There are many reasons to love Taiwan and I understand why when expats discover what it has to offer they stay. I wouldn’t rule out the chance that we could possibly find ourselves moving back one day. Taiwan is not always on peoples travel “bucket list”, but it really should be. I will give you a few reasons why it should be in my love letter to Taiwan.

My Dearest Taiwan,

After living three years in Taiwan people often ask me, what I think I will miss most about Taiwan. That answer is easy: The People. I have had the privilege throughout my life to come into contact with amazing friends and great experiences, but never have I met a friendlier people than the Taiwanese. 

My favorite example of their kindness is when we were still relatively new to the island. We were walking downtown trying to get to the central part of town and were lost. In VERY broken Mandarin I asked a couple strangers on the street if the direction we were headed was the correct one. They said yes and we kept walking. No later than 10 minutes later did that same stranger drive up in his car and tell us he gave us bad directions and that he would drive us where we wanted to go. We were too new to Taiwan to take him seriously and understand that we could have gone with him. It is a classic example that is not an isolated incident that illustrates the kindness and willingness to go above and beyond to help strangers. 

We made lifelong friends whom we know we will see each other again. I bought a greeting card for a friend that reminded me of many we have met in our short time there. It roughly said, “You Friend are like the stars, I can’t always see you, but I know you are there.” Many of our friends left deep impressions on us. Some for their example of courage and bravery to move to a foreign country by themselves, some for their contribution to endless laughter, some for their deep knowledge of their craft, others for long intellectual conversations, and countless others who in little ways have changed our lives forever. Even Barry, my favorite Starbucks barista that worked near the school always encouraged and helped me learn my order in Mandarin.

Learning to slow down and appreciate a Different Pace of Life is another aspect of Taiwan that I grew to love. Life in this world tends to keep us busy, whereas life in Taiwan, despite being in East Asia really has its own version of island time. It took a little getting used to. I was still early to all my classes, but when you start to understand that people are generally not in a hurry you relax a little more.

Taiwan is both subtropical and tropical being one of the few places in the world that is almost split in half by the Tropic of Cancer. It makes the Natural Wonders around you something to love and appreciate. The sandy beaches in the South, the blue green waters of SunMoon Lake, the beautiful Toroko Gorge are just a few of the things we got to experience. Taiwan has a little bit of everything for all tastes; beaches, mountains, forests… well except maybe snow sports :p We saw the rolling tea plantations, cherry blossoms, plenty of sunshine, and even the typhoons made me add some new definitions to what I understand about rain. I will forever appreciate 70F degree puffy coat weather and the true understanding of humidity (Sorry Mom, the Washington summer days have nothing on Taiwan ;-). 

I could go on about the Local Delicacies that became monthly or even sometimes weekly favorites such as niu rou mien (beef noodle soup), teppanyaki, xiao long bao, real bubble tea, and even sometimes stinky tofu. When you go to Taiwan do not hesitate to try the local food! Otherwise, you may be missing out. One Seattlite friend who visited us commented how she found her one true love in a bowl of beef noodle soup.

These are just a few of the best parts of loving Taiwan and all the friends who contributed to cementing that relationship forever in my heart. If Taiwan is not on your travel list, I urge you to reconsider, have an adventure, you too may write your own love letter to Taiwan.