McAsia

One of the many things people notice in Asia is the “Americanization” of Asia, and the people’s obsession with American things. Almost every corner of the major cities in Taiwan and Japan there exists a McDonald’s or a 7-11. It is quite surprising to see how deep American culture has rooted itself into Asia but it’s comforting as well. I don’t think I would have survived Taiwan without those 7-11 or McDonald’s. I’ve definitely been to McDonald’s and 7-11 more times in Asia than I have in the past 5-6 years in America. Although these places originated in America , I must say I keep returning to these places because they’ve surpassed American branches in quality and service. The servers are definitely friendlier and get your food faster, and a plus, you can order a smile at McDonald’s in Japan for 0 yen. Looking at the food in an American 7-11 alone is dangerous, trying to eat one of their hot dogs might kill you. I also like being able to go to 7-11 with a low chance of getting shot or robbed, something that isn’t guaranteed at the American ones. The food at Asian 7-11’s not only taste good but are cheap, and are definitely a far cry from the American ones.

A unique aspect about American chain restaurants in Asia is that their menu is tailored for whatever locale they’re in, so much of the food can’t be found in America. Many of the portions in Asia are way smaller than their American counterparts, for example a small soda in Japan is about the size of a double shot. But I did find one American sized item in Taiwan; the double Big Mac and double spicy chicken sandwich. Pretty much two sandwiches stacked on top of each other in a glorious mound. One difference I also noticed was that all the fast food places in Taiwan (McDonald’s, KFC, etc) had delivery service for free, which we really took advantage of. What a great way to hasten you onto obesity. And another plus in Asia, no tips. Now, in America I don’t mind tipping my waiter/waitress if they’ve been on top of things, but tipping in America is now out of control at nearly 18-20%. What’s worse is that now it’s expected that you tip even though you get crap service. It’s definitely a sight to see to have people serving their customers happily and efficiently without receiving a tip.

Something that differs in Japan from both Taiwan and America is that you pay American prices for Taiwanese sized portions. Because the portions are smaller, there is more care put into the preparation of the food and better quality of ingredients. I admit this makes you eat more slowly and definitely savor every bite, but sometimes I just want my 5 lb steak and just go to town on it.

Mega-post

So its been awhile since I've updated so I guess I'll make it into a sort of double mega post. Right now I'm out of Taiwan and in Tokyo. Looking back Taiwan was an experience with both the ups and downs. I must say that without the roommates I had I probably wouldn't have survived Taiwan haha. They've got to be some of the most entertaining guys I know. A month was a bit long to stay in Taiwan but I did get to see alot more than I expected even though half of it was mountains and grass. It was an experience to see a completely different world outside of California and to see how other people lived. The differences between Asia and the U.S. are pretty stark, and in some ways, Asia has surpassed America.

If you've never been to Taiwan or seen outside of Taipei I would recommend this program. I can't say whether you'll have a good or bad experience but it will be an experience and that you will meet new people. A quick rundown of the program. Its a month-long program where the first two weeks you have class in the mornings and they bus you around Taipei to the different sites. Then for the next 10 days its bus trip around the island of Taiwan where you stop and see different sites. The program is Taiwanese Gov't sponsored where all you have to pay for is airfare and about $600 so its definitely worth the price. Couple people have asked me about the program so i'll give you the info here. Applications open up around Dec or Jan and are due at the end of Feb. you can go to their website here (www.ocac.gov.tw) and click on English and search for their application.

One last funny thing before I move onto Japan. We were walking along the river front (which is like Venice kinda) in Danshui and there's alot of old people fishing. After leaving a store we look over and we see this old dude peeing into the river and right next to him downstream is another old dude fishing haha. Straight out of Borat. But now onto Japan.

After being in Taipei Main Subway Station I didn't think it'd be possible for it to be even more crowded. Imagine Bruin Walk first day of class when all the lost freshmen and people going to class crowd that street, and now multiply it by 10 and you have Tokyo. Everything is mad hectic and the population density is ridiculous. The most amusing thing I've noticed is the overwhelming amount of bad English t-shirts and funny signs you see around town. Its got to be some of the funniest things I've seen (so I'm taking pictures of them haha). Everyone also walks twice as fast as a normal human being. No matter where you go people are rushing around running to their next train station.

