Taiwan - Dai Wan

My travel plans had gotten a bit complicated by now. I wanted to take the Foreign Service Officer Test during the June 5-12 window, but the only country in the area that offered it was Taiwan. Luckily I was able to get a great deal on a flight and hotel from a travel agent in Hong Kong. I considered it worth the money so I wouldn't have to wait four months to take the exam, and it's always nice to get a new passport stamp.

My first impression upon entering Taiwan was a pervasive sense of confusion. Am I in China? Am I not in China? I knew that China considered Taiwan to be a "rogue province," so I was naturally a bit confused when my entry paperwork said "Welcome to the Republic of China." The key word that is missing, of course, is "People's." Taiwan and the surrounding islands are the last remnants of the nationalist government of Chiang Kai-shek which was defeated by Mao's communists in 1949. The R.O.C. claims to be the legitimate representative of mainland China, but is recognized as such by only 23 countries. This explains why I was taking the exam at the American Institute, as opposed to an "embassy" or "consulate." I couldn't help but draw comparisons between the R.O.C.'s claims and the time in the early 1990's when Ric Flair showed up in the WWF with his own belt claiming to be the "real world's champion." Whoooo!

One thing was perfectly clear: the sign at the airport which informed me that drug trafficking in the R.O.C. is punishable by death. I was thankful that I had left my supply of horse tranquilizers in Korea.

Disclaimer for future employers/my mother: the above sentence is a joke. I have never engaged in the production, transportation, distribution, or consumption of horse tranquilizers.

First impressions weren't great. I walked to the tourist information center where I was immediately jumped upon by a very pushy gentleman. He wanted to order a car for me to take me to the hotel. The price he quoted me was NT 1400, or about USD 42. This seemed unreasonably high to me. He and his colleague kept pushing me and trying to get me to write my name down and pay the money; I've learned that people only behave that way when they are trying to screw you. Instead I was able to get a bus into town for NT 140 and then take a subway to my hotel's door for NT 20. Suck on that, pushy Taiwanese guy!

I had a bit of difficulty locating my hotel due to a poor Mapquest map. Once there, I settled in for a boring night. After all, I had a test to take the next morning!

Due to non-disclosure agreements, I cannot blog about the test. Sorry. But I think it went well. Wish me luck!