One

 I am very impressed by how clean the subways and streets are. American public transit has very big issues with safety and cleanliness and it is kind of shocking to walk around a metropolitan area and not have to watch out for waste or needles. 

There is a rule here that you cannot eat or drink on the train, even water bottles need to stay closed. This stood out to me, because even if it was a rule that we wanted to implement in the US, I don’t think people would follow it. In my opinion it seems like there is a cultural difference in the way that people respect their public spaces that cannot be legislated away. 

You might expect a country with no litter on the streets to be a country where waste disposal is very convenient, but I have noticed that it is actually very difficult to find a trash can when you are out in Taiwan. America has public (municipal) trash cans everywhere, and it is easy to find them within businesses. I have had to fold up my trash and put it in my pocket many times. But I think that this inconvenience makes me want to avoid buying food or snacks with lots of packaging. If your daily choices create less waste then the problem of waste disposal is not so significant. I wonder if this is an intentional attempt to incentivize citizenry to live a more sustainable lifestyle.

This might be a bit abstract, but I think the cleanliness, lack of litter and graffiti make me feel more human. Compared to, for example, the UDistrict Link station, the atmosphere of the MRT is so bright and optimistic. Standing in the UDistrict Link station feels dehumanizing and demoralizing. It is soul crushing to be down there. It is dark and dank, there is trash and weird sticky spills and mentally deranged people. The benches are too gross to sit on. It is home to the worst art installation in the world, a series of fake windows where you can peek into people's homes and watch them move around in slow motion. It feels very dystopian, like it was designed by a government that hates you. The MRT has plenty of light, there are gates in front of the trains that protect you from the railway, music plays when the train is coming, there are markings on the ground for where to line up and they leave space for people to get off the train. 

It was kind of a culture shock to realize how healthy everyone looks here compared to America, where there is a very prominent obesity issue. 

There also seems to be higher standards of professionalism for retail employees. I have seen a few places where there were very highly detailed dress codes. Everyone had their hair done the same and wore full uniforms.

I think don’t think American companies could get away with this because American culture focuses so much on individuality and freedom that it would make hiring for uniform jobs substantially more difficult.

I shopped around a little bit and was impressed at how the employees knew so many details about all the products in their stores. They were pitching me on things like a live infomercial. 

We went out to eat a family style dinner. The beer was sweet and the Sashimi was very flavorful. There was a sweet breaded shrimp dish that was also very good. I was surprised to see it served overtop of apple slices.