I must say I feel completely out of my element in Japan. Even though Taiwan was different, I could generally speak the language and get around but here I have to completely rely on my friend Saki. I feel like I'm 12 years old. But I did make my first order in Japanese the other day, and that was to order a milkshake at McDonald's haha. I'm running out of batteries on my laptop but next post will be soon! Cuz Japan is pretty crazy and wayyyy different than America haha.

Splurge

So it has been awhile since I’ve updated and I do have quite a bit to update. For the past week and a couple days more the next part of the program I’m in includes a round island trip where we take a bus around Taiwan and visit different cultural sites and whatnot. I must say it has been an enlightening experience with many great pics along the way (as you can see if you keep up with my photo portfolio d40dan.shutterfly.com), but as the trip has gone on there has sadly been more cons than pros. But we’ll get around to that.

One thing that has always amused me was whenever I went somewhere touristy like Disneyland or around Hollywood there are always those tour busses full of fobby Asians following a tour guide with a flag. We may find it strange in the U.S. but in Asia it seems to actually be part of the culture. Our trip consists of taking the busses around to different sites and along the way we stop for meals and at these places we stop at, it seems to be dedicated for tour busses to come through. All the places have vendors selling Asian snacks that you see in 99 Ranch, and the meals always have the same thing and hold other people on tour busses. At every place we’ve stayed or stopped at to eat there has always been stale chicken nuggets, soggy French fries, and of course corn. I know for a fact that corn was never a native plant to Taiwan so who knows how it got so integrated into their diet. And those vendors haggle non-stop to always try and get you to buy Pineapple shortcakes and dried squid.

Another funny thing, as we go out farther and farther from Taipei the places we stay get more and more ghetto. No longer do people civilize the jungle, but the jungle takes over everything, houses, streets, and cars. I feel like I’m living in a zoo haha, there are mad bugs everywhere as well as other wonderful wild life such as geckos and lizards running around on the walls. In the forests I also saw a few spiders bigger than my hand; out here people don’t run things f’sure. So one set of pics I had to upload was one of the hostels we stayed at. Somehow someone thought it was a great idea to put the toilet in the same stall as the shower as well as have the whole bathroom outside. Perfect for the user who whenever needs to step outside to used to bathroom gets eaten alive by bugs and mosquitoes.

I must say the scenery and the sites we’ve seen has been breathtaking but if you’ve noticed a pattern in my pics, it does get repetitive after awhile. There are only so many rock structures, mountains, and green I can take before it’s all just one mashed up blob of green.

I think one thing that everyone notices about Asia is how small everything is compared to America, especially the food portions. A medium sized portion in America is a large in Taiwan. Food is cheap here in Taiwan but ironically by the time I eat enough to get full I’ve spent about the same amount as I would have for a meal in America.

The one thing that saves the tiny portions here are the 7-11’s. Unlike American 7-11’s where chances of you getting shot or getting E. coli from a hotdog run high, the Asian 7-11’s are pretty high end. Offering all kinds of actually good food at decent prices; think of it as a Nijiya/Mitsuawa at 99 cent store prices. If it wasn’t for all the rice balls and ham sandwiches they sold, I would probably look like a stick right about now.

And the bathrooms, man are they small. Now, I’m not a big person but one bathroom I went into I couldn’t even close the door fully because my knees stuck out into the door. That’s just ridiculous.

A cultural thing I noticed in Taiwan that I’ve never seen anywhere else is their receipts. Apparently, every receipt that is printed is also a lottery ticket. And every couple of days they announce off a few numbers and you can win different amounts of money per lottery ticket. Now that’s pretty cool, never thought I could win more money by simply buying groceries. And if you don’t want to keep your receipts you can donate them to charity or homeless people hang around outside collecting them.

But since I’m in the middle of nowhere right now, internet is pretty spotty so I’ll call it a night for now and upload before I lose everything I wrote. Try not to have too much fun without me guys haha jk. Till next post!

