July 11th, 2005
7-11 Day
Today is 7-11 day, which is an easy thing to notice in Taiwan, since we always write the date like “7/11″. The Chinese were smart and named months by their number (this month is ‘Seven Month’), instead of with a silly name like ‘July’. So I got the kids excited by telling them that in Canada, if you go to 7-11 on 7/11 day, they’ll give you something for free.
I didn’t explain that the free thing is a Slurpee, because I’m sure they wouldn’t know what I was talking about. A lot of the 7-11’s in Taiwan do have Slurpee machines, but the Slurpees in Asia are not nearly as good as the Slurpees in Canada. If they were, I’m sure many people would drink them, and there would be fewer people complaining about the heat! I don’t know why no country has been able to master the Slurpee as well as Canada. I’ve tried them in Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, and even America, and they’ve always had a certain crappy airiness to them.
In Canada, some stores have up to 8 different-flavored machines going(!), while in Asia, it’s usually just one or two. In Taiwan, the choice is almost always coke or orange- I’ve stopped checking.
As I’ve mentioned before, 7-11 is huge here- there are over 3,470 7/11s in Taiwan, and only about 500 in Canada. You can do just about any service there, so 7-11 is much more involved in peoples lives in Taiwan than anywhere else. In fact, it seems so important here, that they could make 7/11 a national holiday. Forget 10/10 day (National Day in Taiwan)! I don’t know if 7-11 in Taiwan is celebrating 7/11 day, but for those of you in Canada, 15 hours behind Taiwan’s time zone, it’s still the morning there so you’re not too late to cash in on all the free Slurpees your brain can handle!
July 11th, 2005 at 10:32 pm
Are you serious, Les? I’ve never heard of a free slurpee day in Canada. But if it’s for real, you can bet I’ll be there next summer!
July 11th, 2005 at 10:57 pm
I didn’t get anything for free in 7-11. But then, the two 7-11s near me don’t have slurpee machines. I did get 3 more Hello Kitty magnets though.
July 11th, 2005 at 11:12 pm
I thought the Hello Kitty thing was just about over…?
And yes, last time I was in Canada for 7-11 day was two years ago, and free Slurpee day was still going on strong!
July 12th, 2005 at 12:35 am
I think it’s only a Western Canada thing. Over in the East, every thing is Tim Horton’s and the `Ice Cap’ thing. The places that do have Slurpees are like the ones in Asia. Airy and bad. Nobody here drinks Slurpees so it’s very difficult find a place that sells them and I’ve only been to one 7-11 here (and I’m always on the lookout). Plus, they don’t have spoon straws here– they use the same huge straws that are used for bubble tea.
July 12th, 2005 at 12:44 am
What- no spoon straws? that’s f’ed!
But it’s not a Western Canada thing- don’t forget that Manitoba is the Slurpee® Capital of the World!. I think Ontarians are just a little too obsessed with Tom Horton’s
July 12th, 2005 at 4:22 am
It’s not just Ontarians who are obsessed with Timmy’s. Damn, I miss that places! I still dream of ham & swiss sandwiches on brown bread, cucmbers in lieu of tomatoes, an iced tea and a boston cream donut…. oh.
July 12th, 2005 at 10:39 am
I wish I knew about the slurpee in Canada when I went to Vancouver in May. I guess now I’ll have to go back and check it out.
July 12th, 2005 at 12:40 pm
I just introduced one of my friends to the Okanagan custom (well it may be in other places too but I don’t know about it) of adding alcohol to 7-11 slurpees. What a wonderful way to pass a cool summer!
July 12th, 2005 at 11:55 pm
Check out this most appropriate link!
July 13th, 2005 at 12:04 am
That’s cool, it’s Manitoba! But I don’t understand why they bought a Slurpee at every store. Maybe they’re not free in Manitoba, or maybe the news screwed up their story (wouldn’t be a surprise!).
in case people missed it, here’s the link
July 13th, 2005 at 12:45 am
Manitoba is considered to be Western Canada.
July 13th, 2005 at 1:09 pm
Shut Up Joe!
November 25th, 2005 at 6:43 pm
The slurpee’s in Australia are great. Soft, but not too soft and they don’t skimp on the flavouring so you don’t find it all running to the bottom, leaving you with a mountain of ice in your cup. I consider myself to be quite the slurpee connoisseur. At my local 7/11 store, yes, we do have 7/11 stores in Australia (for those of you who have been led to believe otherwise) and the store always has 6 flavours which are changed quite regularly, so that keeps me content. Also, slurpees can be drunk all year round considering we don’t have a climate that is nearly as cold as Canada. Summer is coming up fast as well so I will be drinking slurpees everyday…yaeeeeehaw
June 24th, 2006 at 4:44 am
Hello, if anyone knows where i can find a real slurpee in 7-11 in taiwan, please post the address! i live in Taipei city near taipei 101 and after suffering a bad hangover, i have a insane craving for a slurpee!