Everything is so sheep!

As I have spent nearly a month here in Kaohsiung, I have learned that lack of money is an almost universally felt woe of the exchange student community...  Between transportation costs, cell phone charges, and simply wanting to buy every delicious morsel you see on every street stand in the city, it's difficult to keep your monthly allowance from disappearing within a week.  However, in Taiwan we are pretty lucky, because for some reason, products cost a lot less here than in our home countries.  I think my Brazilian friend Joao puts it best when he says "everything is just so sheep!"  He of course means cheap, but his accent gets in the way a bit...

But seriously, most stuff here is a lot cheaper than in the US.  Taking a taxi, for example, is very inexpensive compared to the US.  Here, a ten minute ride may cost you about 200 New Taiwan Dollars, or about 7 US dollars.  This pleasantly surprised me when I first took a taxi by myself, but the taxi is quite a bit more expensive than the bus.  Bus fare is around 10 New Taiwan Dollars, or about 30 cents.  A subway ride will set you back about 30 NTW, or 1 U.S. Dollar.  

The food is also pretty inexpensive compared to the US.  Today, for example, I went to an Italian restaurant on the 12th floor of a shopping mall.  We had a table with a great view, and the restaurant had a very swanky atmosphere, the feeling of a place that could set you back quite a bit.  So I was rather surprised when I saw the prices.  I had a fried squid appetizer with a spicy sauce (perhaps not classic Italian, I admit), a passion fruit-mango drink that was quite delicious, and a cliché but wonderful margherita pizza.  This all came out to about 250 NTW, or a little over 8 US dollars.  So marvelously cheap.  Likewise, street food is incredibly cheap.  And bubble tea, which I have heard goes for four or five dollars in the US, is usually only around 1 US dollar here in Taiwan (where it was invented).

My friends have also told me that electronic goods here are a great deal less expensive than in their home countries.  I haven't bought anything of that category, but apparently nice cameras are very cheap, and computers and phones are also sold at bargain prices.  This kind of makes sense, because Taiwan is an important producer of electronic goods.

However, I think that the low prices of Taiwan are a mixed blessing.  My economical psychology has been altered a great deal, and I've gone from being somewhat liberal to almost carefree with my cash.  Because everything is so much cheaper here, I feel as though I can buy anything I want.  I'm thirsty?  Oh, I'll just go buy some tea.  I'm hungry?  Just go buy some dumplings.  I have learned that these little things add up very quickly.  The fact that we carry such large bills around doesn't help either.  Having a 1000 dollar note in your wallet really messes with you.  While 1000 NTW can buy a lot, you have to remember that it's only around 30 US dollars, despite the fact that it feels like a lot more.  Basically what I'm trying to say in this post is that, while everything is very cheap here, knowing that it is can cause you too just lose your money faster.

Just a few thoughts on the financial side of being an exchange student.  Until next time, zaijian.