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Three weeks ago, I was in Thailand, not to be confused with Taiwan, the Republic of China (the place I currently live). People often mix up Thailand and Taiwan, to the point that when addressing a letter, it’s best to specify Taiwan (R.O.C.) to prevent a mix-up in the post office. Close ...read more
Chinese is hard. Even after nine (going on ten) years of studying the language, every day has its linguistic challenges. At this point, I’m able to navigate the daily functions of my life without issue. At work, I understand about 80% of what’s going on, most of the time. I’ve had two recent linguistic wins that show how much my Chinese ...read more
Today is the second and final installment of “Miriam pays her 2024 taxes.” This time, I bring you the Taiwanese tax system which, frankly, blew me away. On Wednesday, I went to pay my taxes. I’ve been dreading this act for months; since I was in Taiwan for less than 6 months in 2024, I was subject to a flat tax rate of 18% with no deductions ...read more
Today, I ran up all the stairs in Taipei 101! There’s not much more to say about it, although you may be wondering why in the world I’d actively choose to run up 91 flights (2046 stairs) on a Saturday afternoon (many of my coworkers and friends have also wondered, and sometimes I wonder too). Through Princeton in Asia, I’ve gotten looped into ...read more