Q&A Friday - Week 1

Some of you ended up really stepping up and hitting me with a lot of good questions.  I picked some of the ones that I had the best answers to and they are below.  I plan on normally having Q&A Friday posts up earlier on Friday for you guys but the last couple of days have been really busy.  I made it safely to Taichung.  I am settled in (for the most part) into our new house.  I have my own room.  We have a week to get acclimated to our new environment and to do some lesson planning.  

1. What is your favorite new food that you have had while there? (From Ellen)
I think my most favorite staple food has been Dan Bing.  I've talked about it a few times.  Just google Dan Bing, it will give you a great idea of what it looks like.  I have never been a huge fan of eggs (right, Ma?) but when Dan Bing was the breakfast offered my first day in Taiwan I was freshly determined to try many new foods and so I dug in.  Thus a love affair began.  A Dan Bing with cheese and bacon/ham is really the best way to start the day.  Especially if it is chased with some green tea with lemon! I never thought I would love something egg based so much.  I have to learn out to make it and I will whip up a batch for everyone when I get home!

 2. Do you stand out with your blond hair? (From Linda)
Oh yes.  Yes I do.  Very much so.  Because it has been so hot my hair has been pulled back about 90% of the time I've been here.  When it is pulled back I get stopped occasionally for my skin and just being different.  However, when I have my hair down I get stopped significantly more.  Just tonight we were at the night market in Taichung and I had many people stop and stare at me, a few people tried to inconspicuously take pictures, a young girl called me an angel, and a few people just really wanted to say hello.  As we were driving down here we encountered many tolls.  As the driver the toll keepers would see me coming and they all had some pretty great responses.  One man just kept bowing as the car came up to his booth, he really didn't know what to do.  One woman just stared at me with her eyes wide open, she was absolutely speachless.  I think it is really rare for them to see a Western woman with blond hair driving a car, let alone a car that looks like a cow! (I'll explain that later.)  My Taiwanese and Singaporean friends here tell me that the people I talked with tonight probably ran home to their families and told them ALL about the blond girl they saw today.  They will tell everyone they see for weeks about the white girl.  At first it really made me nervous but I am starting to feel okay with it.  It makes me more conscious of what I am wearing and how I look when I go out.  I am aware that I am representing an entire country to some of the people I meet.  

3. Are there many cars? Small? Do you see a lot riding bicycles? (From Linda)
There are many cars here and for the most part they look exactly the same as the states.  You see new Toyota Corollas and Ford Fusions and Honda Civics a lot.  They have some oddly shaped trucks and vans but I think actually American versions of those things are the weird ones and that everyone else does it the same as they do it here in Taiwan.  There are more cars in Taichung than in Kaohsiung and the traffic here can get pretty bad sometimes.  There are not many people riding bicycles because it is SO hot.  Most people drive scooters.  There is a road biking culture here.  We've seen whole groups of Taiwanese people training for bike races.  There are also apparently a lot of mountain bikers - I haven't seen any but I've heard about it.  

4. Do they have places for massages? Spas? (From Linda)
Yes.  In fact, I just got a massage this week.  I went with my boss and his family who were visiting.  They invited me a long since I hadn't had one here and it is very much a thing to do.  For a 90 minute Thai massage I paid 600 NT which is the equivalent to USD$20.  Yes, that is correct, no typo.  It was amazing.  The woman was Vietnamese so I had no hopes of understanding her.  It was the type of massage where they hold on to a grip in the ceiling and walk on your back.  I thought it would hurt but it was great!  It was very aggressive though.  I grunted a few times and occasionally I would start laughing really hard but the next day I felt so great I think I might go pretty often.  There are spas as well.  It is fairly cheap to get manicures here although I think hair cuts for women still might be equally as expensive.  I will let you know.  
*** Speaking of haircuts.  I am thinking of getting my hair cut really short, like a pixie cut, for those who know.  Any input?***

5.  Do they have shopping malls? Are there American stores?  How does pricing compare? (From Janet)
Yes, they do.  They are exactly like big malls you would find in any American metropolis.  In a Taiwanese mall you could easily convince me that if I walked through the doors I would step out onto a NYC street instead of a Taiwanese one.  The stores are not the same for the most part.  They have a lot of Prada, Gucci, Michael Kors, etc.  The Taiwanese really like to shop and they like to have good brands.  There are definitely status symbols here.  I have a post in the works regarding socioeconomic classes and the most definitive status symbol - the bag.  Pricing here is really confusing.  Sometimes something is so insanely cheap it hurts your brain, other times it is far more expensive than you were thinking.  I got a scooter helmet yesterday in perfect condition for USD$5 but at the same time a tiny bottle of Aloe Vera can be USD$11.  Tonight I bought a new watch and a new pair of shoes for a grand total of USD$20. 

I apologize for the lack of picture in this post.  I have a few questions I will save for next week but if you have anything to ask just send it in.  Thank to those who have contributed thus far!