Taiwan and Poland are over 8000km away from each other, and our languages and cultures are very different. It can be shocking at first, and there are things I like and don't like about both countries. Here are some of the differences I have noticed living in Taiwan for the last 4 years:
No trash cans!
Living in Taiwan, you will notice the lack of trash cans on the roads. In Poland, you can easily find trash cans near roads or in public places like parks. That's something I really miss living in Taiwan! I often feel annoyed having to carry rubbish around. It's kind of weird to enter a convenience store just to throw away my rubbish, so we usually end up carrying everything back home. Also, there are not many green spaces and benches, except for parks.
Instead of trash cans, you can easily spot garbage trucks here. Maybe not see, but hear them! Garbage trucks play music, different for the ones carrying regular rubbish and recycling. Those trucks play Beethoven's "Für Elise" and Tekla Bądarzewska-Baranowska's "A Maiden's Prayer." Tekla Bądarzewska-Baranowska was a Polish composer!
Unlike outside, Taiwanese homes have rubbish cans in every room, including the living room, kitchen, and bathroom! In Poland, trash cans are usually placed in the kitchen, under the sink in most homes. We usually don't have trash cans in any other room.
No sidewalks! Traffic!
One annoying thing in Taiwan is the lack of sidewalks, especially in the southern parts. I have gotten used to it, but in the first year of living here, it was a huge problem for me. The traffic is pretty bad, with plenty of scooters everywhere, and people seem not used to passersby (or just don't care about people walking). I really need to be very careful while walking on the road. Usually, the side of the road is full of parked cars, and sometimes I'm almost walking in the middle of the road. And the worst of all are the blue trucks! Those drivers don't even bother to stop at red lights. I have lost count of how many times I was almost hit by a car or scooter because drivers don't pay enough attention to the road.
Another difference regarding driving is that in Poland, cars always need to have their lights on, no matter if it's day or night. In Taiwan, it's not necessary unless it's dark. I'm not a driver, so I don't really pay attention to it, but when my husband drives in Poland, he often forgets to turn the lights on.
No hookers in Taiwan?
I don't know how it is in other European countries, but in Poland, prostitutes are very easily spotted along roads, especially in forests. It's very different in Taiwan; probably if you are not local, you won't spot them so easily. Usually, the prostitutes stay in one place, in old houses along some alleys. Also, the ones I saw in Taiwan were usually older; in Poland, you can see young girls dressed nicely. Another story about it - when my husband came to Poland for the first time, he had absolutely no idea that the women standing in the forest were hookers. He even wanted to stop and ask if they needed any help...
Drinking culture
In Poland, it's generally forbidden to drink alcohol in public, except for some bars or designated places. You would most likely get a penalty for holding beer on the road or in the park. It's pretty funny that even with such a law, there are many alcoholics in Poland. You can spot drunk people sleeping in the park. That's something I don't often see in Taiwan, even though you can legally buy alcohol and drink in public. It still happens, especially in the countryside, where people have nothing to do, and drinking is part of their culture as well. Many Taiwanese people, including my husband, have an allergy and just can't drink. One shot and my husband turns all red and looks like he's going to die soon...
Tea, coffee and drinking shops
Polish people love tea, especially black tea. Green tea is not as popular as it tastes bitter. In Poland, the most popular form of tea is tea bags; we don't often use loose tea leaves. We also have different fruit and herb teas.
In Taiwan, you can find plenty of various teas, mostly sold as dried leaves. There is a tea ceremony here, where people usually gather and brew tea together, drinking it from very small cups (similar in size to shot glasses).
There is also a difference in brewing tea. In Poland, we put ground coffee in a cup and pour water in. Coffee grounds would then settle at the bottom, and we drink the coffee without stirring it. My husband didn't know about this, so when he drank coffee in Poland, he accidentally swallowed some of the grounds as well. In Taiwan, we filter the coffee before pouring it into cups.
Another different thing is that there are plenty of drink shops in Taiwan. They mostly sell tea or fruit-infused drinks. We don't have this type of shops in Poland. If you want to drink something, you can buy bottled water, juice, or soda drinks, but tea is rarely available.
Public bathrooms and toilet paper
Public bathrooms in Poland are not always easy to find, and they all charge a fee! At least you have a guarantee of a clean place with toilet paper. In Taiwan, there are plenty of public toilets, and they are all free to use, although they are often dirty and smelly, and you most likely won't find toilet paper in them.
Talking about toilet paper, Taiwan actually uses tissues instead of the paper rolls we are used to in Poland. That was a little strange for me at first. I had no idea about it, went to the bathroom, and couldn't find toilet paper but packs of tissues. When I asked my husband afterward, he laughed and said that's actually their toilet paper.
