i don't like...

my unfavorite things about Taipei:

_stinky tofu (chou dofu) - yuck yuck yuck. People claim that stinky tofu is so delicious. I can't see how. It reeks and makes me gag every time I'm near it. Down a few streets from my dorm/on my way back from campus is a corner where there is a stinky tofu vendor. I always take the longer route to avoid this corner (that is, when I'm not absent-minded and remember to).
_the smell of sewage. I joked with a friend earlier that Taipei has two unfortunate smells that our noses breathe in on a daily basis: stinky tofu and sewage. There are sooo many sewage pots on the streets here. I don't know why, and wouldn't really want to know anyway.
_mosquitoes. They apparently like 'foreign blood' because our blood is sweet. Now that it's getting more humid than ever, I have a higher chance of looking like I was struck by the chicken pox. And whenever I open my window, mosquitoes always somehow find their way into the tiny air holes in my window screen :(
 _bipolar weather. Yesterday was blazing in the 90s + nearly 80% humidity. Then around 5pm, the temp dropped to the 50s + wind chill. The weather predicters report that Monday will be up in the 80s/90s again. Great.
_the lack of trashcans. So Taiwan's government set up this environmental protection/waste less plan. No trashcans in the city is part of the plan. Yeah. That is why I frequently carry my trash all the way home. There is not even a trashcan in sight in the park! No trashcans in classrooms, no trashcans around the campus, no trashcans in some restaurants in the public seating area... So convenient, Taiwan!
_smog. By the end of the day, I feel like my pores are clogged with copious amounts of dirt and pollution. And Taipei rarely ever sees a clear sunny, blue sky. Of course, the pollution is not as bad as China's, but it is still pretty bad. Though, plenty of people still do use public transportation instead of riding a motorcycle and driving a car.


Mkay, that's it for now. Other than those aspects (and a few others), I am absolutely enjoying my semester abroad :)