The Culture

Taiwan has been full of new things, most of which have been bizarre foods. I've decided that even if I were to live here my entire life AND eat a different dish everyday, I would NEVER eat everything there was to eat here. It's absolutely INCREDIBLE how much of a role food has in Taiwanese (perhaps, Asian) culture! Almost every other topic begins with, "Ni you mei you chi guo___?" Have you tried____? Well, I hope to capture more of my eats while I'm here to show everyone. So far the bizarre things I've had include: baby snails (a package about the size of 2 fists for roughly $1.25--escargo anyone?), fried duck tongue, gelatinous pig's blood, intestines of all kinds, cow stomach, and a hamburger! I have yet to have any crazy bowel movements, which I'm incredibly surprised by since I expected to have a very adverse reaction to the food. Here's a picture of a dessert that I had (ice with random Asian edibles):


$3
steak with eggs!


Aside from food, I've learned a lot of other things. The difficulty of their education is completely reversed compared to the United States. Whereas, our elementary, middle, and highschool education can be fairly easy compared to college, Taiwan's education starts rough and ends with ease. Starting when they enter elementary school, students are disciplined by teachers to learn and memorize. In middle school they are given an exam that determines their placement into a high school, and from high school they remain in school from 8-5 (public) 8-10 (private)!!! For college, high school students take a year to prepare for the entrance exam--the SOLE, DETERMINING factor in selecting their college. However, once they enter college, without the constant surveillance and pressure from parents and teachers, students slack off. Instead of exams and essays, many of the times they give presentations. Classes are a joke! They text, chat, and completely ignore the professors. (This may just pertain to the college I attend, as it is an O.K. college--according to everyone I've heard from).

The most difficult part has been adjusting to the CURFEW at 11PM! At 11PM we are expected to be in our rooms waiting for our R.A. to come by and take attendance. This has taken some getting used to, as this has made many of the students into gamers... Warcraft, World of Warcraft, Diablo, etc. Here are a couple of pictures of my room and balcony's view.

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