Education
Education in Poland is generally free in public schools. The only expenses for us are books and other materials needed for classes. Also, if you are lucky and your school has a private bus, you can go to and from school for free (usually in primary and middle schools).
In Taiwan, all schools, whether public or private, are paid. Kindergarten prices vary depending on the place, ranging from 3000NT to even over 10000NT in cities, especially if you are looking for something bilingual. Kids as young as 3 years old start kindergarten here. In Poland, at least in the countryside, kids would be at least 5-6 years old when starting school. But Poland is also changing; the age for kids attending kindergarten is getting lower.
Taiwan has plenty of cram schools, which I never saw in Poland. I have no idea about cities, especially Warsaw, as it could be vastly different from the place where I was living. Back in the days when I was going to school, classes started at 8AM and ended around 12-2PM. Some kids would be picked up by their parents, but usually, everybody took the bus home. I barely see school buses in Taiwan (I'm not even sure if it's actually a thing here). Normally, I see plenty of people driving cars or scooters, picking up kids from kindergarten or schools. Probably the only buses I see are the ones bringing kids from schools to cram schools. Many kids study there until 9PM. But that's not surprising, as even kindergartens here are open until 6PM!
Convenience!
Taiwan is a really convenient place to live. There is street food everywhere, so you don't need to worry about cooking. Also, compared to Poland, eating outside is very cheap here! Cooking by yourself is not as popular, also because many places here don't have kitchens.
Currently in Poland, we have a new law that forbids shops from being open on Sundays, except for essential places such as drug stores or gas stations. I understand that people want to rest and not work every day, but for many people who work Monday to Saturday, Sunday was the only day they could go shopping.
In Taiwan, we don't need to worry about groceries. Shops are open every day, including holidays, and there are plenty of convenience stores (such as Family Mart) that are open 24/7! Living in the countryside in Poland, you would be lucky if the shop opens for 8 hours a day. In Taiwan, even the countryside needs to have at least one convenience store! Not only can you do shopping here, but you can also pay your bills, print documents, use an ATM, and some even have laundry facilities.
Another convenient thing about living in Taiwan is the gas stations. You have the option to pump petrol by yourself, but you can also have someone help you (at different prices). In Poland, you need to park your car, pump petrol, remember the station number, and go inside the store to pay. This takes a few minutes, and everybody behind you needs to wait, as you can't leave the station until you finish the payment. Paying on the spot without even leaving the car is not only convenient but also saves you time!
AC vs Heating system
Taiwan gets pretty hot during the summer. Having a few fans and air conditioning units in every room is the norm here. In Poland, you would barely even find a fan at home, even though it can get really hot sometimes, maybe because summer is pretty short.
On the other hand, we have radiators in every room in Poland, as cold days can last for half a year. That's something I struggle with in Taiwan. Winter is short and definitely warmer than in Poland, but we still had temperatures of only 7 degrees outside, 15 degrees at home, and there is no central heating system. We have electric heaters for our rooms and our kids' rooms, but they don't help that much.
Greetings
Meeting with Taiwanese people can get pretty awkward sometimes. When you meet someone for the first time, you might not know what to do. Sometimes, I don't even know if I can shake someone's hand or not. I guess Taiwanese people meeting me will also be confused as they don't know how to greet foreigners.
In Poland, it's totally normal to hug/kiss family and even friends and shake hands with strangers. It feels very warm, and that's something I really miss.
Also, as a couple living in Taiwan, people don't show affection in public! I have noticed sometimes my husband wouldn't even hold my hand in public, not to mention hugging or kissing. For Taiwanese people, that's totally normal, but for me, I feel people are cold here!
Eating habits / table manners
From a young age, we are taught table manners, especially not to slurp when drinking or eating soup. Living in Taiwan for over 4 years, I still find it pretty annoying! My husband and family-in-law, they all make sounds while eating. Not only that, they also speak a lot with their mouths full. I have mentioned it a few times before, especially because I don't want our child to pick up bad habits, but usually, my talking is useless.
Also, in Poland, we wouldn't start eating until everyone is seated at the table. That's not a thing in Taiwan. Here, you start eating as soon as the food arrives, no matter if someone is late. We don't hold family dinners in Taiwan, so I don't know how it is during family gatherings. Judging by BBQ time during the Middle Autumn Festival, people don't wait, though.
The difference between Poland and Taiwan is that eating in a restaurant in Poland is very expensive. Unless it's a more formal event, such as a wedding or a dinner after a funeral, we would gather at home. Restaurants in Taiwan are very cheap, and there are also plenty of street food stalls everywhere. You cannot find many street stalls in Poland offering food; usually, it would be kebabs, hamburgers, chips, and zapiekanka (long bread covered with mushrooms, cheese, and topped with ketchup).
