virtualberta

As I stood in the open-air market outside Tainan's Fort Zeelandia Sunday afternoon, I watched the parade of locals going by. There was the classic older Taiwanese man attired in a white undershirt, dress pants, and flip flops striding by; a Taiwanese woman (of a certain age), hair permed and teased out, her figure snugly encased in a brightly-colored dress and heels, her face carefully painted on. There was also the young Taiwanese couple, the male in jeans and a fitted t-shirt, his girlfriend in the tight, faded jeans that is all the rage now here, and with her bleached, very-layered hair. I'm beginning to realize that the Taiwanese are not at all a subtle people. They like things bright, loud, and brassy, whereas I prefer to be understated. Sometimes, a lot of the culture shock I experience are from differences in style.