Singaporean Xiaohui and Taiwanese Dandan set up a "Dandan and Xiaohui" (丹丹與小薈) YouTube channel to introduce the customs, life, culture, values, and food differences between Taiwan and Singapore. Xiaohui traveled to Taiwan with a friend in 2014 for the New Year's Eve, where she met her current partner Dandan through a mutual friend. Xiaohui is currently an online Chinese teacher, and Dandan is the retraining coach. In the "New Immigrants in Taiwan" unit’s episode, Dandan and Xiaohui share their own experiences to help readers understand the differences in daily life between Taiwan and Singapore.
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Xiaohui used to come to Taiwan to travel. Later, she moved and settled in Taiwan. After living in Taiwan, she discovered that there are some life details that she feels are different from Singapore, and it took her some time to get used to.
Xiaohui observed that not every intersection in Taiwan has special traffic lights for pedestrians. So, when she first came to Taiwan, she was a bit confused. Later she found out that when crossing the road, she could look at the traffic lights for cars to determine whether she can cross already. Xiaohui also said that in Taiwan, the sidewalk (the space in front of the store where pedestrians can walk) is uneven. If one does not pay attention on the floor levels, one can trip and fall. Xiaohui once tripped and fell because she was walking while looking at her mobile phone. This taught her not to use her phone while walking.
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Residents in Singapore may throw their garbage in a dedicated garbage chute in their buildings, and the garbage will lead to the garbage collection area on the first floor. (Photo/Provided with authorization from Dandan and Xiaohui)
Next, Xiaohui said that Taiwan’s and Singapore’s household garbage disposal methods are different. In Taiwan, there are two ways to dispose of garbage. One way is to gather all garbage in special garbage collection areas in community buildings. The other way is to wait for the garbage truck to come and bring the garbage to the truck. Xiaohui shared that in Singapore, the building where she lived was equipped with a dedicated garbage chute. Every household can throw garbage into the dedicated chute at home, and the garbage will lead to the garbage collection area on the first floor. In addition, Taiwan’s garbage segregation is also very good. Not only paper, bottles and cans must be recycled, but also food waste must be recycled separately. This helps improve Xiaohui's ability to deal with garbage and recycling, which makes her laugh because Taiwanese and Dandan will ask her how she will deal with the garbage.
Xiaohui said that after she came to Taiwan, although there are still some areas in life that she is not used to, but because Taiwan's garbage segregation culture has improved her environmental awareness and she also learned the habit of not using her mobile phone while walking, she feels that the change is for the better.
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