7 - Eleven

So they have 7-Eleven in Taiwan, and they're pretty abundant. I've seen three so far during my short stay on campus. They sell the standard convenience foods such as wasabi chips, breads, and lots of drinks. What is quite popular here is the wide assortment of microwavable foods ranging from chicken sandwiches to pasta to Chinese fried rice. There also is a huge assortment of instant noodles - none of those crappy kinds they sell in the States. During checkout they usually ask if you want to "add heat." In other words, do you want the food microwaved for you. In many ways the local convenience mart serves as a place to get decently tasty food quick and cheap. In fact, many students claim that the microwave food tastes better than the cafeteria food.

What I found interesting here is that when they give you the receipt - they always do, there is a 8 digit number at the top. This is actually a lottery number. So every time you purchase something, they give you a lottery ticket. There is a lottery drawing every few months or so. I think matching the last two digits means you win like 200 NT ( $6 US). The reason they do this is because the government collects taxes from the store's earnings, and receipts keep tract of how much the stores earn. Essentially, the lottery number is a way for people to make sure the store gives you a receipt. No one really plays the lottery at the university so there are boxes set up where you can donate your receipt to charity.

One thing that I am really thankful for at this university is the opportunity to interact with other international students. I think that being an international student has opened my perspective to realize how hard it can be to manage the everyday. I've realized that at home, I've taken a lot of things for granted and not known how challenging studying as an international can be.