Weather:
Yes, Taiwan is hot, and if you are coming in the Fall semester, the beginning will be brutal around 80-90 degrees and a 70% humidity. Most places will have air conditioning, and you can purchase an air conditioning card for about 400 NTD to use in your dorm. However, what I did not come prepared for was the cold. I was told that in the winter it only goes as low as 50 ℉ (10℃), and it usually stays in the low 60s in the winter. Being from upstate New York, that didn’t sound bad at all. However, it is still humid in the winter, so the cold feels colder. In my dorm there is also no heating, and the insulation in the buildings is not great either (I was pitiful at one point and used my hairdryer to keep warm it got so cold in my room!). So if it is 50 outside, your room will quickly drop in temperature as well. In the NTU dorms, space heaters are not allowed. To keep warm in the winter, make sure you bring some nice sweaters and a good winter coat. If it gets really unbearable, find a cozy cafe, or even sit in the 7-11 underneath Guoqing since these places will have heating. In short, make sure you pack for both seasons. Also, bring an umbrella with you in your carry on bag. In Taiwan it rains quite a bit.
Typhoons:
Unfortunately, Taiwan does have typhoons, and if you are coming in the fall you will most likely get to experience one. Typhoon season is around the time of June-October. They are really annoying, but don’t usually last more than 24 hours. You will probably hear about the typhoon through the grapevine, but can also find out by going to Taiwan’s official weather website; the Central Weather Bureau (the have the site in English as well).
It is the government who decides if schools and businesses will close down for a typhoon and they will announce on the same website.The most important thing to keep in mind is the city shuts down. That means almost all restaurants will be closed along with most other businesses (sometimes larger chains such as Starbucks or McDonalds, depending on how severe the typhoon is, will stay open). The 7-11 right below Guoqing will sometimes remain open as well, and since it is connected to the dorm you can get to it during the typhoon without risking your safety. Don’t depend on it being open though, and prepare in advance. You will see the Taiwanese students carrying loads of instant noodles and other non perishable food supplies a day or two before the typhoon hits. If you don’t want to go the instant noodle route, I recommend going to a bakery and getting baked goods since they can last 2-4 days outside of a fridge (click here for the closest and best bakeries).
Even if there are some chains open, you are not going to want to venture out into the city. It is dangerous. So just stay inside, and use it as a good time to finally do that assignment you have been procrastinating doing.
One last thing, this only happened once and it is rare, but depending on the amount of debris that is caused by damages, the city’s water might be shut off. This is for safety reasons because the water gets contaminated. The government will announce the possibility of water shutting down a few hours in advance to give you time to prepare. You will see everyone filling buckets of water, and I recommend you do the same. It does not stay off long. In my case, it shut down at about 5pm, and was running again at 6am in the morning the next day. The government will try to time it during sleeping hours if possible. Just make sure you have a bucket ready in advance in case this happens.
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