A few memories not previously featured:

Because I think I’ll go back and read this later, I want to remember how I felt right at the end of this year abroad. I want to document what I missed from America, and what I would miss from Taiwan after leaving. So here’s my best shot at recording those feelings.

Things I missed about the United States: 🇺🇸

Carpet: It sounds crazy, but I hadn’t been in a room with carpet for more than a year. All the rooms in Taiwan had tiled flooring because of the humidity. Carpet would mold. I missed being able to walk around with bare feet and not having a bunch of little specks implanted into my heel.

My house/room: On the similar note, I missed my house. It had a dryer (no more hanging up clothes) and a dishwasher (no more hand-washing every dish used). I missed the cotton sheets on my plushy bed (mine were more of a polyester). I also missed the quiet, spread out streets with trees and yards and driveways.

Cooking: This brings me to the kitchen. We didn’t have an oven or a microwave, which took away the potential of cooking certain dishes, or easily reheating anything you made. I felt I had limited tools in the kitchen, which only allowed me to make certain things.

Grocery stores: I also felt limited in the ingredients I could find to cook the things I knew how to cook. They had pasta and sauce at most grocery stores, but not much else that I was familiar with. I had to go to a specialty grocery store to find ingredients for tacos or chili. The dairy was extremely expensive, so cheese and milk were not staples of mine in Taipei. The specialty grocery store also had extremely high prices for things that were common in the United States. Things I was used to paying $2 to $4 for were $8 or $9. The sour cream was marked up to like $15. One good thing was that occasionally I could go with someone who had a Costco membership and shop there. Costco’s pesto sauce was delicious.

Driving/the ease of going places quickly: I wasn’t very close to the MRT station, so it took about 15 minutes to rent a bike, travel to another bike station, park it, and then walk through the park to the entrance of the MRT. Then, the MRT took at least another 20 min to get into central Taipei, and more depending on where you were going. So, to go anywhere, you had to count an extra hour into your travel time for walking, biking, or waiting for the bus. The busses were convenient, just slow. I was used to driving exactly where I wanted to go whenever I wanted to go there, i.e. the shortest possible travel time. Public transportation is a big time suck. The part that was nice about it though was that I could never drive with all the scooters and craziness of the roads there, so at least I could rely on getting places safely.

Cars/normal driving conditions: Even though I wasn’t driving, crossing the street was a constant game of how closely could you cut off the pedestrian. It was like scooter drivers saw me and didn’t care that I was in the middle of the road. They just kept going. I missed roads where you knew the rules and people stop for you when you cross the street. A barrage of scooters is a force to be reckoned with.

Air quality: Speaking of scooters, they let out a ton of exhaust. The air always felt musty, never fresh. I would never intake a big breath of air outside because it often smelled like scooter smoke. The air was a lot better in the United States, at least where I lived.

Seeing the sky/sun: Because of all the tall buildings and how condensed the city was, I rarely saw a blue sky or the sun. Often it was overcast (not sure if it was because of the pollution or the weather), but a clear day was rare in Taipei’s skies.

Trees/grass/parks: Taipei’s parks were tiny and city-like. They didn’t have much grass or many trees. A lot of it was concrete and they’d have a jungle gym for kids in the center. I missed the big trees and grassy lawns in my neighborhood.

Access to Spotify/Pandora: I’m sure there was a way around this with a VPN, but I didn’t want to pay for a good one, so I just didn’t use them and opted for YouTube playlists instead. It was fine for the time, but I missed cooking to a good Pandora playlist. I was excited to listen again when I got back.

Chipotle/American food: I craved Chipotle since the first week I was there. They had a couple Mexican places around Taipei, but they just weren’t as good as Chipotle. I also missed American dishes. There were so many I hadn’t had for more than a year. Of course you could find hamburgers and fries around, but they didn’t have many other American options, or even foreign food options I was used to getting in America. There was maybe one restaurant for each type of cuisine, if that. I missed Greek food, Mediterranean food, Italian dishes outside of pizza and pasta, Mexican dishes outside of tacos and burritos, barbecue, hotdogs… there was just a lot they didn’t have.

