US trip

We just got back to Taiwan from a long trip in the US, our first in several years. On this trip, we spent all our time in Dallas, unlike previous trips on which we also went to New York and sometimes other places. Things hadn't changed a lot in the old neighborhood, though while we were there something unusual for Dallas did happen; it snowed heavily, with snow falling pretty much for an entire day, so that by the end of the day there was around a foot (about 30 cm) of snow on the ground, a record for Dallas. Snow is not completely unknown in Dallas, as it snows about once a year or so (at least that's what I recall), but usually it's a light dusting. The most snowfall in a winter was one year when I was in elementary school; if I remember right, close to two feet of snow fell over that winter. That record still stands as of now, since the total snowfall this winter is still a couple of inches less. But the heaviest snowfall in one day that year was about 7 or 8 inches (18 to 20 cm), so it was far less than the daily total we experienced during our visit (only one previous daily snowfall came close). In any case, the snow was a big contrast to Taiwan, where it only rarely snows at all, and then only on the tops of a few mountains in very small amounts. I've never seen snow in Taiwan, and it had been years since I'd seen it up close anywhere.

Other than enjoying the snow, we spent our time visiting with family, going to bookstores, and eating at fast food restaurants that Taiwan doesn't have (as well as a few non-fast food restaurants, with the Olive Garden and Franky's being standouts). It was a pretty good visit, though as usual there were plenty of things that I would have like to have done that I didn't get around to doing. Regardless, now that I'm back in Taiwan, I have to get back into to the rhythm of things here. As is often the case after a trip to the US from Taiwan, coming back has reminded me again of the contrasts between the two countries. Though I don't really think the effect these differences have on me are strong enough to call culture shock, as I generally adjust to new environments fairly easily (except where it comes to food, an area where I tend to be more set in my ways), they are interesting to observe.

The most immediately obvious difference between the US and Taiwan is the fact that the US is much less crowded. Though it's the third most populous country in the world, the US is far less densely populated than Taiwan, which is one of the world's most densely populated nations. Everything in the US seems very spread out, and though the roads are often packed with cars, you rarely see crowds like those in Taiwan. An exception to this is New York, which resembles many major Asian cities in its concentration of people, but as I said, we didn't go there this trip. Another contrast is the people. The US has far more variety when it comes to races, with whites, blacks, Hispanics and people of Asian ancestry all being frequently seen in many places. Another less positive characteristic of the US population is that they are much more likely to be overweight. These are the most immediately apparent differences, though there are of course many more. Bill Bryson was able to write an entire book's worth of newspaper columns about differences between the US and the UK (I'm a Stranger Here Myself), and those two countries are not as different as the US and Taiwan.

Since I'm on the subject of our US trip, I will also mention my trip to the DPS office. I was hoping to get a new driver's license (my old one having expired years ago), but I couldn't even join the long lines of people waiting to take the tests because I didn't have proof of my Social Security number (having lost my SS card a long time ago). What, one might ask, does your Social Security number have to do with getting a driver's license, given that you have other documents to prove your identity? My guess is that it's another absurd anti-illegal immigrant measure. Since illegal immigrants will not have Social Security numbers, requiring proof of one will make it difficult for them to get a license. Assuming that this is the reason for this requirement, what will it accomplish? Will they be so disappointed in their inability to obtain a driver's license that they'll just go back to their country of origin? No, they'll just drive without licenses. That's sure a useful accomplishment. Though I may be wrong about the reason behind this particular rule, it remains true that there are some pretty absurd anti-illegal immigrant measures in places like Texas. Of course Taiwan doesn't really treat immigrants any better; in fact it makes it even harder to immigrate legal in the first place.

Anyway, enough rambling. Now that I'm back in Taiwan, I've got to get back to my Taiwan schedule. Hopefully it'll still allow me time to post entries here occasionally. With a little extra time and effort, some of them should even be a bit more coherent and interesting than this one....