上班族必備軟實力

**Richard has been parking in Taipei since the late 1990s.

When you take a driving test in America, parallel parking is the hardest thing to do. People learn how to parallel park to get their driver’s license and then quickly forget how. In Taiwan, you need to learn how to go backward and forward on an “S” curve. After you pass your driving test in Taiwan, you will never have to go backward and forward on an “S” curve again.

How to Parallel Park: First, pull up to where the back end of the car is just a little past the car in font of your space. Then back into the space and try to keep the side of your car close to the back bumper of the car in front. Turn the wheel as far as it will go and swing into the parking space. It’s just that easy.

And then there’s the way not to do it. It’s hard to park correctly when everyone is honking at you. You need to relax and take a deep breath. Don’t let the honking and cursing make you nervous.

How to do the S Curve: It has been a while since I have taken the test and I don’t remember the specifics anymore, but it went something like this: drive into the curve until you cannot go further. Stop and turn the steering wheel three times clockwise. Back up about three feet. Turn the steering wheel six times counterclockwise…, and it goes on and on like that. You only have to memorize the moves. It has nothing to do with the skills needed for actual driving.

There are many free spaces here.

To go shopping in Taipei, you need to have someone who doesn’t mind sitting in the car for long periods because there is no place to park. If there is someone in the car and the tow trucks show up, they can quickly drive off to a safer place.

If you can find a parking lot, many of them are made with the idea of getting as many cars inside as possible. The car spaces are so small that after you park, you cannot open your door and get out. You can look for a public parking lot, which is marked with a big blue ”P” sign, but some private lots will try to copy the style of the public sign.

Double parking is bad. That is all I will say about that. Thank you for reading. Check your mirrors, signal, and pull out slowly. I will stop by again soon.

【作者介紹】

Richard 是一位台灣女婿，在台灣生活15年，喜愛台灣文化，以風趣幽默的文筆，細膩獨特的觀點，介紹在台灣生活的趣事，一起跟著Richard探訪外國人的台灣世界吧！