Laura's post--Taxis and technology

Whew, it's been a long week and a half of night shift.  Mostly since we arrived in Taiwan, I've been working.  So my time has been heavily structured around getting to work, and working (and eating and sleeping in the off hours).  That said, I'd like to share a little of my experience with taxis and a specific bit of technology.

Taichung is a busy city with lots of cars (and even more motorscooters), and I wasn't interested in joining the fray for the three months we're here, so for trips of any significant distance, we use taxis.  That means I'm ridng in taxis at least twice a day during the week.  Mostly the language barrier hasn't gotten in my way.  The relocation company provided both Ian and me with business cards, printed with our names and the apartment address in both English and Chinese.  I also recieved a laminated card from a colleague that says, again in English and Chinese, "Hi, Driver. Would you please take me to Corning, Taichung plant" and includes the address.  So, as long as I'm going to work or home, I'm pretty well covered.

Except when written Chinese doesn't work.  I'm not exactly sure what happened, but at least one taxi driver responded to the card with puzzled looks and a long string of language I didn't understand.  I tried my Google translator, but couldn't get him to speak into it.  I pulled up the GPS on my phone with the Corning Plant as the destination, but all the street names were in English, and it didn't seem to help him.  Eventually, I used the translator to tell the driver I was going back into the apartment building to get the attendant.  Again, I was able to use my translator, this time to tell the attendant that the driver didn't understand where we were supposed to go.  He made a concerned face and rushed out the door to speak with the driver.  A minute later, he came back in to get his personal phone to give the driver directions.  After another few minutes of discussion, it seemed like we were ready to go. I had my phone with GPS in front of me for that ride, hoping that we'd actually get to the plant, or that if we didn't, I could find a way to redirect us.  Although we made a few turns at the last possible opportunity, the driver got roughly to the right area and I was able to direct him the rest of the way.  But that's just one ride out of two dozen.

Working the same shift, the cast of taxi drivers has been surprisingly repetative.  I've gotten the driver I talked about above again, although this time he knew exactly where to go.  There's a fellow available when I get off night shift at the plant who calls me "Sir" everytime he speaks to me.  There's a guy who plays soft music and sips fruit drinks, and mostly during these rides I fall asleep at least once.  There's the driver with the car full of lace doilies who we also rode with back from a grocery store. Last night I got a speed demon that I hope I don't see much of in the future (but boy I got to the plant fast).  

Realistically, this repetition in drivers is probably because I'm calling a taxi from the same location at the same time every day.  Now that I'm switching to day shift, there will likely be a new cast of characters.  But I admit that I like to imagine that by the time I leave, we will all know each other.

Alright, time for that bit of technology I mentioned.  Badge systems for door access are common enough, and that's the system we use to get into the apartment building.  But on the way out of the building, everything is touchless proximity sensors.  There's a small black circle, about an inch in diameter, with a red light around the edge.  Waving or holding a hand a few inches in front of this circle causes the red to change to green and the door to unlatch.  I've encountered this sensor at the apartment, at work, and in shops.  I enjoy a culture allows me to use the Force to open doors multiple times a day.

Well, I guess that was a short bit about technology, so here's one more note.  Google Translate is a phenomenal help here.  I've been able to find baking soda and sticky rice with the help of an attendant at a grocery store, read washing machine instructions, avoid a laundry detergent with bleach added, assemble a rice cooker, and learn a little functional Chinese on the side.  With the help of Google translate, I feel so much more capable in Taiwan than I did in Korea.