Welcome to Mars

Star date: June 9th, 2009

I must say I feel like I’ve landed on a completely different planet. Everything here is pretty much completely different. Even the air, and omg the air is insane. What kind of place has a temperature of 86 degrees at night with a humidity of like 100%! Trying to breathe normally is a chore in itself. I am look looking forward to the day time that’s f’sure. And the smell of Taiwan, that’s one thing I tried to prepare myself for but still couldn’t get used to it. For those of you guys who have lived in the dorms at UCLA, imagine walking out of the airport and the whole country smelling like those smelly Rieber stairs on a hot summer day with no breeze. For those that haven’t lived in UCLA or was lucky enough to not go near Rieber ghetto, imagine your toilet clogging and overflowing on a 90 degree July day and the windows are sealed shut and you’re still in the bathroom. Yes, it’s that pungent.
And the bugs, they’re outta control! I’ve seen bugs I’ve never seen in my life, it feels like Taipei was built in the middle of the jungle and the jungle is now angry as hell and trying to take it back. There are millions of lizards running around, and the trees are straight out of the Jungle Book. (See pics of the buidling’s backyard).

I must say I love how everything is so cheap here! I mean I know Chinese people try to cut as many deals as they can back at home, but here it’s insane. You can pretty much buy whatever you want at a cheaper price (and that is just me in the convenience store downstairs)! Although whether it lasts on you, or if you get sick from it is up to luck. I bought a giant bottle of water, and feel a tad bit queasy already haha.

From my stop-over in Tokyo I must say I can’t wait to go to Japan, it’s like Star-Trek come to life! The first place I went to was the bathroom and it was like sitting in Capt. Kirk’s chair. All these automated buttons and dials where the toilet will wash AND dry your ass for you. Now that’s comfort haha. I spent about 10mins outside of the bathroom struggling to get in because I thought it was a push kind, but not in Japan. There’s a button and the door slides open for you! I did find it kind of ironic though, despite all the automated toilets and faucets, you still had to step on the little pedal to open the trash can lid.

So , I went around taking pics of the building and the crazy jungle trying to creep in on the city. I put up a few here and you can see the rest at http://d40dan.shutterfly.com

p.s. my Chinese sucks haha being illiterate is not the way to go. Be cool stay in school lol (sorry pics coming later when the internet stops being retarded and not kicking me off)

-edit- pics are up on shutter fly and scrolling down there

Asia the Humid Land of Anime and the Future

Humid, hot, polluted, smelly, and big ass bugs. Those are just some of the things that just come to mind when I think of Taiwan. Yes yes I know, I've heard of all the great things bout Taiwan too. How I can buy anything I want for cheap (i.e. Folex watches and Chenel purses) as well as their awesome phones and really good food.

But despite the wonderful tales of travel told by friends and what I've seen in National Geographic, Taiwan is a great place but I never had any real desire to go. The places I've always wanted to visit has been Europe to see the famous buildings and paintings that exist.

But this year, I must say I got an opportunity that was too good to pass up and so I'm headed off to Taiwan for a month and then Japan for a week and a half...woo woo.

To give a little background, I've never been out of North America before. That is not to say I haven't traveled extensively. I've been all over Canada as well as West and East coast but just never to other continents. Canada can't really count as traveling to a foreign country since it's just a little America except cleaner and more polite.

Now, back to the present. So earlier this year my parents made me apply to this program where if you get in the Taiwanese gov't pays for those American born kids to come to Taiwan for a month and I guess see what there is there. It's kinda cool since room and board are paid for, and being unemployed free food is always a plus. Since I'm out in Taiwan I'd probably get more bang for my buck if I go to other places in Asia too, hence my stop for a week and a half in Japan.

So for this trip, I'll be blogging here bout my experiences and impressions of Taiwan and Japan through the eyes of a white washed Asian kid haha. I must say I have a lot of preconceived notions of Asia shaped through friends, movies, and generally what my weird mindset conceives. I'll be posting up selected pics and stories here, but if you want to check out all my pics I'll be uploading as I go along on my digital portfolio here: http://d40dan.shutterfly.com/

I head out July 7th through Aug 6th to Taiwan and then Aug 6th through the 14th in Japan. If you guys want anything let me know!

(still getting the hang of this site so some posts may show up funny or I'll have to test things out, but click below to be a follower or a member of my portfolio, the more the merrier!!)


-edit-

yes yes I know the pics below aren't of Taiwan yet, it's from my portfolio and using that album as a test one lol (Taiwan pics will come!)