Yeah, onto the train. But when leaving the train or station it’s a different situation, like taking an escalator in a department store: they stop right at the end of it to think about where they actually want to go from there - and all the people behind start “crashing” into them. :?
As well this stupid “keep the left side of the escalator free for people who want to break their neck” causes most of the congestion. If people would enter the escalator in two rows instead of one only it would speed up things significantly.
And no, I do not care about those handfull of people who appear to be in a rush. Wake up earlier! 
tomas said:[quote]We live in different worlds, apparently. I’ll respond point-to-point:
-
Are you kidding? My local friends are far bigger party animals than I am. They get me going.
-
Um, you might want to look up “objectify” in the dictionary. I prefer my girlfriends lithe too, but many overweight women are quite pretty. I wouldn’t equate being overweight with being unattractive.
-
I find that many foreigners in Taiwan actually take it slower than the locals on trains and the subway. I don’t think they find it necessary to fight their way to the front so that they can stand in line earlier.[/quote]
-
Yes, I’ve encountered this too. My comment was a bit of a sweeping generalization that is not really justified. All the same, Taiwan does not seem to have as big a boozing culture as many western cultures, and most of my TW friends seem to just get hell for leather unconscious drunk rather than loudly long term inebriated. And I do see a lot of people here drinking glasses of water…
Or maybe what I’m saying is that westerners tend to be more vocal when drunk, or that I’m usually too sozzled myself to have a meaningful opinion. Let’s delete that one shall we?
- Objectify? Sounds like a Bushism, but it’s there in the Oxford bible. Today must be my day for being wrong.
Going back to the comment: Pear shaped, often, although of course many people might find that attractive. I shouldn’t have used the phrase ‘butt-ugly’ in the same sentence, as I was referring to facial features - not the pleasingly pear-shaped posteriors. It does seem that most of the western women I see out and about in Taipei are depressingly ugly, even though they compensate by being delightfully plump. How’s that?
(I did meet a couple of slender blonde beauties yesterday btw!!)
- Yes, most of us do wait until it’s easy to step off the train - and run the risk of being trampled to death by the herd of people who can’t understand that you have to let the people on the train get off to make room for the people off the train to get on. But even while waiting politely for the stampede to subside, there are the occasional ones who seem to think that shouting at people to get out of the way (in English) is somehow going to speed the process up.
OK, I’ve only seen it once or twice, but I thought it worth commenting on.
Tomas again:
[quote]I think the long-termers recognize me as such as well. We usually exchange a polite nod, as if to say, “I know.”
[/quote]
Really?? A-ha!!
I remember seeing a thread a while back started by someone who was complaining that foreigners ignored each other on the street. The consensus in reply seemed to be that expecting someone to acknowledge you just because you were foreign was evidence that you were not yet settled in. A reasonable argument, I thought.
And now it turns out that, in fact, the long-termers have a secret nodding fraternity: The Brethren of the Settled, identifiable to each other by their ability to serenely blend into concrete, and apparently imbued with some kind of telepathy that allows them to say “I know” without opening their mouths.
Initiation is presumably some kind of ordeal by fire - such as working for an agency or chain school for several years - that enables the novice to transcend their worldly differences and become at one with the crowd.
Amazing!! Thanks Tomas.
Are there any other ways to distinguish between the newbie and the long-termer?
I think that desparation to make friends with anyone who appears remotely like the people you used to know, and attraction for anything else reminiscent of ‘home’ or your own kind of normalcy would have to be the first. I was recently approached by a girl (pleasantly pear shaped) at an MRT station, and her opening line was “Where are you working? How long have you been here?”
Jeez! What would have happened if I had been one of the Brethren? I might have stared serenely and silently at her for a while, and then pointed accusingly - like in ‘Invasion of the bodysnatchers’ I think you need to put my mind at rest here Tomas. Tell me it’s OK!
[quote=“tmwc”]Knowing where you are going, and some sense of having to be there at a certain time.
Moving in a decisive manner, at a reasonable speed.
Walking around with an empty ice-cream wrapper in your hand until you find a bin to put it in, as opposed to just dropping it on the floor for ‘someone else’ to take care of.[/quote]
Yes. Yes, indeed. I often wonder why the Taiwanese appear to walk in the complete opposite manner in which they drive.
