I received a package yesterday from my parents with some christmas presents in it. Some were even wrapped, which was a nice surprise as it's been almost a decade since I've unwrapped a present. It's a small touch that brings some cheer to holiday that doesn't exist here.
I already have a picture and a post ready for christmas day talking about christmas in Taiwan, so for today I'm going to talk about the presents I got and why I got them. It actually tells a lot about Taiwan.
Let's start off with the most obvious thing, the underwear. Getting comfortable, quality underwear in Taiwan is pretty difficult, especially if you want it cheap. Usually for the price of one here you can get a pack of six back home (same with socks), and with a comfier feel. I remember all those christmases as a kid when I hated getting underwear. Now It's always a joy to get sent some underwear and socks.
You'll notice some Starburst. I requested this because Taiwan has a very similar candy called Hi-Chew which is very popular. The taste is a little more airy and bland than starburst, so i figured if they like hi-chew than they will love starburst. I will give some to friends, and if it's a hit, i will work on becoming the only starburst distributor in Taiwan. While that was a joke, i'm thinking i should do it just so i can have such an obtuse job.
Strawberry milk is a perennial favorite. Taiwanese love flavored milk of all kinds but strawberry has yet to really make it into the fold. But they do love it. Whenever I get some mailed to me, friends line up at the door to have some. That one was actually not a joke.
A stand out might be the ear cleaning kit. This is because it seems like six years ago all the rage back in the states was getting your ear flushed. I kept hearing people say it made them feel so refreshed and full of energy. I went around trying to get it done in Taiwan, but no doctor hear had ever heard of it. I then wanted to make my own, but you need hydrogen peroxide and you actually can't get that in Taiwan.
The big box is cereal. I love cereal, and while taiwan has cereal, Taiwanese don't really eat it, so they don't have much of a selection here. Yet a common theme is while they don't eat it much, whenever i get some from the states, people always come to eat mine. Makes me think how many western things Taiwanese have passed on just because the ones they had were bad, not knowing that much better kinds are out there.
The penguin bag holds what i'm guessing is a dog bone for my dog. There aren't really many treats for dogs here and the quality is pretty poor especially in the dog bone area. Not to mention the prices are absurd. I mainly use dog bones when I will be out most of the day, as they keep her occupied for quite awhile. Perhaps that's why they are not so popular here in Taiwan, since so many family members live at home, there is always somebody at home to be with the dog.
The smaller box in front of the cereal is a videogame. Videogames are sold in Taiwan, and actually getting more and more popular. Taiwan is part of the "asian region" of games, which comprises of Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Singapore. Japan is not included cause they are their own big market, and China is not included because companies don't sell their games there cause of the loose laws on intellectual property and copyrights. So this means that the "asian region" games are actually all in English and are essentially just the american version. But since it's the asian region the pricing is lower, which actually causes many americans as well as the rest of the world to import the asian version of a game as it's cheaper. However every now and then a game doesn't come out here in asia, or it comes out only in japanese or ever so rarely translated into chinese, so if i want to play it i have to have the american version sent over. As is the case with this gift.
Finally we have the bag with santa on it. What's inside? well that's a christmas surprise. And it's two weeks away so no peeking!
