My Lovely Hometown

After reading Irene`s essay- Vancouver City and Taipei City, it reminded me of the first time I came to Taipei for going to college. It is normal for freshmen to get homesick when they are first time leaving their homes for studying; especially for those students who are coming from very far places. Indeed, I am happened to come from a small town, Yuan-Li in Miao-Li far away from Taipei. So my hometown usually came to mind in the first semester of my college life. Mostly, when I confronted with difficulties, it would make me much more missed my lovely hometown. Actually, Taipei is quite different from Yuan-Li. They are different in the mass transportation system, the environment of residence, and the lifestyle.

First difference is the mass transportation system. The mass transportation system in Taipei is very convenient. People living there not only can take buses or trains but also can take the MRT. In the past, because of the crowded population, Taipei`s residents always got traffic jam during rush hours. However, after the MRT was built, traffic jam was no more a big deal. On the contrary, the mass transportation system is poor in Yuan-Li. But it is normal for a small town to have poor transportation facilities. People living in Yuan-Li always ride motorcycles or drive cars. Because of the small population, although there has rush hours, they wouldn’t cause any traffic jam at all.

Second difference is the environment of residence. Both Taipei and Yuan-Li have the same type of separated residential and business districts. But the architecture and the living environment are quite different. For example, most of the buildings in Taipei are tall buildings or skyscrapers; such as Taipei 101, department stores, and commercial buildings. While there are few tall buildings in Yuan-Li, most are one -stored houses, such as siheyuan. There are seldom buildings which are taller than ten-stored houses. In addition, there is seldom green land in city, so the city government will build parks for citizens to get in touch with nature and to decrease carbon dioxide. In contrast, there is a lot of green land in countryside, like paddy field. And because of the fewer air pollution, the air in Yuan-Li is more clear.

The final difference is the lifestyle. Because of the different level of commercialization, the tempo of life in Taipei and Yuan-Li are quite the other way. Citizens’ are faster than villagers’. Moreover, citizens fewer interact with their neighbors than villagers do. The reason why villagers are more enthusiastic than citizens probably is because they are used to interact and contact with neighbors. Besides, I feel that citizens like pursuing name brands and material things. While villagers pay more attention on practical things, they are less interested in comparing dressing or appearance.

Actually, I like Yuan-Lin much more than Taipei. That is because I don’t like living in a fast-paced life. Every time I take the MRT, the passengers always walk fast and push you when they walk by. Especially at rush hours, people will even walk blindly and jostle you harder, just like they don’t have eyes on them. These things always drive me crazy. If I will keep on studying graduated schools, I will choose a more quite and less crowded place.  (550)