Growing up in Taiwan as a missionary kid was definitely an adventure full of challenges as well as so many fun memories that I will take with me wherever I go. One of the biggest things that were challenging living in a foreign country was the difference between stores and what they sold, especially the variety. I have many memories of walking into Target for the first time in a year and having a mini heart attack because it the variety and size of the store was always overwhelming. Going to Target was always one of the highlights of being back in America for the summer, and I could probably go on and on about what I love about the store, but for now, here is a list of the most frequent thoughts I had while I was there:

Self-checkouts

There is no such thing as self-checkouts in Taiwan. Every store had the traditional checkout lines that we would often wait in for what seemed like hours. I remember using a self-checkout station for the first time and thinking that it was the coolest thing in the world. I no longer had to wait in long lines for just a few items (which rarely happened, because its Target), and feeling a sense of independence since I could ring everything up myself. I mean seriously, how cool is that?

There are three full aisles of ice cream?!

Endless possibilities. I was used to only getting either vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry since those were the "western" flavors that most stores sold. Local stores in Taiwan had many other flavors, but most of them were "exotic" and sometimes a little odd for my western taste buds. Flavors such as black sesame, taro and durian were a little too bizarre for me. Seeing flavors such as cookie dough, salted caramel, rocky road, and praline pecan made my little American heart (and stomach) very happy.

You can buy clothes, food, and furniture at the same store?!

This one was a huge one for me. I loved being able to buy literally anything I needed or wanted at a store like Target because like I said earlier, endless possibilities. I was baffled by the variety of clothing they sold, food products from all over the world and western style furniture that was rare to see in many local Taiwanese homes. Basically, it was like a dream come true.

The clothes actually fit me!

Even though I am half-Taiwanese, I did not inherit the typical Taiwanese genes. My shoulders were always a little too broad, my arms and legs are not as stick-thin as many of the Taiwanese kids, and my feet were massive compared to most of the girls. I remember many times the shocked faces of sales women in shoe stores whenever they saw the size of my feet compared to the usually smaller feet that Taiwanese women have. It was almost painful to go shoe shopping since I rarely was able to find shoes that fit me comfortably. Shoes are also my favorite thing to shop for, so I would go crazy in the shoe aisles and end up buying multiple pairs of shoes.

I can finally buy shampoo that works for my hair type

Being biracial, I had an odd mix of curly/straight hair, especially in the humidity. I was finally able to use a shampoo that didn't make my hair go limp and had a moisturizing formula that didn't cause my curls to make me look like Medusa. This may sound like a ridiculous thing, but trust me, sometimes my hair was just out of control and there was little I could do with it with the hair products available in Taiwan.

I have to buy all of the cake/cookie/frosting mixes in my sight

When it comes to baking, Taiwanese stores don't really have a lot of options and imported baked goods were generally very over-priced. I love cookies and cake, so I would always end up buying all different flavors such as lemon, red velvet, blue raspberry and of course, funfetti. The frosting section was a whole other thing. I had no idea frosting could come in so many flavors and colors, so that was always something fun to shop for.

There are so many books and movies… in English!!

Local bookstores in Taiwan generally did have books in English, but most of them were more scholarly books and not books I would have read for enjoyment. Being able to look through the book section with an infinite variety of genres was so satisfying and I could literally buy any book I wanted to and actually read it in English. I have always loved reading, so it was extra special being able to buy books and take them back to Taiwan to read them and share them with friends.

I want to fill my apartment with all of their kitchen utilities

I don't know what it is with kitchen utilities, but they have always been fascinating to me. There were so many choices of spatulas to buy, ten different colors of mixers and a fun variety of kitchenware with different patterns and colors. I could spend hours just looking at plates, teacups, and other random kitchen supplies. I always told myself that whenever I was older and had a house of my own that I would definitely be buying my kitchenware from Target.

The Asian section is not actually all that Asian

Growing up in an Asian country as well as being half-Asian gave me really high expectations for Asian food in the States. I grew up eating Asian food at least twice a week (if not more), and my bar was set really high for the quality of Asian ingredients and pre-prepared food that stores sold. Little did I know that I was about to be very disappointed since Asian-American food is definitely very different from authentic Asian food prepared in its country of origin. Don't get me wrong, I love Asian-America food, but it was definitely hard to get used to some of the more "American" versions of classic dishes.

There are a million types of ranch dressing

You probably think I'm crazy for putting this on my list, but seriously, I was blown away by the variety of ranch flavors America had to offer. In Taiwan, they didn't sell Ranch dressing and it always made me really sad because I love Ranch. My parents would make their own version of Ranch sometimes, but it wasn't the same as the store-bought bottles. I had no idea there was such a thing as Sriracha Ranch, Honey BBQ Ranch, Bacon Ranch and so much more.

So there you have it, ten things that made my little American heart happy whenever I would cruise the aisles of Target, making sure I went down every one of them. This may seem like a crazy list for you, but for a missionary kid that spent her whole life growing up in another country, Target was my favorite store, and for a long time I was convinced that there is a giant Target in Heaven.