Rice vs potatoes
Of course, everyone could guess that food is different between the two countries. However, what I want to talk about is rice. In Poland, we would buy small packages of rice, for example, 1kg bags or even less. We often have rice in small sachets, which you just put in a cooking pot and boil. That's much easier than cooking rice in the traditional way, as you don't need to measure water and rice and constantly stir to prevent burning. The rice would most likely be overcooked in Poland compared to what Taiwanese are used to. I can only think of two popular Polish dishes that include rice: gołąbki (cabbage rolls) and tomato soup.
In Taiwan, everyone has rice cookers, and I also love my rice cooker as it makes perfectly cooked rice! Also, you can easily spot huge bags of rice and plenty of different types and brands here.
I should mention potatoes as well. In Poland, we would find many types of potatoes, often sold in large amounts. In Taiwan, I usually only see one type of potato (which I actually don't like), and they are sold individually. You can actually buy just a single potato! Also, it's not cheap. One potato on average costs 12NT (almost 2 zł). For the same price in Poland, I could buy 1kg or even more potatoes during the harvest season!
TV
I barely watch TV in Taiwan, but sometimes when I'm at my parents-in-law's place, I notice that all TV channels, regardless of whether they are in Chinese or not, have subtitles. Also, they don't dub foreign movies; you can hear the English clearly and read the subtitles.
In Poland, we still have English in the background, but there are no subtitles. However, all movies have a voice-over narration! There is always a male narrator reading all the movie dialogue, even in documentaries. There are no emotions conveyed, which is very different from watching the same movie in its original language. I have gotten used to it and don't feel weird about it, except when I don't like the narrator's voice; then, I wouldn't watch the movie at all. It's impossible for a foreigner to watch TV in Poland.
Marriage
In Poland, we have the choice between civil marriage and religious marriage. Marriage in the church is more beautiful, with more guests, but even our civil marriage has a small ceremony. You can invite a few guests, dress nicely, speak vows, and exchange rings.
I didn't know about the culture in Taiwan before, so our marriage day was a huge disappointment for me. We only had a civil marriage, but it was only about paperwork!!! No one dressed nicely; people wore shorts and flip flops. There wasn't even a small ceremony. Also, no one even spoke English to me to ask if I agreed or not to the marriage, and there was no explanation. All I had to do was sign the papers. Afterwards, they took pictures as proof, we got our marriage certificate, and that's it! That's how I never got a chance to even wear a wedding dress. Of course, you can have a ceremony in Taiwan, but it's on a totally different day, and people usually don't care about civil marriages.
The wedding colors are also different. In Poland, it's white, but in Taiwan, it's red and gold. Nowadays, brides in Taiwan also wear white dresses, often changing a few dresses during the day. We once attended a friend's wedding, and the bride had a white dress; after the ceremony, she changed into a more traditional-looking red dress.
Another huge difference is that in Poland, we can choose to keep our surname after marriage, change it to the husband's surname (or even have the husband change his surname!), or keep both surnames (which can be too long for many Polish surnames). In Taiwan, there is no way of changing the surname. Now my documents are pretty messed up here. In documents, before marriage, there is my maiden name that could never be changed. In Poland, we legalized the marriage, so I was given the option to change my surname. So now I use my husband's surname, and all my documents afterward are updated. Also, in Taiwan, I need to use a Chinese name. So basically, I have three different names depending on the types of documents here.
Bank
Following the topic of marriages, in Poland, after marriage, a couple would often have a joint bank account. In Taiwan, that's something impossible to have. We checked some banks, but none of them offer it at all. People don't even understand the need for that here. All I can have is a credit card from my husband's bank account. I could open my own bank account, but sometimes the procedures for foreigners are pretty annoying here.
I don't know the banking situation in Poland at this moment, but in the past, banks would charge money for having a bank account (although now many banks offer bank accounts for free). You would pay extra fees for having credit cards or withdrawing money, etc. In Taiwan, it's totally free. It's also normal to have several bank accounts here because every company uses a different bank. Each time you change jobs, you will need to open a bank account in the same bank your company uses!
Night markets
Night markets are very common in East and Southeast Asian countries, and you can find countless night markets all over Taiwan, offering street food, clothes, groceries, games, and many more.
In Poland, you can find morning markets, open-air markets, or flea markets that usually don't open every day. We never had night markets in Poland. Only during some festivals (usually during the summer season), you can find similar markets open late into the night, but they are not permanent fixtures like in Taiwan.
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