I’d probably smile at you, but it sure wouldn’t be in a club such as described above, Jenga or no. The kind of guy I’m interested in isn’t likely to frequent them, and the smoke gets into my hair. 
Plus, I’m not pear-shaped, just kind of an undefined ovalish blob. 
I try to smile at foreigners who look like they’re having a Taiwan moment. I smile even bigger at those who acknowledge my existence. I have made friends with foreigners that I just happen to meet on the sidewalk…A Scottish friend of mine comes to mind. We had a conversation that lasted over eight hours and at three different locations. Iris also comes to mind as we met a few months back at a playground one random afternoon. I have also made friends with two foreigners on the MRT who happened to live near or at my old stop in Hsintien. Dated one of them for a little while. Just goes to show what you can get by just being open and friendly to others.
[quote=“JeffG”]
you can always spot the foreigner who’s just arrived …
even in winter, (s)he is wearing a t-shirt with no sweater and no jacket!
Man, it’s cold in Tamsui (Danshui) (Danshui)!
Kenneth[/quote]
Hey, I resent that. I just was a little too optimistic about today’s temperature…especially after talking to my sister-in-law this morning who informed me that they just got 7 inches of snow in Tennessee. But to that guy who was wearing shorts, a hawaiian print shirt, and sandals at Grandma Nitti’s this evening…it ain’t that warm.
I can spot foreigner women easily on a sunny day: they’re the ones who aren’t hiding under an umbrella. And usually it’s not the foreigners who are crowding under the shadow of a building 20 feet from the corner while waiting for the light to change. And I can spot them on a scooter because they’re the ones who drive along the street to find a parking place (as opposed to driving down the sidewalk…usually.) I cherish what little sunshine actually makes it to the ground of Taipei and makes it such a more pleasant place to be. Especially when I spend 8+ hours a day stuck indoors at work.
[quote=“tmwc”]Tomas again:
[quote]I think the long-termers recognize me as such as well. We usually exchange a polite nod, as if to say, “I know.”
[/quote]
Really?? A-ha!!
I remember seeing a thread a while back started by someone who was complaining that foreigners ignored each other on the street. The consensus in reply seemed to be that expecting someone to acknowledge you just because you were foreign was evidence that you were not yet settled in. A reasonable argument, I thought.
And now it turns out that, in fact, the long-termers have a secret nodding fraternity: The Brethren of the Settled, identifiable to each other by their ability to serenely blend into concrete, and apparently imbued with some kind of telepathy that allows them to say “I know” without opening their mouths.
Initiation is presumably some kind of ordeal by fire - such as working for an agency or chain school for several years - that enables the novice to transcend their worldly differences and become at one with the crowd.
Amazing!! Thanks Tomas.
Are there any other ways to distinguish between the newbie and the long-termer?
I think that desparation to make friends with anyone who appears remotely like the people you used to know, and attraction for anything else reminiscent of ‘home’ or your own kind of normalcy would have to be the first. I was recently approached by a girl (pleasantly pear shaped) at an MRT station, and her opening line was “Where are you working? How long have you been here?”
Jeez! What would have happened if I had been one of the Brethren? I might have stared serenely and silently at her for a while, and then pointed accusingly - like in ‘Invasion of the bodysnatchers’ I think you need to put my mind at rest here Tomas. Tell me it’s OK![/quote]
Well, obviously you aren’t a member yet, or you’d know.
Let’s meet at a segue get-together, and I’ll teach you the secret signals. They’re basically a combination of winks, appreciative gazes at the other guy’s woman, and a mein of security in one’s status as a Mandarin speaker of some repute and owner of a fat bank account.
Or, you can just observe things like a cheap haircut, locally-bought clothes, a devil-may-care stubble of a beard, children in the stollerhe’s pushing, or a Taiwanese wife and draw a fairly reliable conclusion.
Tomas:
Sounds like a plan. A nod’s as good as a wink to a blind man, after all.
But if the future includes babies in strollers I’ll gladly forgo the fluent Mandarin and fat bank account. Newbie status for me, even if I’m here for another ten years.
Oh, how about this one: The foreigner is the guy who steps into the lift and waits for the doors to close on their own.
