While the 16 hour flight to Taiwan was definitely not the most enjoyable experience, the drive into Taipei alone made it all worth it. Tall mountains loomed behind cities, and lush hills surrounded the highways we drove through. Having never seen landscapes like this before, I took dozens of pictures before we even got to our hotel. After dropping our luggage off and heading deeper into the city, I was even more in awe of what Taipei had to offer. The capital bustled with people and cars and motorcycles, and hundreds of shops lined the streets. We toured Liberty Square and learned about some of Taiwan’s history in National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. My favorite part of the city tour, however, was exploring the Taipei 101 building – the tallest skyscraper in the country. The view from atop was stunning – you could see the city and the hills and mountains framing it in their entirety. We walked through an extravagant shopping mall, and I ordered some delicious bibimbap from the food court below. The weather was admittedly rather uncomfortable, as it was hot and very humid, but it was easy to overlook when so many other aspects of Taipei grabbed my attention. Getting a sense for Taiwanese culture and the environment of Taipei was really interesting and allowed me to see all the similarities and differences with the places I grew up and lived in. People across Taipei and New York, for example, tend to respect each other’s space and generally keep to themselves as they traverse public transportation and busy streets. I’ve noticed in Taipei there is definitely a bigger market to sell products- food shops and vendors are in essentially every place you go, and it is rather tempting to check out the hundreds of stores you come across, especially because items are packaged and advertised in a very eye catching way. I have felt a bit of a challenge in communicating with locals as there is obviously the language barrier, however I think this will get easier over time as I adjust and find ways to communicate in a simpler and more efficient way, especially as Taiwanese people also put in great effort to get across what they want to say. Overall, I got a really good first impression of the country, and I’m very excited to continue exploring it!
