Overall thoughts on Taiwan.

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My time in Taiwan is drawing to a close, so it makes sense to have a bit of a summary of my experiences and thoughts on this vibrant and interesting country. I've been here for a year now, and have hugely enjoyed myself. It's changed my perception of traveling, and also the way I do things when I'm traveling. I haven't done all of things I wanted to do when I first arrived here, but faeces occurs, or something like that...



The highlights have undoubtedly been Tainan, hiking in numerous locations, and nights out in Taipei. Tainan is a gorgeous city in the South of the island, and used to be the capital city before Taipei. There are pretty temples abound, a warehouse that's been conquered by nature, and the Chimei Museum. Tainan has a less corporate feel than you get amidst the sky scrapers of Taipei. The Chimei Museum is outstanding, and is comprised of a huge weapons and armor collection, a natural history section, and a whole floor of fine art. I was enamored equally with the first two exhibitions, though I spent longer in the former as my friend was tired by the time we got to the latter. The overgrown warehouse was a personal highlight; it's situated in the outskirts of the city and upon entering, you're greeted with numerous trees that have grown through the foundations and structure of the warehouse. The roots are everywhere, and the effect is quite charming. There are bridges and viewpoints all around the outside, so that you can look down on the contrast of man-made structure and nature. The city is a little difficult to navigate for the outsider, and I caught a few taxis instead of attempting to use the bus system. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience!



Street markets and night markets here are amazing fun! Packed with wares, gambling stalls, food, drink, and (naturally) people; they offer a fairly frenetic option when it comes to dining out. I love them, and have tried all sorts of local food and drink, shot BB's at balloons, been asked for photos by locals, and have managed to avoid being run over by people on motorbikes, or people with errant food carts who can't see where they're going...



Teaching here has been amazing too, and is a definite highlight! I will be extremely sad to leave the school and the kids behind. Taiwanese kids have oodles of energy, great discipline, and are very affectionate too. There are numerous notes and pictures adorning the wall above my desk from students, and I'll be taking plenty of fond memories of the kids with me.



The 'lowlights' have been financial difficulties caused by misinformation from my school/company, my struggle with learning Chinese, and the usual cultural difficulties that are impossible to evade when living abroad. Despite having over 1000 pounds with me on arrival, I had a tough first few months due to lack of forewarning from my company with regards to how much (or indeed how little...) I'd be paid in my first month. The effects of this problem dogged me for 3 months or so, until I finally broke even money-wise after being here for nearly 4 months. There wasn't much going on during that time, and I was struggling to learn Chinese too. My enjoyment of Taiwan has increased tenfold since then; I've been able to travel, socialize, and eat well for the last 8 months. I'd already decided that I didn't want to spend a second year here, however, so the damage was already done.



Chinese is tough to learn (who knew?) and I briefly had a tutor, but had to stop due to the aforementioned financial issues. It's a tonal language, and the characters are difficult to read/learn too. Despite my ineptitude with the language, I can order food and have a super-basic conversation in Chinese, and can understand about 30 or 40 characters that I regularly use. Anything more than that is said to be tough to attain in your first year, so I've apparently not done too badly.



Taiwanese people don't often hold doors open for you, have awful spatial awareness, and are very rarely on time for anything that's been prearranged. These are things I've struggled with during my time here; particularly the last two. Cultural problems are part and parcel of travelling, and pointing them out often sounds like moaning... Which it is. I'm British, and we find a good moan to be most agreeable!



I mentioned at the start of the post that Taiwan has changed my perception of traveling, so let's talk a little more about that. I was initially determined to see as many places as possible, and shunned traveling with people in favor of traveling alone. I am now content merely to see a few countrywide highlights, to explore my more immediate surroundings extensively, and to spend time finding a lifestyle within the culture that suits me. I still prefer traveling alone, given the choice, but I've now had a few good experiences traveling with people too. I rarely traveled with people in Indonesia, preferring the independence and freedom of lone travel. Being able to speak reasonable Indonesian was a big help. In Taiwan, however, I'm a little less independent due to my poor level of Chinese. I've now become more patient with travel companions, and am much more comfortable with the idea of traveling with people.



I suspect some of this attitude change is due to my living alone in an apartment for the first time, as opposed to a shared house or university digs. I'm extremely comfortable with my own company, and have hugely enjoyed living alone. I do benefit from sharing the planning load with other travel companions, and most of them have been in Taiwan for longer than me, thus having more experience with travel in Taiwan, and have also better Chinese aptitude than I.



Taiwan has been an excellent life experience, and I've made friends here that I hope to stay in touch with for many years to come. I'll be here for about another week, before flying home for a fortnight between teaching positions. My next teaching position is in the country I've always dreamed of living in, and the country I initially applied for; Mexico! I'll be living in a homestay with a Mexican family in Puebla, and shall fly out in a few short weeks! I expect Mexico will be very different to Taiwan, Indonesia, and the UK, so watch this space...

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