A personal blog archiving 2020 Fulbright-Wu Jing-Jyi Arts and Culture Fellow, Dr. Nick Bowman (Texas Tech University, USA)
WENSHAN DISTRICT, TAIPEI CITY — A few days ago, I wrote about an afternoon over in the Ximending area, and some of the precautions that pubs and restaurants were taking against the 2019-nCoV: disinfecting customers, taking temperature readings, and generally just trying to make the best of an uncertain situation. It was a sunny Friday,…
WENSHAN DISTRICT, TAIPEI CITY — As we gear up for the scholarship ahead of us for the next six months, I’ve been pondering one aspects of my fellowship: an art installation in the Foundation for Scholarly Excellence offices here in Taipei. For a social scientist who largely engages publishes research based on statistical analyses, art…
WENSHAN DISTRICT, TAIPEI — As a non-native (Mandarin Chinese) speaker, living in Taiwan can be a bit isolating at times. So much of city is still inaccessible to me: billboards, restaurant ads, street signs, and the general hum of a metropolitan area quickly filtered out of my senses. I can’t make much sense of the…
BAR 58, XIMEN, TAIPEI CITY — I’ve had my ID scanned before. I’ve had to pay a cover. I’ve had to tell the bouncer what my zodiac sign was, or pass a sobriety test … even had to prove that I wasn’t under the influence of any prior drink (or anything stronger). A first? Passing…
WENSHAN DISTRICT, TAIPEI — Shopping in Taiwan is an accountant’s dream, because there’s always a paper trail. My personal favorite? A NT$9 receipt for a small package of roasted chicken-flavored Cheetos. To put this in perspective, NT$9 is the equivalent of about $0.30 USD. In fact, if you make a purchase — of nearly any…
CHIH NAN TEMPLE / TAMSUI, TAIPEI — The Lunar New Year season is a time for families and for many in Taiwan, this means time away from the city. For those of us away from our families, it’s a time to reflect.
DIHUA STREET, TAIPEI — Taipei is a city of markets, and I’ve already written about a few of these in previous posts. These markets are open nearly every day and night, and provide so much context for live in a major Taiwanese city: the people, the fashions, the foods, and the conversations. For two weeks…
XINDIAN DISTRICT, NEW TAIPEI CITY — For those who follow communication technology, it is no secret that Taiwan is constantly on the “bleeding edge” of emerging tech. Stemming as far back as the “Taiwan Miracle” economic boon of the latter 20th Century, this island nation has consistently been among the global leaders in information systems…
TAIPEI CITY — A rainy and grey Monday morning set the backdrop for my first official day of work in Taipei. The task? A decidedly bureaucratic one–my first meeting with the Foundation for Scholarly Exchange to arrange for my Alien Resident Card (ARC). It’s an important step in the process, but if my experiences in…
MUZHA MARKET, TAIPEI — It’s hard to think of Taiwan and not immediately think of the market scene. Throughout majors cities such as Taipei, so much commerce, community, and camaraderie takes place in the thousands upon thousands of market stalls. Among the oldest daytime markets in Taipei is Muzha Market, and I’m fortunate enough to…