You asked, we (hopefully) answered! A little Q&A about life in Taiwan

WHERE is Taiwan?

Taiwan is that little Island off the coast of China, below Japan and Korea and above the Phillipines. We are not IN China, and we are not Thailand.

How far away is Taiwan from Canada?

Expect to travel for a full day. Only you’ll cross an international date line and go 3 hours back in time when you hit Vancouver, then sit on a plane for another 14 to Hong Kong and cross another line which will propel you 12 (or 13) hours in the future. When you arrive in Taiwan your body won’t be totally sure what time it is, and won’t know whether it should be asleep or awake, but you’ll probably be hungry, regardless of being fairly well fed on the planes!

(Flying over the Rockies, one of our last glimpses of Canada!)

What was the easiest thing to get used to in your first few months?

Depending on how we’re feeling we might answer something different every time. But in general, we had both used chopsticks at home so we were pretty well prepared by the time we moved here (our first test was on the plane!). Dave adapted really quickly to driving a scooter, and Steph did fairly well with picking up Chinese here and there.

(Our scooter's name is Buzz, like the space ranger)

What do you miss most about Canada BESIDES family and friends?

So many things!! Food seems to be a big one… we really miss cheese and maple anything. Certain places have come up quite a bit as well. We really do miss the people at home, but we also miss some of our favourite ‘spots’- the Island, the stretch between the Soo and Manitoulin just as you’re coming through the rock guardians, stopping at the Blind River Timmy’s to get an ice cap or lemonaide or hot chocolate and coffee if it’s cold outside. I guess some of the places are a little hard to describe, but they make my (Steph) heart ache sometimes as much as if they were real people.

(There's nothing quite like sitting on your parent's front porch with a cat and a good book!

What do you not miss from Canada that is better in Taiwan?

Most things are considerably cheaper. We can easily buy a week’s worth of fruit and veg for about $6 CND. We pay about half of what we would in Canada on rent and hydro/ water.

Winter is cold here, but it’s a wet cold rather than a dry cold like most parts of Canada. But there isn’t snow here so we don’t have to worry about winter driving!

The week starts on Monday, not Sunday. I think it’s pretty clever to not break your week up in the middle of your time off.

I already mentioned that fresh fruit and veg are cheaper, but the fruit selection here is amazing. Different fruits have different growing seasons, but between them fruit grows here in Taiwan ALL YEAR LONG. So far we’ve feasted on watermelon (they are honestly so big that we don’t have enough room to hold a whole one in our fridge. Even a normal sized fridge would still have to cut it up to make it fit!), pineapple, mango (mango season is NOW!), lychee, passionfruit (the season is coming up… I (Steph) absolutely CAN’T WAIT!), orange/  clementine, strawberries (we even got to pick some!), guava (my fav), dragon fruit, apples (imported from the States….), grapes, Asian pear… Plus there are different varieties so there’s always something new to try!

(Mmmm.... giant mangoes!)

Is there smog?

Not near as much as we had expected. China is kind of notorious for their smog, but here in Taiwan we’re relatively okay. We live in a city so there definitely is a good amount of smog, just not as much as we expected, living so close to China. There is TONS of light pollution, though!

Does Taiwan make you feel taller than you did in Canada?

Absolutely. Dave is almost always the tallest one in the room and Steph can usually see over all the women (and some men)’s heads.

What do you do to beat the heat?

Stay inside. Turn on the AC. Turn on the fan. Take cool showers. Drink lots of water and tea. Move verrrrrrry slowly. Stay in the shade. Wear as little clothing as possible (Steph’s dress code at work is long pants or skirts, so she tries to wear skirts with leggings as often as possible so she’s not wearing jeans on the hottest days. Dave can sometimes get away with wearing shorts at work, depending on what’s going on that day). Eat light food (salads, fruit, ect). We don’t swim as much as we’d like to as the beach is a considerable distance away and we have to take the scooter so we’d be driving back wet (which, when sitting on a scooter for 20 minutes in the wind, isn’t always the most enjoyable experience!).

