o tannenbaum

6 things i haven't told you about taiwan yet.

'80s fashion is in full swing here. if you walk down any street in downtown taoyuan, at least 60% of the high schoolers [who aren't wearing uniforms] will be in something that's mainly black, with neon accents. girls wear jeans skirts with black opaque tights and converse. their hair is often in a high pony tail or crimped and frizzed out with lots of chunky plastic accessories.

the cities are all spread out and between them there are just tons of rice paddies and other agriculture or open green space. on a pretty big chunk of the drive to da chu, i drive past a facade of buildings one layer deep, but behind it is just farm land and rice paddies. there must be a jasmine field on one section because it smells soooo good for about 3 minutes.

not many people use nalgene-type bottles. they usually have metal thermoses that they can keep tea or water in.

people take dogs of every size with them on the scooter. i've seen dogs in front baskets, dogs in people's laps, dogs in backpacks, and bazillions of dogs riding by people's legs. golden retreivers, huskies, poodles, you name it.

there are no tampons for sale.

lots of times if 2 people are carrying one grocery bag, each person will hold one handle. no matter the height difference. it looks really uncomfortable.