I tried wiping with both hands, didn’t work, couldn’t get the bend.
I was waiting to cross Zhongshan N. Rd. in Tienmu this evening, and all of a sudden Santa went roaring by on a Harley. And before I could regain my composure another one went screaming by, and then another, and another and another. I stopped counting after ten Santas. Who says Taiwan doesn’t do Christmas? No presents have arrived at my place yet, but you know Taiwan traffic…
3 Likes
He’s probably on the run after someone reported an illegal foreign worker, so I doubt he has time to deliver all those presents.
Maybe that was the point of all the redundancy?
Santa is making a lot of noise in my hood with his deliveries. Scooters in and out, rustling of packages, people up and down the stairs. I thought there was a burglar or something.
Yes, we have the Catholic church next door, but the Misa ended a long time ago, like, midnight.
On Christmas eve last night, I saw heaps of international students in a 7-11 in Gongguan, all wearing Santa hats. I asked one of them: where did you guys get those hats? Apparently they were being handed out in Gongguan night market!
7-11 beer, Santa hats provided gratis–who says Christmas is dead?
Guy
2 Likes
It is not dead. Not yet. It is being exploited. Taiwan loves to pretend they are celebrating Christmas, but in reality Christmas is about being with family on Christmas day. They do just about everything BUT that.
Go on exploiting Christmas for commercial gain Taiwan. You have shown your true colors and they are not pretty.
1 Like
Christmas would seem to be very important to you. Why not save a vacation day for it?
Most international companies in Taiwan will have a slow day anyway (if they do much business with the Americas and Europe). You’d hardly be missed.
Are you sure the real source of your anger is with Taiwan?
Yup. I am sure.
You missed the point entirely.
Sure “I” could take a day off.
It is the companies in Taiwan that milk Christmas for everything it has to get that extra buck and then turn around and fail to give anyone a day off.
1 Like
Righteous anger, not bitter resentment. Thanks for the clarification.
In the zeitgeist: not Merry Christmas!
If we take teh day off “because we are foreigners”, we face the resentment of the local workers who cannot have the day off. Remember there is the illusion of privilege “because we get paid more”. From then on, it is a struggle to keep the peace at work, being treated as an equal or at least as someone who can give some value to the company instead of being , well, decoration.
You know how we call useless people -especially guys - in the ol country? Christmas trees.
2 Likes
Really? hahaha
Las bolas son de adorno.
So yesterday I’m in a bakery in Gonguan, hunting for carbs.
I see this young foreigner with his local girlfriend, perusing the goods. She’s holding the tray. He’s holding the tongs.
But while he’s considering what to get he’s got the business-end of the tongs in his fricken mouth. Not absent-mindedly bouncing them on his chin. Not lightly tapping on his lips. Like inserted deep enough that his uppper lip is curling up, the ends touching his teeth.
Decided I didn’t want bread that badly and left.
1 Like
Below the Starbucks? It sucks anyway.
Am Taiwanese and Christian. Sadly this is true.
Same goes for Japan, 1% Christian population; celebrating everywhere for no good reason.
2 Likes
I wonder which part of the world gave them the idea. 
1 Like
I’d say Japan itself. They market the heck out of the most trivial things, and Taiwan naturally picked this up as we were annexed by Japan during 1895-1945.
Probably has to do with the westernizing of the country after the Meiji Restoration.
Japan (not western countries) commercialized Christmas in the colonial era?
What do you think @hansioux?
1 Like
Random people in Asia who are neither Christian nor part of a Christian-influenced culture celebrating their own commercialised Frankenstein version of Christmas without any regard for its background is a perfect example for the concept of cultural appropriation. But we all know that cultural appropriation is only bad when a white dude gets too involved with Reggae culture and makes an actual sincere effort in understanding its multiple contexts and deep connotations.
3 Likes