Access to healthy food: A lot of the Taiwanese food was fried, especially the chicken and fish. Their vegetables would often be boiled and covered in an oily sauce. The meat had a lot of fat in it (Taiwanese people like fatty meat). I found it hard to find food that I considered healthy. I ate a lot of fruit. Vegetables were a little tougher, but I found a place near my bus stop that had salads. I also found little veggie cups at the supermarket nearby. I really craved crisp, raw vegetables since I felt like I hadn’t had them in a long time. In retrospect, I should have bought more from the grocery store and chopped up my own salad. Maybe I felt like I didn’t have time.

The dating scene: Disclaimer: While my summary here isn’t absolute (I’m sure many expat-native couples are truly in love), this is just my take on what I saw, heard about, and experienced myself…

White guys in Taiwan, and probably most of Asia, seemed to have it easy attracting Asian women. Asian girls are drawn to white guys because they’re more forward and flirtatious than their Asian, male competition, who are often bashful and coy. Plus, they look a lot like those romantic guys in the movies. To many Asian women they’re “manly,” “handsome,” and maybe if they played their cards right, a pass to citizenship in the United States, England, or Australia. Meanwhile, the white guys find the Asian girls easy, exotic, and low-commitment since they’re planning on leaving. It was rare to see a white guy out in public without a fawning Taiwanese girl on his arm. I saw so many instances in which the girl didn’t know enough English to respond to what the guy was saying, so it resulted in him talking in a dumbed-down manner the entire time, and her nodding along and smiling. It was actually pretty gross.

When I was looking to date, I wanted to be able to talk to the guy and have them understand me, so being fluent in English was a top criteria in what I was looking for. Only thing was, all the English speakers had “exotic” Asian girls coming at them right and left, so they had literally no interest. I missed going into a place where a girl could get a little attention and not be immediately cast aside for a girl they couldn’t even talk to. You may be wondering why the opposite wasn’t true, like Asian guys being super into white girls. Like mentioned above, many are extremely shy, so even if they were interested, they wouldn’t be forward about it. Not to mention, I think most Taiwanese guys are looking for a serious relationship, seeing it as more of a trial for marriage than a casual fling. In the dating world, the cards were definitely stacked against the female English teachers. It was frustrating to experience and witness.

Things I will miss about Taiwan: 🇹🇼

Mangoes: It’s not surprising this is the first thing on my list. Everyone who talked to me the whole year knew if there was a mango in sight, I bought it. The tropical fruit in Taiwan was unmatchable. The mangoes, the pineapple, the guava… it never got old.

Seven Eleven: It was nice to go into a Seven Eleven and do whatever you needed. You could get cash, buy/print tickets, pick out food that they’d heat up for you in the microwave, add money to your cellphone data plan, add money to your MRT card, pick up packages, pay bills, or drop off and pick up laundry. Granted, I only did some of those things because of the language barrier, but it would be nice if you could do all of those things at an American Seven Eleven.

The nearby travel: Being so close to other Asian countries made it super easy to do a short trip to somewhere typically very far away from me. Over the course of the year, I went to Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, Singapore, and Malaysia. Cheaply! Which brings me to my next point…

Everything was cheap: Well, almost everything was cheap. Western food and products were often more expensive than at home because it was imported and not common there. But everything else was a total deal. Rent was the cheapest I’ve ever paid in my life, about $180 a month to live in the country’s capital. Of course, city-center was more expensive; we were a bit on the outskirts in New Taipei City, but still. That’s very affordable. Hotels and flights were incredibly reasonable. My phone data was $10 a month. Utilities on our apartment ranged from a few dollars to ten dollars. Taiwanese food and even other Asian food like Vietnamese or Thai were a few bucks for a meal.

Some of the food: Gua bao was delicious (it’s like an Asian taco with shredded beef, pickled greens, and crushed peanuts). Also, a lot of the stir fry, especially the fried rice, was hard to beat. Japanese curries were also a nice change of pace, as well as Vietnamese pho. Sushi was cheap and delicious, and I did like the buffet near my work (you could pile your plate with meat, fish, veggies, noodles, rice… anything) and it was usually just a few dollars. Near the end of my year, a food truck with Cuban sandwiches and wraps started popping up near my work, so then I went there every day for lunch. I really liked the cashier lady— she always gave me a free wintermelon tea and was really friendly.

