HOT or NOT - Taiwan style

I've only been here for three weeks, but these are some quick observations about Taiwan "HOT of NOT" style:

Transportation - HOT: The subway system here is GREAT. Luckily we live one block from a metro subway station. It takes me a few minutes to travel halfway across town to get to my school. The taxis are also plentiful and easy to find.

Cost of Living - HOT: Coming from the USA, many things are less expensive here in Taiwan. Rent, food, electronics, furniture...you name it, it's typically at least 75% cheaper here. The only things that seem to be more expensive are Western imported foods or restaurants.

Painted Toenails - NOT HOT: While a majority of the people wear open-toed shoes, at least 90% of the women do not paint their toenails. I actually prefer the au natural look, so that's fine by me. There is a limit thought, some of these people should probably invest in some toe covered shoes because their feet look like something out of a Tolkien novel.

Street Sewage Smell - NOT HOT: For the most part, the streets here are very clean. Every block or so though, you will get smacked in the face with the "did someone just shit in their pants?" smell. Inevitably there is a grated street cover that more than likely is funneling human waste underneath it. Not too bad, much better than China, but not as good as the USA.

SARS Face Masks - HOT: It is completely common here to see maybe 10% of the people on the streets walking around with face masks. Supposedly these are for people who ride the scooters on the streets, but I've mostly seen them on people walking and on the subway. I think it is to stop the spread of disease and sickness. As a hypochondriac, and someone with Howard Hughes-like cleanliness OCD, I highly endorse this behavior.

TV Shows - NOT HOT: It seems like most of the television shows are a group of 3-5 adults talking about something with about 20 people in the background. Guests, dating, musical performances, etc. Just imagine "America's Funniest Home Videos" with 5 Bob Sagget's as hosts, you get the picture.

Washing Machine Dryers - NOT HOT: Almost everyone here dries their clothes by hanging them in the rear of their apartments. This is perfectly fine in a normal environment, but with an average humidity of at least 50%, nothing ever really dries. I'm used to just wearing my wet jeans and letting my body temperature "dry them". This also really stinks when you never have your bath towels really drying. Fungus forms very quickly, so you get out of the shower and wipe your "clean" face with a towel full of smelly fungus.

Dyed Hair - HOT: First off, I'm the last person to comment on hair or hairstyles. I'm going bald, going grey and whatever hair I have left looks like it was something left over from a 1970's Jesus Christ Superstar production. Having said that, I'd say most (at least 75% is my guess) of the people who start going grey here dye their hair. Actually no one has the "old lady" blue dye look which is good, it just looks strange as the hair is growing out with the contrast of colors. The clash of black hair and grey may be the reason of so much hair dying. Also "Emo" hairstyles are all the rage here with the young male youth.

Supermarkets - NOT NOT: It seems like most people buy a majority of things at 7-11 (they are everywhere, much like the liquor stores in LA). I was only able to go to one "supermarket". This was a Walmart style "everything in one place" where we got the electrocution tennis racket. I have not seen one liquor store, I don't think they drink too much in Taipei (good for them, bad for me).

I'm not saying Taiwan is better or worse than the USA, it's just different. There are thousands of things that make no sense whatsoever in the USA, but we still continue to do them. Every society seems to have its unique peculiarities, I'm just here to document them.

Jim