Yes, they do. And they’ll talk about you as if you aren’t there, or unable to understand.
You get used to it. Not a big deal. You can have a lot of fun with kids in villages where they don’t see hairy barbarians too often.
Edit: Forgot to ad that if you go out with a particularly hairy and particularly barbarian beer drinker named almas john, you’ll get double the number of stares, but he’ll get you so drunk that you will soon be unable to notice anything but the room that is spinning about you.
Just stare back. And honestly after you get used to it and return to whence you came, you will wonder why people dont stare at you and if something is wrong with you?
[quote=“Skyfae”]Original Title: Curious I’m sure this has been touched on before, but I’m new to the forum so pardon me if it has. I leave for Taiwan in about two weeks. It seems that a lot of friends and relatives think I’m going to be stared at/treated like a freak of nature over there. Honestly, this is the least of my concerns. I am well aware that there are thousands of other foreigners over in Taiwan right now so the sight of me probably won’t create many waves.
I’m just curious as to what you all have to say about this? Experiences? thanks! [/quote]
Well you haven’t yet been really stared at until you meet one of those expats who have lived here for 20 plus years.
They give you the thsand yard stare where they look right trough you like you don’t exits. if if you cast your fleeting shadow anywhere near them give you that look of… “what the hell you invading my turf for ya godamned newbie”
The sight of a new foreigner causes more waves amongst those already here… we don’t need more newbies coming over here and competing for places in the dried up job market… on ya bike laddy… back to Momma.
As for the locals taring at ya… no no big concerns really, none at all, just tsare back and don’t blink for about 5 minutes as you stare at them… and never take your eyes off them either… they really love it.
You need to factor in some kind of equation that reflects that fact that the less likely the situation is to feature a foreigner, the less staring actually occurs.
[quote]Well you haven’t yet been really stared at until you meet one of those expats who have lived here for 20 plus years.
They give you the thsand yard stare where they look right trough you like you don’t exits.[/quote]
You’re just speaking from personal experience, and that’s only because for those of who’ve been here for 20 years, your reputation precedes you.
Taipei’s not so bad 'cept w/men above 40. They seem to be the worst starers in other locations too, but the average stare length & ratio of sleaziness to mere curiosity seem to vary from place to place.
For females, it’s directly proportional to breast size, skin/hair lightness, and inversely proportional to skirt length and the number of Western franchise eateries in a given geographic area.
For white males under 40, yes, you are that movie star, or at least somehow related - it doesn’t matter which one. Just go with it.
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