The fact that my chances of becoming a victim of violent crime (armed robbery/mugging/murder/random assault) are infintely smaller than back home.
The fact that my chances of being involved in a traffic (read motorcycle) accident are infintely greater than back home.
And now for a long list of random things about Taiwan: (so, for most sentences, regard home as being opposite or contrary to what is stated here)
The fact that everyone here lives in apartments. The fact that most buildings are immensely ugly, hunched together and covered in filth. Only the super-rich have their own private swimming pools. Normal guys wear speedos and weird cycle shorts spandex things to swim in. Girls, even with great bodies, are afraid to wear bikinis. Scooters. Everywhere. Ridden by people other than old or fat women. Ridden by everyone. Completely bizarre food - some of it’s great, some absolutely gut-churningly revolting. The fact that there are relatively few obese people around. Family pets being kept in cages too small for them to stand up in. Thousands of abandoned stray animals on the city streets. Relatively few homeless people. An unemployment rate of only 3 or 4%. Normal people lying to you with a smile on their face. Paying any household bills at 7-11. Tiny, aeroplane size bathrooms. Squatting toilets. NOT being able to flush TP… ugghhh. Massive scale ethnic unity (as opposed to large scale ethnic diversity). Children having to attend school and cram schools after that for 90% of their waking lives. Teenagers who are more concerned about getting good grades than rebelling, being different, being idealistic, and rocking out. The fact that the majority of teenagers don’t smoke pot. People caring more about their parents expectations of them than their own hapiness. Money being the Greatest God. The fact that it’s legally impossible for me to get a second hand (larger than 250cc) motorcycle older than 5 years old. The only decent beaches being hours and hours away, and even then, only being tiny and either trash-strewn or fully commercialised. Internet access being speedy, efficient and ridiculously cheap. VCDs. A relatively efficient public transport system.
Most guys not being obsessed with gymming and looking like The Hulk. Most girls not being obsessed with guys who look like The Hulk. No-one being obsessed with rugby. People hardly ever having braais (barbecues). Having a currency which has no cents. There is no public protest against fireworks. Having two 7-11s within walking distance of one another. Most people liking exactly the same trends, fashions, music, movies and having no unique opinions. Being able to walk on the streets at night with a cellphone and money in my pocket and feeling completely safe. The fact that people can’t legally own guns. Not being able to read 90% of the stuff around me. And yes, as said a million times before, polluted air, the fact that the sky is never really blue, just a pale-brown-smudged-muddy-water blue. I miss clear, deep blue skies…
