Baby, It's Hot Outside

So this is the weather forecast in Taipei for the upcoming days:

As you can see, we're hitting the low to mid-90s in Fahrenheit here (around mid-30s in Celsius), which is standard mid-summer (think July, August) temperature for New York City. Meanwhile the temperature here in Taipei has already been in the high 80s, low 90s since at least mid-May. However, we're only in early June and from what I understand, the worst is yet to come. Moreover, it is not only hot, but humid as well. If you're from the Northeastern United States like me, you can understand hot and humid summers, but as Taiwan is a located in a subtropical area, the humidity here is a lot higher, so much so that you can practically feel the air smothering you at times or feel your skin getting moist and sticky the moment you step foot out the door. Furthermore the sunlight can get pretty intense and you will often find both guys and girls alike going outside armed with a sun umbrella, and no I'm not talking about those pretty lace parasols, I'm talking waterproof UV sun umbrellas (which can probably double as a rain umbrella as well).

No not these delicate parasols

An umbrella for all seasons--pretty isn't it?

In fact, what with all the rain and sun Taiwan gets, umbrella shops are pretty prominent around Taipei (and probably around other parts of Taiwan as well). In addition to protecting against the heat of the sun and health concerns, I think a lot of it also has to do with the fact that the Taiwanese (girls especially) do not want to get darker. In Taiwan (and many parts of East Asia actually), whiter skin is considered to be more beautiful and the idea of tanning, of wanting to get darker skin, is considered kind of strange. It does seem however, that down south or in the countryside, girls are not as concerned about being dark. In context it makes sense, as back in the day it was not uncommon to see children helping their parents out in the fields; all that time spent in the sun turned their skin dark hence dark skin was a normal thing. In the city however, I think if you were not dark it meant that you spent your time indoors, either in some office job, or at home because you didn't even have to work, thus whiter skin was associated with prosperity and a life of luxury. 

Anyways, with the rising temperature, another thing to worry about are these little buggers:

It's amazing how much the images differ if you type "mosquito" in Chinese as opposed to in English on Google

MOSQUITOES. Taiwan is teeming with mosquitoes buzzing around in the hot humid weather waiting to get a taste of your blood, those nasty little buggers. If you don't often get bitten (like my roommate), consider yourself lucky. If however, you are like me (T^T) and are constantly getting bitten left and right (I once got bitten 20+ times in the time span of 50 minutes while in class) then this is for you. New York City has its fair share of mosquitoes, but never have I been bitten so many times back home as I have been here (the mosquitoes here will also get you through your jeggings and leggings too so beware!).

I had previously been using this Japanese-brand ointment for my mosquito bites:

which is pretty easy enough to find in Chinatown, New York and serves as an effective anti-itch, anti-swelling ointment. With all the bites I have been getting however, I was quickly running low. Unfortunately I couldn't seem to find it here in Taiwan, so I had to go hunting for something different to treat my bites.

Found at any Watsons for NT$264 for both of them

Now in the past I have gotten by alright with not using any insect repellent, plus I don't really like the idea of spraying myself with chemicals, or just having to spray myself anytime I leave the house. However seeing as how frequently I have been getting bitten I figured I might as well invest in some bug spray as well. So I decided to head over to Watsons to see what I could find.

In addition to Taiwanese bug sprays, they also had some American companies such as Burt's Bees and Off! as well, so if those are your go-to companies for bug spray you are in luck. Of course, being that they are foreign companies, they were pricier than the local brands and as I did not have any preference, I decided to go with the cheaper 綠油精叮寧 bug spray.

There was a wide variety of sprays from this one company and as I couldn't exactly read all the Chinese to be able to differentiate between them I decided to go with the one which had characters I recognized--namely 綠茶 (green tea) and 長效 (long-lasting) because I figured a long-lasting green tea scented bug spray was a pretty safe bet. Also if you are one of those people who are concerned about spraying chemicals on your skin, these bug sprays are DEET-free so you can be rest assured.

If you are one of those people are picky about brands or sensitive to certain scents I would suggest packing a lot of insect repellent before you come to Taiwan, otherwise you can find a variety of bug sprays (and insect repellent patches) at any local drugstore such as Watsons for anywhere between NT$60 to NT$350. In my opinion it works pretty well as I haven't gotten bitten since I've started using it (except for that one time I was lazy about applying it and as a result am currently sporting ten bites; to be fair though, three of them were through my legging-clad legs and two were on the back of my hands which I am constantly washing throughout the course of a day).

The next thing I want to talk about is my Mopiko-S ointment replacement.

Also from the same company as my big spray, this 綠油精 serves as a multi-purpose oil which, in addition to treating mosquito bites, can also be used to treat headaches, nose complaints, seasickness, stomachache, abrasions, burns, cuts, and muscular pain and comes in two scents--verbena and geranium. Normally Watsons would have samples for customers to sniff, but for some reason the samples were missing the day I went so, as I tend to be wary of floral scents, I decided to go with verbena which smells kind of like a milder version of the Salonpas patch my mother uses for her headaches.

What I like about this is that the scent is not too strong and it's also really light, so even in this hot weather you can apply it without feeling like you're adding extra layers on your skin. Plus the fact that it's a rollerball means that it is a lot cleaner to apply. Also because it contains eucalyptus oil and camphor oil (both of which are supposed to be unappealing to mosquitoes), this Green Oil can double as both a mosquito repellent and a treatment for mosquito bites. In terms of effectiveness, I think that this works pretty well, both to alleviate the itch and reduce swelling and redness. I would definitely recommend this as well. And the Hsin Wan Jen company that produces both of these products seems to be a good, reliable brand.

Everyday Chinese

• 溼 (Shī) - Humid
• 傘 (Sǎn) - Umbrella/Parasol
• 雨傘 (Yǔsǎn) - (Rain) umbrella
• 陽傘 (Yángsǎn) - (Sun) Umbrella/Parasol
• 蚊子 (Wénzi) - Mosquito
• 防蚊液 (Fáng wén yè) - Insect repellent
• 長效 (Cháng xiào) - Long-lasting
• 風油精 (Fēng yóu jīng) - Essential oil containing menthol and eucalyptus oil used to repel insects
• 桉葉油 (Ān yè yóu) - Eucalyptus oil
• 樟 (Zhāng) - Camphor