I am a black dude and while many of the posts here are from people I’d assume are not black, they are very good. A lot of good info.
I don’t live in Taiwan now. I come back to this forum sometimes to see what is going on there. I can tell you this. There is discrimination in Taiwan, like anyplace, but it’s mostly through ignorance. They don’t hate blacks or non-white people (especially if famous). The problem is a lack of education, social training and brainwashing from their TV news the mass media and Hollywood flicks too. I had few really bad experiences and lots of good ones.
I knew of black and brown folks that loved Taiwan. Others hated it and complained every day, but hey white expats do both too. I knew of guys that claimed racism 24/7 and others were quite content. It is easier for a black male than female to live there IMO. If you are dark skinned it’s sad but true, harder to get jobs. If a Halle Berry look-a-like wanted to get a job, she’d be hired fairly quickly. Taiwanese are crazy about beauty/looks too! If someone that looks like the guy in my avatar tried he’d have a harder time in most cases, but he’d get hired at some point. He would need to pay taxes too.
I’d make sure I’d have enough $$$$ for a few months. You will have to feel out the job and the country. The bigger schools often hire non-white people, they need bodies! Some schools that are smaller have open minded bosses that won’t give a sh-t about color if you have skills. Some schools have foreign bosses or managers too. Make sure you emphasize your experience and ability. If they require a photo what can you do. They ask their own locals to do this. The “looks” thing again. No matter what excuse is made.
The number 1 thing is have a positive attitude. If you are friendly, smile and have class Taiwanese people will see you for who you are and will like you. They are still somewhat isolated and don’t seem to know much about non white or hell even white people for that matter. But they can be won over.
I left for my own reasons and they weren’t racial but would not trade my time there…and they work too damn much.
CIAO.
I would recommend the city for the simple fact that a) there is more going on in forms of entertainment and social circles and b) they are close enough to routes to get away to the countryside on the weekends in just a matter of 30 minutes or so.
The cost of living will be rather higher (although the pay kind of compensates for this), but the peace of mind is worth it more unless you’re a loner or cool with hanging out with the same guys at the same pub every weekend. Even my Taiwanese friends back home told me to skip the bucolic life and head for the Big Chou Doufu.
Persophone, Sorry I kept meaning to reply but school just started for me and I havent had much time to formulate an intelligent on-topic response, though I have read all of the posts and really appreciate all of the replies. It really makes me feel a lot better to hear that the outlook isnt as bleak as I had thought. So based on what has been said and what I already know I´m pretty sure that I´ll be looking for a job well before I leave and in doing so I´ll try to pin down a face to face interview. I was already set on having as much savings as I could muster but, it dosnt hurt to be reminded of that, and to tell the truth having my very own forumosa post makes the whole thing a lot more real to me. ImaniOU, based on what I read about the differences between rent prices in Taipei and those in more rural areas, I´m still leaning toward the latter, since within reason, I think I´ll be able to get to the city if I have to, and kind of want to immerse myself in the culture as much as possible. To me thats the biggest step toward dealing with racism, being able to communicate. I´ll be happy wherever I go though, as long as I get a job. Your tip about a teaching kit was really good idea and something I would have never thought of. As far as Mandarin is concerned, one of my main goals is to be able to seak and practice it while I´m there (Ive only been learning since Februrary but I´m sure I´ll have a good enough base in the langauge to get better when I get there). People seem split on this issue, but I can´t imagine that it wouldn´t help in dealing with parents and staff. I dont think I´ll get the Tesol cert, since I think those funds could be better used as savings and I´m pretty confident in my ability to run a classroom. I´m certainly going to do more research on teaching english as a second laungauge specifically though, and get some sort of practice before I leave. Thanks again everyone.
Thanks for coming back and letting us know you’d read all the posts.
One last note: you don’t need to live out in the sticks to save money, you just need to be out of Taipei. You could choose another large city like Kaohsiung or Taichung.
I would have to say though, from a language learning perspective, you might be better off in Taipei. In Kaohsiung, the Mandarin is really heavily mixed with Taiwanese–grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation. Even if you say the right word in Mandarin, people might not understand you because they’re used to hearing it said with a Taiwanese accent, or they’re used to using the Taiwanese word instead. And, if your friends teach you a new word–even if they tell you it’s Mandarin–they might be wrong. You’ll have to be very diligent in using your dictionary to check words. The added adventure might not be such a bad thing though when you add in the monetary savings and benefit of southern hospitality!
