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The dress code differs from school to school. If you are teaching at a high school, the dress code will be fairly formal - similar to the outfits worn by most high school teachers in South Africa. Most bushibans and kindergartens are very casual, though, and teachers can teach in T-shirts and shorts or jeans. Some practical considerations should be kept in mind:
- Taiwan can be extremely hot and humid, so take a good supply of cool shirts and shorts. Remember that your shorts should not be too short, though, for modesty's sake. Knee-length or slightly shorter is fine.
- Winter in Taiwan can get pretty cold, especially when riding a scooter at night, so a few pairs of suitable longs to teach in and a warm jacket and a couple of tracksuit tops will come in handy.
- Skirts can be troublesome when teaching, especially during kindergarten classes when lots of action and bending down is required. Long skirts are preferrable to short ones for ease of teaching.
- Low-cut or revealing tops should be avoided - remember, you'll be bending over a lot to mark students' work.
- Shoes are removed outside the classroom and outside most people's homes, so take a couple of pairs of slip-on shoes which can be removed and put on quickly and easily.
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Almost everything you require in the toiletries line can be found in Taiwan, although smaller towns will have a smaller range of products. Face and body creams and cleansers, shower gels, shampoo and conditioner, toothpaste, soap, condoms and razors are freely available. Deodorant and shaving cream are available too, though smaller towns will only supply a very small range. If you are specific in your tastes, take a few extra cans over with you.
Note to the girls: tampons are almost impossible to come by in the smaller towns, and you should take a year's supply with you. Sanitary towels are freely available in all towns, and the larger towns and cities will stock tampons - though taking a good supply is a good idea, just in case.
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Most towns have good, clean pharmacies with recognisalbe products, so you don't need to take too much in the way of medicine. Your school will also organise a health card for you, making it extremely cheap for you to visit the doctor. One downside of teaching, though, is that you will be exposed to lots of germs every day, and most teachers get colds or flu often in Taiwan, especially in the first year.
It's always a good idea, then, to take a good stock of vitamins and a trusted cold remedy with you. Although vitamins and cold medicine is available, it's easier to have it with you than to have to do sign language for it in a pharmacy, when you are feeling wretched! A supply of plasters, headache tablets and general painkillers, as well as some antiseptic cream from home will also be useful. Keep in mind, though, that all of these things are available in Taiwan.
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If you are not keen to sample the local cuisine too often, there are big, clean supermarkets in every town where you can buy almost anything you want. Meat, rice, pasta, flour, fresh fruit & veg, milk, tea, coffee, milo, chocolate etc. are all easy to come by. In the smaller towns, you will miss things such as good cheese, but one obviously can't bring over a year's supply! Perhaps the only things one could bring over would be some herbs and spices (again, these are available in the cities but not in the smaller towns). The staple spices here are salt and pepper, so anything herby or meaty will have to come from home. Packets of soup powder from home are also good for making stews or meat dishes; the equivalents here are a bit dicey. Other luxuries such as custard powder or gravy powder might make you feel more at home but are obviously not essential.
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A few other things which might make your stay more comfortable would be a good supply of English books and magazines. Again, there are English books here, but even in the cities they can be difficult to come by.
If you have the space, a sleeping bag might come in handy for while you are still setting up home, but is not essential - bedding is easily found and bought, especially if you like hot pink duvet covers.
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As part of the work permit application, you need to submit your original university degree. You will also be required to produce your passport.
Taking along some ID photos is always useful although you can get them quite easily in Taiwan.
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