#8august2015

Damn Taiwan, you sure are doing a lot of things right here.

I can also say that I’ve seen my first Typhoon. Not that it was a big one, but it was strong enough to take down a number of trees and decorations in the city and delay our travel plans by suspending the trains and buses for the day. Thanks a lot.

Aside from the food, which I’ve been trying my best to document by fighting my hunger and taking pictures of the food before I absolutely devour it, Taiwan has been absolutely amazing. To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect when going to a more developed Asian country because all I’ve known on this side of the world was the Philippines and Vietnam. Both of which are amazing countries and great places to visit, but they were both definitely fixer-uppers. Coming to Taiwan, I didn’t know how developed and industrial it would be, and naturally I compared it to the United States in every aspect because that’s what I knew and what I called home. But man, Taiwan has more than exceeded my expectations. More than just matched the sense of development and modernity that I was used to in the US, it has actually surprised me by being better than the US in many aspects.

I know it is pretentious and reeks of western arrogance to think that the US is the epitome of the developed world, but it was a mindset that I would say has been instilled in me by the American Dream and other social attitudes of America and Americans themselves. But having visited Taiwan, there’s an attitude that is apparent throughout the government, the people, and the way they interact with each other. There is a base level of respect that takes precedent over all else that I’ve been able to feel as a foreigner in this country.

 Daily interactions:

           It’s the little things. Truly, the little things that I’ve taken notice to really make it seem like the customer is always right, and that the chefs and employees of the restaurants have a lot of pride in their work and their business. Bowing and accepting payment with both hands is a small indication of this. I’ve seen workers noticeably work harder when people are waiting in lines to pay whether it be at a street vendor or at a clothing store; it feels as if they really do value your time. While I’m not the most observant person, these were some specific things I noticed about the people here that really surprised me.

           Even now, sitting at this train station, there’s been a periodic announcement that they are sorry for the delay in the trains and that we should help ourselves to complimentary pastries and water, paid for by the train station. While the weather and the typhoon are not the fault of the train stations, they are still insistent on apologizing for the inconvenience and are trying to compensate with some pretty tasty snacks.

It’s these little things that lead me to believe that business owners actually care more about their customer’s satisfaction than making money, WHAAAAAT