My Very Uneventful Birthday

Today I turned the big 'ole 21!

In Taiwan, many rights come after turning 18, such as getting married and obtaining a driver's license. Back in the states where you need to be 21 to drink, the legal drinking age here is 18. Unfortunately for me, this means that turning 21 in Taiwan doesn't come with any newfound privileges, just the feeling of being one year older.

Another difference between Taiwan and the United States is voting age! All US citizens have the right to vote after they turn 18, but in Taiwan, a citizen needs to be 20 years old (on top of several other requirements). There have been recent talks about changing the voting age to 18, however, it has yet to be written into law. (April 1st update: the Taiwan legislature unanimously agreed to the change. However, this change needs a referendum in 6 months or so. This means that half of all eligible voters in Taiwan during that time need to go to the polls and vote yes on this change as well in order for it to be written into law!)

One of my favorite things to eat, Hong Kong style instant noodles with SPAM! A comfort food that reminds me of home away from home. (And yes, I took the noodles out of the soup and put them on a plate, please don't come after me.)

Speaking of changes, one thing I've noticed that's changed since my last visit to Taiwan (Summer 2019) was the increased popularity of contactless payment, namely LINE Pay and JKO Pay. The last time I visited, if I remember correctly, 7-11 wasn't able to accept foreign cards. This time around, they accept all credit cards but only through tap.

Unfortunately for me, it's quite difficult for short-stay foreigners to get a LINE Pay account, so I just stuck with using cash for majority of my purchases. After all, cash is still king!

School is just starting to ramp up, so I didn't get to do anything real exciting. I just ate some dinner with a friend, at one of my favorite restaurants near school, "茗香園冰室 - 公館店."

The aforementioned watch. My mom says it could be fake, but I can't tell!

On my way back home, I saw a watch that looked like one I've been wanting for a while and decided to treat myself.

But yea, overall, I've been having a great time in Taiwan. My proficiency in Chinese has been significantly boosted by my fight-or-flight that kicks in when a line builds up behind me because I'm taking too long to read the menu.

Thanks for reading and until the next post, see you!

Deborah