Since one of your goals is to learn Mandarin, I’d have to advise you to live in Taipei. Even in Taipei you encounter a lot of Taiwanese, but in other cities, many people speak Taiwanese as a first language, and any Mandarin you hear is accented. One Taiwanese friend of mine assured me that people in the countryside and smaller cities would speak Mandarin to me once they realized I could speak it, but it is not really immersion if the people around you are not naturally speaking Mandarin. They also find it harder to understand foreigners speaking Mandarin, so you might well get discouraged.
sorry to take this off topic, but does anyone here actually believe that they will improve their mandarin just by living in the countryside?
part of the reason that i chose ‘the county’ was for its apparent language learning benefits, but i can honestly say that it has been more of a hindrance than a help for my mandarin. sure, i chat with the occasional laoban and replay the same old tired conversations, but all of my real learning has come from language exchange friends and a girlfriend, both of whom i travel into the city for. i don’t remember getting into extended random conversations with people on the street in canada, so i don’t know why it would be different here.
sorry to take this off topic, but does anyone here actually believe that they will improve their Mandarin just by living in the countryside?
part of the reason that i chose ‘the county’ was for its apparent language learning benefits, but i can honestly say that it has been more of a hindrance than a help for my Mandarin. sure, i chat with the occasional laoban and replay the same old tired conversations, but all of my real learning has come from language exchange friends and a girlfriend, both of whom i travel into the city for. I don’t remember getting into extended random conversations with people on the street in canada, so I don’t know why it would be different here.[/quote]
sorry to take this off topic, but does anyone here actually believe that they will improve their Mandarin just by living in the countryside?
part of the reason that i chose ‘the county’ was for its apparent language learning benefits, but i can honestly say that it has been more of a hindrance than a help for my Mandarin. sure, i chat with the occasional laoban and replay the same old tired conversations, but all of my real learning has come from language exchange friends and a girlfriend, both of whom i travel into the city for. I don’t remember getting into extended random conversations with people on the street in canada, so I don’t know why it would be different here.[/quote]
Sounds to me like you weren’t making a very sincere effort. The best way to learn a language is through full immersion. If you don’t engage people in conversation, clearly it will not work.
[quote=“71Classic”]
Sounds to me like you weren’t making a very sincere effort. The best way to learn a language is through full immersion. If you don’t engage people in conversation, clearly it will not work. [/quote]
what is this ‘full immersion’ concept? it’s not like saying ‘bu yong daizi’ instead of shaking my head at the bag is going to improve my mandarin a lot, and unfortunately, the day-to-day life of most people teaching ESL in taiwan probably does not offer many more speaking opportunities than this. if you want to get good at mandarin, you need to listen and speak it a lot. if you want to speak it a lot, you need to make friends with people that want to speak it with you. if you live in ‘the county,’ then your chances of making friends is going to be limited. i’ve joined a cycling group and have had numerous language exchanges, and i have had to travel into the city for both of these. don’t be fooled, it’s just inconvenient out here.
[quote=“Battery9”]
Then again, I knew a guy who is Jamaican-Canadian…with golden dreadlocks down to his bum…and half an arm. And he got jobs.
([/quote]
Not really…He is a great friend of mine…He had a hell of a time of it. That’s why he left.
Small towns are generally out of the question unless you speak Chinese.
I’ve been here for about 9 years and I have lived in Taichung, Taipei and now Jiayi.
Racism is pretty rampant outside of the bigger cities
Show up at a school and sell them with your personality…
Not sure if this is relevant to you or not, I have a “black” friend who was teaching in Banciao, for Pa Pa Jordan.
He says his skin color is definitely a hurdle, but he has been persistent and has his schedule filled. It’s unfortunate that there is this weird mentality around “Ken” and “Barbie”. I would like to say as a white cracker, that I feel that prejudice as well BECAUSE I look like a “Ken.”
It might be easier for me to get jobs, but because of my height, and my “non-Asian” blue haired, blonde eyed looks, I get stared at, giggled at, and whispered behind CONSTANTLY, and it is a real test to stay patient sometimes. This kind of thing can really get to your head, and at the end of a hard work day, sometimes taking a flame thrower to anyone who gives you a stare-down feels like the right thing to do.
You’re not alone man, and I hope that you are working soon if not already, and showing 'em that skin color doesn’t mean F-All.
I kept meaning to reply but school just started for me and I havent had much time to formulate an intelligent on-topic response, though I have read all of the posts and really appreciate all of the replies. It really makes me feel a lot better to hear that the outlook isnt as bleak as I had thought. So based on what has been said and what I already know I´m pretty sure that I´ll be looking for a job well before I leave and in doing so I´ll try to pin down a face to face interview. I was already set on having as much savings as I could muster but, it dosnt hurt to be reminded of that, and to tell the truth having my very own forumosa post makes the whole thing a lot more real to me. ImaniOU, based on what I read about the differences between rent prices in Taipei and those in more rural areas, I´m still leaning toward the latter, since within reason, I think I´ll be able to get to the city if I have to, and kind of want to immerse myself in the culture as much as possible. To me thats the biggest step toward dealing with racism, being able to communicate. I´ll be happy wherever I go though, as long as I get a job. Your tip about a teaching kit was really good idea and something I would have never thought of. As far as Mandarin is concerned, one of my main goals is to be able to seak and practice it while I´m there (Ive only been learning since Februrary but I´m sure I´ll have a good enough base in the langauge to get better when I get there). People seem split on this issue, but I can´t imagine that it wouldn´t help in dealing with parents and staff. I dont think I´ll get the Tesol cert, since I think those funds could be better used as savings and I´m pretty confident in my ability to run a classroom. I´m certainly going to do more research on teaching english as a second laungauge specifically though, and get some sort of practice before I leave. Thanks again everyone.
The added adventure might not be such a bad thing though when you add in the monetary savings and benefit of southern hospitality! 
[/quote]