A foreigner friend of mine always says the same thing when family and friends back in the states ask him where he lives. He says, "Taiwan, the place that made all our toys when we were kids." I find this answer very charming. It provides people with a strong link to Taiwan. Who among us didn't spend hundreds of hours with our toys that all had "MADE IN TAIWAN" engraved on them somewhere.
Now a days all things are made in China. They make high quality products for international firms, and they make cheap rip off products. But they also do make pretty decent mid range products that are both long lasting and comparatively inexpensive. Over the years Taiwan has been trying to stop the import of these such products, as it's crushing local product makers.
If you will recall on this blog last summer I posted about my new flip-flops that I got just because they said they were made in Taiwan. Well they provided me with a nice new adventure a few days ago. While getting of the subway, they broke, so i was forced to walk home without one of them.
My solution is as you see above, I put a plastic bag over one of my feet and tucked it into my pants so it would stay on. I actually didn't get many odd looks as i'm assuming people just figured I had a cast and a bag around it so it would stay dry...never mind that it was a super sunny day that day.
Perhaps this is also a case of "be careful what you wish for" as there is a homeless guy in my neighborhood who walks around in shoes made of cardboard and duct tape. I always find it quite ingenious, and have been wanting to take a picture, but I don't know if it's wrong or right to take a picture. Apparently problem solved as I became him for a moment.
Anyway, as much as I want to support Taiwan, I'm going back to flip-flops made in China. They last about 1.5 years longer.
