My first impression of Taiwan upon immediate arrival
is somewhat of a blur to me now. At the time, my mind
was more concerned with questions like, 'Will my manager
be here to meet me?' and 'Where will I be sleeping
tonight?'. Exhausted, but relieved to be on the ground
after such a long flight, I was quickly reassured
to the former as soon as I reached the arrivals gate.
The latter, however, was yet to be discovered.
Saual Keh Hotel, aka The Love Hotel, where all new
recruits of Shane stay during their week of training,
doesn't look much from the outside. In fact, unless
you look up, where a big sign confirms that it is
actually a hotel, you couldn't be blamed for not noticing
the building altogether. It's situated down a small
alley on Roosevelt Rd, just a 5 minute walk from the
Shane Head Office. From my initial notion of the exterior
of the hotel, I wasn't expecting much from the room
itself. Therefore, when I walked in, I was pleasantly
surprised by how clean and oriental-looking it was!
The ceilings are low, as are the beds, but the carved
patterns on the ceiling and furnishings give the rooms
a slightly opulent feel. There are no windows, or
very tiny ones, in most of the rooms. And the shower
can be a little problematic if you're over four feet
tall. One feature I found especially bizarre was the
huge mirrors. The whole right wall of my room was
just one large mirror and it's pretty much the same
for all the rooms. There is even a room that has a
round bed! Perhaps one can begin to see where the
nickname, 'The Love Hotel' comes from... Yet, despite
its reputation, it was a very comfortable place to
stay and provided me with all the comfort and security
I needed in my first week in Taiwan.
The streets of Taiwan are full of vendors, selling
all kinds of strange-looking and smelling foods. Tofu
is an especially popular food here and you can buy
it in many forms. One of my most memorable first impressions
of Taiwan is walking down a street in Taipei on my
second day and getting a waft of the most rancid odour.
For a while, I thought it was just the streets of
Taiwan, but I soon came to realise it was a type of
tofu, appropriately referred to as 'stinky tofu'.
It was a relief to know that this awful stench was
not Taiwan's general odour and was merely just a food.
The odour itself is practically indescribable; it's
a pungent, rather rotten smell and can make you gag
if you're unfortunate enough to walk past a stinky
tofu stand. For people new to this kind of 'aromatic
experience', a good tip when you smell it (and, believe
me, you will know it when you smell it) is to hold
your breath and walk as fast as you can.
One thing I found bizarre about Taiwan is how many
scooters dominate the streets. I knew the scooter
was a popular method of transportation, what I didn't
expect was how popular. The streets are much wider
in Taiwan and Taiwanese drivers, car or scooter, like
to fill every available space possible. So, for a
pedestrian crossing the street at a red light, the
many revving scooter engines, waiting for the green
light, can seem rather intimidating and aggressive.
What else surprised me was how a scooter can act as
the Taiwanese alternative to a family car! It's quite
usual to see a scooter with one person driving and
one person on the back, but there have been times
when I've seen whole families on a scooter. Usually
with a parent driving and the other parent on the
back with a child on their lap and then a small child
where the driver's feet go. As I mentioned earlier;
the Taiwanese like to fill every available space possible!
Perhaps a comforting thing for potential teachers
coming to Taiwan to know is that not everything here
is completely foreign. Certain Western establishments
such as Starbucks, Pizza Hut and McDonalds (yes, it
does taste just like home), have a reassuring presence
here. I found, at the beginning, when I was more prone
to homesickness, that I could find a little 'taste
of home' at these places when needed. I also discovered
Carrefour; a huge chain store full of everything and
anything you could possibly need; clothes, furniture,
music, electronic goods, food – it has it all!
In our first week in our new apartment, my flatmate
and I were desperate to make our apartment more homely
and comfortable. We found everything we required in
Carrefour; just enough bits and bobs to give the apartment
the few home comforts that were needed. There were
huge selections and everything was reasonably priced.
Everybody talked about the culture shock I would get
coming to Taiwan. But, I found that my real culture
shock came, not in the transition from East to West,
but in the transition from Taipei to Shinying. Due
to the big city vibe in Taipei and its strong Western
influence, it's a smoother shift from the West to
the Orient. The scooters, neon strip lights and street
vendors all remind you that you're somewhere in the
Orient. But, you don't have to go far for a little
slice of the West.
So, when I moved from the hustle and bustle of convenient,
big city Taipei to the somewhat humble, slow, almost-moving-backwards
pace of Shinying, that's when I got my first real
taste of culture shock. Shinying is the capital of
Tainan County, in the south-west of Taiwan. It's a
very small town with two bars, a couple of supermarkets
and a few English schools. One of the hardest things
I found was how spread out everything is here. A great
convenience of Taipei is that everything is so accessible.
Taxis are in huge supply and, if you're short of money
then there's always the MRT. There is no MRT in Shinying
and you can only really find taxis at Shinying train
station. Shinying is a far more rural area of Taiwan
and, though we still have a couple of McDonalds, a
Pizza Hut and a KFC, you're thrust into the Taiwanese
way of life and definitely stand out more as a foreigner.
In Taipei, it is easier to blend in and go about your
business, but Shinying only has about 15 foreigners
and we all know each other. Being blonde, I found
it a little unnerving being stared at and considered
as an 'other' by the Taiwanese folk. But, this is
something that is always a little intimidating to
begin with and you do get used to it, as the people
get used to you.
Most of all, it's important to arrive here with an
open mind. I had initially expected people to be living
in shacks and to have very little contact with the
outside world. So, from that point of view, I was
pleasantly surprised. However, there is so much Eastern
culture to absorb and, although, Taiwan has certain
Western influences, it's a completely different way
of life and one that is certainly incredible to experience
for yourself. |