[quote=“tmwc”]
Oh, how about this one: The foreigner is the guy who steps into the lift and waits for the doors to close on their own.[/quote]
And the longterm Asia expat is the one who steps into the lift in Germany and desperately searches for the button to close the door. 
I’m not “longterm” yet, but it happens to me all the time.
Oh, and Tomas and those other guys:
I’m NOT FAT!!! 
Iris
[quote=“iris”]
Oh, and Tomas and those other guys:
I’m NOT FAT!!!
Iris[/quote]
Um, I believe I’ve been falsely accused. I never wrote that all foreign women in Taiwan are overweight. tmwc, bless his heart, graced us with that particular sweeping generalization. I defended overweight women as not necessarily being unattractive. When I did so, I was actually thinking of a few female relatives of mine who are overweight and quite pretty.
So, I’ll make it official: I have never seen a woman who posts on Segue. I only know a bit of your personalities, and if I met you, I wouldn’t judge your worth based on how fat or thin you are. 
The foreigner is the one who holds the elevator door open with his or her hand because they haven’t experimented enough to figure out which character means open and which one means closed. The newbie is the one who says “Good morning” to the people in the convenience store because they think that’s what they are saying.
I can also spot a foreigner when I hear someone speaking perfect English. Not a funny one, but it’s true. Or that usually you can tell a westerner from a local because if the person has red or blonde hair, usually the foreigners’ hair color doesn’t look like it came out of a box of crayons…then again, who am I to speak. Plus most foreigners don’t wear tee-shirts with slogans on them.
Brilliant, ImaniOU!!! I had forgotten about that one. Imagine my surprise and confusion when they said it at all times of the day. I thought that their English was lacking and it was the only phrase they knew, so I graciously responded with, “Good morning” at all hours, only to be confronted with the strangest looks I’ve ever seen.
Thanks again, you made my day!
Hey, I do that in the US, but just because I think very slowly and lack hand-eye coordination.
Me too Jeff, I’ve hit the wrong button many a time. Rather than helping, I end up squashing some poor xiaojie 
One can spot a FNG by:
1.) The large amount of McDonald’s receipts they have.
2.) Whining about how Taiwan is not like home.
3.) Complaining about how expensive a 100nt cab ride is.
4.) Shopping at Costco.
5.) Going to places that have a cover charge.
6.) Going to Kending to party.
7.) Wonders why there are so many Asian people running about.
One can spot a long timer by:
1.) The way they position themselves defensively (elbows out) while waiting in line here.
2.) Drinking beer at shrimp fishing places and small local restaurants instead of trendy joints.
3.) Going to Kending to climb mountains and relax.
4.) Can speak Mandarin and/or Taiwanese.
5.) Having a lot of “face cards” in their hands and knowing when to play them.
I have to disagree with you on this one, Durin’s Bane. It seems like foreigners are much more willing to pay the extra to take a cab somewhere - while most of the Taiwanese I know shudder at the wasted money…
- Foreigners don’t shuffle - we can remember when we haven’t got flip flops on.
- Foreigners walk quicker - we don’t seem to mind breaking out in a sweat after walking 5 metres.
- Foreigners don’t put tomato juice or ice in beer.
- Foreigners don’t rush to the cashier in the pub or restaurant fighting to pay the bill for everybody.
- Foreigners dont drive down the sidewalk at 50 Km/h
- Foreigners wait in the queue - and are consequently always at the back of it.
- Foreigners fart and belch discreetly.
- Foreigners don’t require two human crutches when they leave the KTV.
"Foreigners dont drive down the sidewalk at 50 Km/h "
Want to bet: I have seen a well-known newspaper editor do just that!
[quote=“tonygo”]3. Foreigners don’t put ice in beer.
4. Foreigners don’t rush to the cashier in the pub or restaurant fighting to pay the bill for everybody.
5. Foreigners dont drive down the sidewalk at 50 Km/h
6. Foreigners wait in the queue - and are consequently always at the back of it.
7. Foreigners fart and belch discreetly.
8. Foreigners don’t require two human crutches when they leave the KTV.[/quote]
According to the above-listed criteria, I’m no longer a foreigner.
Alleycat: “Want to bet: I have seen a well-known newspaper editor do just that!”
was that LOL?