Healthcare: Having national healthcare was legit! It’s a small country, so it worked there. America’s healthcare situation is another beast. But in Taiwan, you could just walk into a doctor’s office, get a number, and see a doctor on the spot. Also, the visit was usually $8, and it often covered your prescriptions too. The pharmacies were attached to the doctors’ offices, so you could get your medicine on the way out. The dentist was even cheaper: $3 for X-rays and teeth cleaning. With your health insurance card (complete with a chip), they could pull up all of your medical history. The only annoying thing about seeing the Taiwanese doctor was that they always wanted to give you the lowest possible dosage of medicine to see if it worked before giving you the strong stuff. This often resulted in me being sick for weeks and having to go back multiple times because what they gave me did nothing. I actually demanded antibiotics once when I knew it was really bad, and I convinced the doctor to prescribe me some. All the doctors knew English fairly well, so most of the time I didn’t need Tammy to help me out with translation, but sometimes she was crucial to the visit depending on how good at English the doctor was. All in all, their system was a lot better than ours.

The guy I passed every day on my way to work: There was a guard for the garage of a building who I passed on my way to the bus stop every day. He was really friendly and always waved to me. Every day he seemed so excited to see me, and had a huge smile on his face whenever I passed. I always wonder if he wondered what happened to me after I stopped showing up at the same time every day.

Some of my students: I really liked some of my students, especially a few in my kindergarten class. I don’t think they fully understood I wouldn’t be coming back next year, but it’s probably for the best because I didn’t want them to get sad. Some of the kindergarteners were really funny, good at English, and paid attention in class. Those students were my favorite. I also had a handful that I liked from my Treehouse 6, Treehouse 11, and IA classes. They were usually the ones who behaved well, did their homework, and put effort into assignments. It made me realize all the frustration my teachers went through and how much they probably loved me (a total rule follower).

Tammy: Tammy was a big reason I even returned to Taiwan in the first place. She was the perfect person to have as a roommate. She always helped me out whenever I needed it, even going with me certain places to help translate. I showed her how to make a few American dishes; I hope she remembers and is making them in Japan now! (Somehow I think that’s not the case :P) I’m sure she’s having tons of delicious Japanese food. It was great getting to spend more time with my former language partner and “sister.”

Board game group: I was a bit lost before I found my main group of friends in Taiwan, the board games group. It became the thing I looked forward to every week. It got me through the tough days of teaching. Other teachers there had similar experiences to me and it made me feel like I wasn’t so bad at teaching after all. Not to mention, the group of people are some of the coolest and most fun people I’ve ever met. Our affinity for Avalon and Secret Hitler didn’t hurt either. I’m so glad I found this group. I absolutely loved all of them, and it made my time in Taiwan so much more full. We’d also plan things outside of board games, and they became true friends over time. Having good friends is really important, and especially so when you’re in a foreign country. I don’t know what I would have done without them.

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I know there was a lot of things I missed in the United States or didn’t like about Taiwan, but all in all I’m so glad I went. Living in Taiwan for a year was on my “life bucket list” and I would have always regretted it if I didn’t go. Some parts of living abroad were hard, but that’s what I signed up for— the whole experience. Teaching was definitely not for me, and I had a really rough time with it and getting the students to behave, but it gave me a new appreciation for teachers and how hard their job is. Everything difficult gave me a new perspective that I hadn’t gotten before, and I’m grateful for all of it.

Not to mention, the travel within and outside of Taiwan made everything worth it too. I got to see much more than I ever expected I could in the time I had. I am so thankful for the entire trip, all the people I met along the way, and getting to experience a role I’ve never been in before (both as a teacher and as an expat). Figuring out every little thing from transport to banking was a bit of a hassle, but showed me a glimpse of what it’s like for foreigners in the United States, and it gave me an even deeper respect for immigrants. I was lucky to have friends to show me the way, like Tammy and Howard, but many people don’t have anyone to give them a hand. I am happy to be back, but so grateful for my time there and everything it taught me about Asia and myself. I hope my students remember at least a little of what I taught them, and that they remember the fun times in our classes. I certainly won’t forget them.