First, it needs to be stated just how popular 7-11 is here. These joints are literally everywhere. You can’t walk more than 100 meters in any direction without seeing one. People back home joke that’s there literally a Starbucks on every corner. Here it’s no joke—7-11 rules the day. The number of 7-11s here would probably make Starbucks back home seem like a hole-in-the-wall restaurant.
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| One photo. Two 7-11s. |
An interesting thing happened the other day. I opened the top drawer of my desk, the one which has been designated as my receipt cubby. Every night I take the receipts I have from that day and stuff them in there in a very unorganized fashion. After 2 months, it's safe to say there was complete chaos in there. Yet I elected to go through each and every one of these receipts in order to participate in Taiwan’s receipt lottery, hopeful that one of those crumpled pieces of paper could win me some more valuable “paypa” (unfortunately this effort was in vain). It was then that I realized just how many receipts I had collected from 7-11.
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| receipt drawer...yikes. It's ironic that the receipt lottery was instituted to encourage organization...whoops. |
My initial reaction to this was a mixture of shock and disappointment. Had I really traveled to a place thousands of miles away only to become a 7-11 fiend? By the number of receipts I’d collected, I came to the conclusion that I’d been to 7-11 more times in the past 3 months than I’d been in my entire lifetime. I’m sure many of you are similarly confused/disappointed. But then I looked closer at the receipts to see what I was purchasing—a pattern soon became very apparent. It's not like I'm using this place for everyday meals; I’m using it for what the definition of 7-11 is: a convenient store. And in this way, it’s been a total life-saver.
Coffee. I’ve already mentioned how that substance has once again become my life-blood here in Taiwan. If coffee didn’t exist here, chances are I wouldn’t be waking up most mornings until 11:30. Luckily the stuff is readily available…thanks in no small part to my new favorite convenient store. It shouldn’t strike anyone as unusual that 3 of the most common Chinese phrases I know are “wo yao ka fe shao be” (I want a small cup of coffee), “zhong be (medium cup), and“da be” (large cup). When I’m just looking for the energy fix, whether it be early morning or pre-class time, the 7-11 Americano works wonders. When I’m treating myself, I get myself a nice little latte. Surprisingly this coffee isn’t actually all that bad, and it’s far more affordable than the Starbucks alternative, which is rather expensive.
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| Medium latte, or "ka fe zhong be". And in a Christmas themed cup..what's not to like? |
Beer. After a day of enlightening the young ones, with the infamous “I deserve this” mentality persisting, the temptation can be quite large to throw back a few cold ones. And when I do indeed decide to treat myself, 7-11 is always there to help. Thanks to it, I now have a pretty strong knowledge of Taiwanese beer (for the record, Tsingtao=my favorite cheap one). But I must confess that normally when I go there for my alcoholic fix, I can’t but resist the 3 beers for 79 NT deal. The funniest part—this beer with the special is actually called “The Beer” (original, right?). And while it’s notorious for being the cheap beer here, in this regard it surely blows its American counterparts (Keystone, Natural Light, etc.) way out of the water. I actually rather enjoy the stuff (next step—find a beer pong table. Just kidding. But seriously).
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| Taiwan Beer. It's an acquired taste. |
And as if the connection between alcohol and 7-11 wasn’t already amazing enough, it gets even better. See, drinking in public is actually legal here (hoooorayyyy beeer!). You can walk down the street with a little “road soda” and have nothing to fear. This is especially great because one of the 7-11s by my house is actually located right next door to a pretty fancy club, Roxy 99. But since most of the people who live where I live (students and fellow teachers) don’t have the funds for such a club, many of us just end up sipping on beers and hanging outside 7-11 with everyone else who may or may not eventually end up at the club. It’s like a gigantic pre-party outside of 7-11. And I must confess that, after actually being to Roxy, the party at 7-11 is much more enjoyable and social. Considering the number of people who just hang outside of its confines until the wee hours of the morning, taking advantage of their cheap beer, I wouldn’t be surprised if 7-11 started charging a cover.
The best part is that the 7-11s here are the perfect balance of familiar and Western and foreign and Taiwanese. Sure, they have chips—but can you say you’ve ever really tried “prawn flavor”? ( I can!) And of course they also have slurpees…the staple trademark treat of 7-11. Though I haven’t had one yet, I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before I’ll give in (waiting for when I’m really homesick to indulge in one).
So call me pathetic; call me lame. Say what you'd like. But I've traveled to Taiwan and grown to love 7-11.
