Flat Pnut goes to Taiwan!

2nd grade Pnut had a Flat Stanley assignment to send a Flat Me version of himself to a relative or friend, and ask them to tell them about their adventures. Since we just got back from Taiwan I wrote this version from Nai Nai. They are studying communities in Social Studies so I tried to highlight differences in Taiwan from the US. I’m hoping some day I will get to blog about Taiwan so consider this a preview.

January 13, 2019

Dear Pnut,

Ni hao! I have had so much fun touring Taiwan with Flat Pnut. I’m also glad you, the REAL Pnut, got to join me here for a part of the trip. I wish you could have stayed longer, but I’ll tell you a little about my adventures with Flat Pnut visiting my home country.

Taiwan is so different from the United States.

First, the official language here is Mandarin, not English. Though most people in the big cities like Taipei can speak a little English, they prefer speaking in Mandarin or even Taiwanese. I was so proud that you could read some of the signs and spoke to people in Mandarin!

Next, we have a different money system here than in America. Here you can only buy things using New Taiwan Dollars, not US Dollars. When we first arrived, we had to go to the bank and exchange our money. One US dollar is about $33NT. So this $1,000NT bill here is actually about $33 US!

Lastly, getting around in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, is very different than in Irvine. Most people get around this big, busy city by taking the subway. A big portion of people also ride motorcycles or scooters,  but I really like just walking to the subway station and sitting on the Metro to visit my friends. 

Taiwan is a small island with a lot of unique communities.

Did you know that California is 11x the size of Taiwan? It was really neat seeing all the types of cities here. One day we were in Taipei, a city full of high rises and railways and buildings are far as the eye could see.

The next day we were in the city of Hualien, next to Taroko Gorge, where tall tropical mountains covered with trees and vines surrounded us. This town has fewer people and life is much calmer and simpler than in the crowded city.

Another day we crossed the country in 2 hours going at speeds over 130mph! I loved taking you and Flat Pnut on to the bullet train from Taipei in the north to Kaohsiung in the south. It used to take me 12 hours by train to get there when I was growing up but now it’s so fast and convenient!

My favorite part of our vacation with Flat Pnut still has to be…

Going to Taipei 101, the tallest building in Taiwan and 11th tallest building in the WORLD!

Wasn’t it so neat to look at the giant metal ball on the 88th floor? I can’t believe it keeps the building from swaying so much when Taiwan has strong winds or earthquakes.

I love returning to Taiwan and I’m so glad you and Flat Pnut could come experience a part of it with me. I can’t wait to see you when I come home on January 25th.

Love,

Nai Nai