With a spine of green mountains

Saturday morning, 7:50am, train station platform

The following Tuesday morning, 7:20am, train station platform

and a rich culture, there’s a lot to like about Taiwan. It’s a lovely little country with wonderful people, and just like any other place in the world, it has its idiosyncrasies. Taiwan proudly displays its fair share of quirks that make you raise an eyebrow and think, “Uh, what?”

The vast majority of men here wear tight pants. Painted on, tapered leg, where does it all go? pants. Fine. Since there’s no room in their pants, they have to put their wallets in a purse. Large, small, polished leather, knock-off Louis Vuitton, glittery, colorful, demure: I’ve seen them all. Fannypacks are fairly popular, too.

In Taichung at the slow train station, a Taiwanese man patiently waits for his order while carrying, in my modest opinion, shoulder luggage. At least his jeans aren't skin tight.

Hello Kitty is more of a Japanese craze, I think, but it’s quite common to see professional women wearing or accessorizing with something childish.

When I'm wearing hose, heels, and professional office wear I, too, like to roll a pink Piglet suitcase around. She even has to stoop over to reach the handle.

It’s funnier, though, to see Chinglish. Liken it to English speakers who get Oriental character tattoos after the internet told them that 龟 means “strength”. It doesn’t. It means turtle – at least, that’s what Google Translate tells me. Sometimes Chinglish kinda makes sense, and you know what they were trying to say; other times, you just have no idea.

A fishing game I bought for my students. I was completely sold when I read that it was dilly.

From Merriam-Webster Online: dilly: one that is remarkable or outstanding <had a dilly of a storm> <for a practical joke, that was a dilly>

English bloopers here can be, in the words of the Ninja Turtles, pretty righteous.

Happy Mothday's Day!