My Reflection on Taiwan

I have to admit that the only thing that I really knew about Taiwan is that half of the world was made there. I personally thought it was going to be like some Third World country that major corporations take advantage of their land and the people. I was completely wrong. From what I did see, I was very impressed with the landscape, the people and all the students that we met.

The people in Taiwan are very friendly and hospitable to the point where I don't wan to leave and return to the customer service we are used to in America. The Taiwanese people are a very hard-working group of people that I will never forget. I honestly was not expecting that I would become great friends with the students at NTNU. I thought that they were just going to show us around and then go off and do their own thing. But they were asking us to go to different places with them and when we went back to our hotel, we were calling them to come visit us and to hang out. Although many of the Taiwanese spoke English, the NTNU students did teach us some Mandarin that will stick with me for a long time.They are such a great group of people. To all the new friends that I made, I wish them all the absolute best in their endeavors in life.

Another thing about Taiwan that I really enjoyed was the landscape. All the mountainous terrain was new for me. I loved looking out my hotel window and seeing the mountain in the background. I think that was one of the things that made me really feel like I wasn't home.

Another thing that I loved is that they have their own traditions and culture. We, here in America, have many traditions and culture too but most are borrowed from other cultures. The Sky Lantern Experience was really cool. I that was some artsy thing that wouldn't be interesting but I really enjoyed it. They have found a way to keep a healthy balance between keeping their history alive and urban corporate development.

I was also impressed with the city of Taipei. To me, this is like the New York City of Taiwan. So many great businesses like HTC, Giant and ASUS and the way that they handle their employees is just incredible. To have programs and a work environment that included swimming pools, work out facilities and organized sports for the employees does make the work more enjoyable and makes the employee more healthy and productive.

Another thing that I thought was interesting about Taiwan was the transportation infrastructure. Scooters, scooters, scooters everywhere. When I see a country that almost has more scooters than cars on the road, they are doing something right. Even the way that they conduct themselves while driving was incredible. People were actually letting people change lanes, no flashing the middle finger, and evenly sharing the road with scooters and bicycle riders.

I have to say that other than the smell of stinky tofu almost everywhere, I was really impressed with Taiwan. I do hope that they get their independence one day but if you follow the politics of it, it may come at a steep price. To Taiwan and their people I say thank you for your hospitality and good luck in your efforts to reach independence.