I think (correct me if I’m wrong) that Taiwan is in essence the pre-communist government of China in exile. How much emphasis is placed on building lasting ties with the international community in Taiwan amongst the local populace? Have you noticed or heard of any cultural discrepancies between China and Taiwan?

Phew. That’s a doozy that I’m hardly qualified to answer.

Here are a few links you can check out to read about the history of Taiwan.

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/taiwan/history

http://www.taiwannation.com.tw/english.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Taiwan

But here’s what I do know. Taiwan has been invaded by a few different countries (including some of my own heritage, the Dutch), so there are major influences from a variety of cultures in this island, just like many other parts of the world.

Taiwan is NOT China. It is in the Republic of China (ROC), though.

We have a president, and are not considered a communist country.

If you ask a Taiwanese person if they are Chinese, the most common response is NO. Often followed by an explanation that generations ago one of their ancestors may have come from China or Japan or the Philippines or America or Canada or Thailand or another part of the world. Taiwan has a thriving colony of immigrants just like other countries.

The main languages of Taiwan are Chinese (Mandarin), Taiwanese and English. Many people can also speak Japanese (the Taiwanese seem to LOVE Japan- it’s a very popular tourist destination!).

Taiwanese value international travel, and often try give their children the opportunity to study abroad. Which is why Taiwan accepts so many foreign teachers and has so many cram schools. They really value English as a second (or sometimes third!) language and the doors it opens to international travel and work.

There are some definite similarities, though. Many of the holidays we celebrate here in Taiwan are the same or similar to the ones celebrated in China. Food is often similar (except, from what I’ve been told, Taiwan ALWAYS has better food and better air. Dave and I also live in the food capitol of Taiwan, so we could be a little biased as well!). The Mandarin is the same, except here in Taiwan we use the traditional characters and in China they often used the simplified version.

What’s different about etiquette there compared to here?

Eating is probably the first thing you’d notice. Chopsticks are our main form of cutlery, and it’s not only polite but also practical to raise your dish to your mouth when you eat. Food is often presented family-style, so you just dip your chopsticks right in that dish or plate and put what you want in your own bowl! Taiwanese also often chew with their mouths open and talk with their mouths full (like, can’t-understand-you full). Why? I’m not sure.

Also, check out this fantastic article from Chineasy about some fun facts about chopsticks. 

(Like our chopsticks? They have pandas on the end and match!)

And while Canadians are polite, the Taiwanese are SUPER-helpful. To the point that they will go out of their own way to make sure you get to your destination. It’s pretty amazing, actually. You really don’t need to worry that much about getting lost in Taiwan- the people will always try to help you find your way again!

Relationships are also very important to Taiwanese people, so 'saving face' is a HUGE deal. It's happened before where blame gets placed on you (even if it isn't necessarily your fault) just so someone else looks good in front of their peers or friends. Kind of like when you tell a kid to hurry up because YOU'RE late.

The driving is insane. Red lights are more of a suggestion, as are signal lights. No one looks around, only forward, and if you see and opening you just go.

(This isn't our city, thankfully!)

What does city water taste like?

We have no idea. We have to buy or boil all our water (and it’s honestly easier to just pop downstairs to the 7-11 below our building a buy a jug), but it varies in taste from fresh to tasting like plastic.

When are you coming home?

We’re currently working on a contract renewal with the company Steph works for. We won’t be staying for another full year, but we also won’t be coming home until 2015. We’ll keep you posted when we have our return dates!

What’s it like to walk down a random main street in Tainan?

Like this. 

(I realize this is a scooter trip, but honestly, re-watching the walking one just made me dizzy...)

Hopefully that satisfies some curiosity for now! However, we love answering questions and talking about life here in Taiwan so we missed one you wanted answered, feel free to fire away!!