I've been in Taipei just over a week, so I've gathered up a good number of external culture differences to share here:
Scooters! They are everywhere. Zooming around on roads and sometimes sidewalks, parked along sidewalks (in an orderly fashion). My favorite scooter sight so far was during the rain, when all the riders were suddenly wearing ponchos.
Note the scooters on the right side of the street
An obvious one, the language. Many things are also printed in English, but not everything. The other night I had some ramen for dinner, but since I couldn't read the instructions (and don't eat ramen much at home) I just guessed at how much water I should put in.
Time difference. Being 12 hours ahead is so strange! In the morning, I'm seeing posts on social media about people being out and about at concerts, out to dinner, etc...and I'm just waking up...and it's the next day! Then, at night, when my day is almost done, everyone I know at home is just waking up and starting their day.
Keycard lighting. This is probably a hotel thing, and it's something I remember from China now, too, but in your hotel room, the lights and AC don't come on unless you have your key card in the slot.
Low quality pic of the keycard slot by my bed
There is a correct way to use escalators: anyone who is not moving stands on the right, and anyone who wants to walk up the escalator uses the left. Note, I spend I lot of time on escalators because of the metro system. Minimum 6 per day.
You can open a savings account at the post office. I haven't opened one yet.
Specialized shops. We don't have much of this in the US - the only similar one I can really think of are shoe stores. Even when we have a specialized shop, the specialization is still pretty broad. Here, you can walk by a shop that sells one item exclusively and extensively. For example: umbrellas, containers, cords, welcome mats, purses, phone cases, strings of lights - each of these have their own individual shop.
Most people don't know where Michigan is. I've already been asked if Michigan is in Indiana, or if Michigan is a city.
Purchases aren't often bagged at convenience stores and supermarkets. This was also a thing in China, though you could get a bag if you paid for it. It seems like they only offer bags for larger purchases, and they always ask first. Most of the plastic bags I see here are for people carrying food.
I thought I heard an ice cream truck the other day. Turns out, it's actually the trash truck. It drives around playing this melody on repeat. For 20 seconds of the trash truck song, click the video below!
In McDonald's (yes, I've already been there...don't judge me too hard) when I put my tray away, there was an elaborate (by US standards) system for anything that might be left on your plate: food waste, liquid waste, cup recycling, general recycling, trays, trash. Personally, I think it's awesome!
I sometimes see people wearing surgical masks. Based on a conversation with a woman from Taipei, I think most people wear them if they are sick or think they might be getting sick, but I'm not sure.
Almost every single street has a crosswalk and a walk signal light, even on smaller streets.
Many women use umbrellas to shade themselves from the sun.
I've seen delivery bikes and delivery scooters. They have a box attached to the back to keep the food warm.
Delivery bike!
None of the hospitals in Taiwan have a 4th floor. (I learned this from my Chinese teacher.) This is because in Chinese, 4 sounds very similar to the word for 'death'. Some other buildings may also omit the 4th floor, but I haven't encountered any personally yet.
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