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  • [What was the hardest thing to get used to when you first came to Taiwan?]

  • Ahh, that's a good one.

  • So I've been in Taiwan for two years now, working at Foresight.

  • And I remember the big culture shock coming to Taiwan because I thought everything would be quite similar.

  • Holidays, you know, um, things like that, but I was wrong.

  • So we really have to do some research, and maybe talk to people who have been here for a while about, you know, what actually happens in Taiwan.

  • So within the school system, the holidays are a little bit different, but at the same time, we get a big break during the winter holiday, which is the Chinese New Year.

  • So it kind of makes up for it, so it just takes some getting used to.

  • Hardest thing to get used to?

  • Honestly, it's the humidity.

  • Like, even though I'm from a tropical country, like, the humidity here is like next level.

  • Because like, we're in Taipei, we're like a basin that traps in the humidity.

  • Like, I thought coming from Australia, "Okay, it's hot, I've got this."

  • But I've swapped out my wardrobe to more breathable clothing.

  • But once you get used to it, you're fine.

  • Probably not having a car anymore!

  • I used to have a car in America, so it's just now I have to plan when to get on the bus before, but I actually prefer it because now I don't have insurance, I don't have car payments.

  • I don't have to pay for gas, so it's really great.

  • For me personally, it was the walking because I'm so used to getting in my car and just driving everywhere.

  • And I thought, "Wait, what? I have to figure out how to get somewhere?"

  • Um, so for me, it was navigating around.

  • Um, for me, personally, I'm really bad with directions.

  • And so, even if I've been to the same place a hundred times, I'll still ask, "How do I get there?"

  • Um, and so for me, that was the hardest thing.

  • But because of how everything is set up here in Taiwan, I found it actually really easy to learn quickly how to get around.

  • So after a while I thought, "Oh okay, not too bad, I know where I'm at. I know how to get where I have to go."

  • But for me, I guess that was the first hardest thing!

  • I think the hardest thing to get used to is the time difference between back home.

  • It's really difficult to keep in touch with people when you have a 12-, 13-, 14-hour time difference.

  • And you're trying to celebrate holidays together or you're trying to share big news...

  • This coordinating between those two things makes it really difficult.

  • The culture.

  • Yeah, the culture. It's very different from where I'm from.

  • I had to relearn what is the definition of culture here in Taiwan because it's not my culture, you know.

  • It's like, they eat with chopsticks, I eat with spoon.

  • Even though they eat rice three times a day, but I need to learn how to use chopsticks.

  • Yeah, that's, that's, that was very hard.

[What was the hardest thing to get used to when you first came to Taiwan?]

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