a county on the up-and-up when it comes to their global presence and their influence over the world economy. Although buildings may not be as “state-of-the-art” as they are in Western countries, people seem to own and understand technology not even I am familiar with, drive some pretty crazy cars (like the Tesla we got driven around in when apartment shopping), and show the kindness and collectivist mindset that I believe is needed as our world grows and changes (recently not for the better). I’ve gotten a real sense of community here where everyone is supportive of their neighbor, helping when they know they can and understanding the power of “we’re all in this together.” A phrase that our landlord told us and we confirmed immediately, “There is no thief”. The Taiwanese do not lock up their houses (sometimes leaving their front doors wide open all day and night) and leave their scooters, helmets, bags/purses, everything out in the open, always.

Everything is cute.

I mean it. Everything.

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And Hello Kitty is everywhere.

I’m not entirely sure why this is, but as a girl, I really dig it. Signs, billboards, and packaging on items is cute and very appealing when I looking for something new I want to try. I think for some men, it’s not the best but it looks like everyone is on board with this “culture of cute”.

Thanks for reading! I will be posting more soon about the week-long training I did with the National Academy for Educational Research and much much more! Do you have any questions for me or anything you’d like to see during our time here? Let me know!

Until next time, this has been
Emma Eiden, An ESL Teacher Abroad