Before You Go, Things You Need to Know

I finished packing! Sort of. I finished packing all my clothes, minus one sweater that needs to go in the wash and a jacket. But other than that I'm pretty much set clothes wise, with still some extra room to spare no less! Actually it doesn't really count as spare room because my multitude of bags are going in there (I have way too many types of bags, but you can't deny that each have come in handy in different situations), plus my shoes (just a pair of flats, a pair of wedge sneakers, and a pair of ankle boots), but I think I am definitely in better shape than when I went off to Korea.

The seat of packing honor (or horror) within reach of all your subjects

I also have my backpack to pack, but after five hours of dealing with that ring of mess up there, I decided that it would probably be best to call it a day. Plus I'm currently sitting here nursing a slight head and eye-ache (or that might be from going to sleep so late last night. Or spending too much time blogging hahaha). Although admittedly I didn't spend all five of those hours studiously packing. In fact I spent a lot of it gazing at everything trying not to be overwhelmed. And also part of it getting a distracted by the fresh lemon lavender scent of some clothes I haven't worn since I came back from South Korea (seriously though, if you're ever in Korea for the long term and need detergent, lemon lavender [레몬 라벤더 세제 in Korean] is the way to go!).

You want the purple one at the front center (And yes, that's LG as in the electronics company)

Anyways, I am getting totally off track here.

Packing. Luckily for me, since I'll be going to Taiwan for the spring term and since Taiwan is pretty much tropical year round anyways, I packed mostly summer and spring clothes which take up a lot less room than winter clothes.

That being said, before you start packing your clothes it's important to look into things like temperature, weather, and...etiquette. Huh? Well for example, in South Korea, short shorts and miniskirts are okay, but spaghetti straps and tube tops? Bared shoulders and shoulder blades are almost...scandalous, if you will. I mean sure if you're an (obvious) foreigner, they might be more forgiving, but in any case it's best to not draw negative attention by disrespecting customs.

In terms of Taiwanese dress code, as far as I could tell, there did not seem to be any fashion faux pas to avoid. In fact several articles I read online said that Taiwanese dress code was similar to that of the United State's or Europe's.

Besides clothes, I would also recommend packing toiletries, like toothbrushes, toothpaste and soap (especially if you're particularly particular about brand and scent), because it's nice to have these things already on hand when you first arrive. That way you won't be scrambling to buy them when there are probably more pressing and immediate matters you have to deal with first. Also you'll probably want to settle down a bit before you start making that shopping list so that you can buy everything in one go instead of having to make a bunch of return trips.

Don't forget your trusty stuffed animals!

Other things to consider are medicine, outfits for different occasions (some formal wear and semi-formal wear), plus the shoes to go with said outfits (but don't bring a whole luggage of shoes!), electrical appliances (chargers, adapters if need be [in the case of Taiwan, their outlets are the same as that of the United States']), and a pair of scissors, for opening packages and the like (trust me on that--just don't put it in your carry-on and package it well so it doesn't have the potential of poking or cutting through your things). That's all for now cause I'm so ready to turn in.

Language and culture books! (Please ignore the fact that none of these are even related to Taiwan)

And your favorite botany books ^-^ hehe