[quote=“ThreadKiller”]But who wants to hear about some girl’s disgust at finding one or two cockroaches?
.[/quote]
Yeh, right!
Oh, wait…
http://www.forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=71025
I havn’t read it. Does she complain that “I’m cold and this weather sucks 2010-11” as well?
Meh. Ten years back I was living in Taichung, and each time I left the country, I’d think the same thing as the bus rolled back into town: “Ugh. What am I doing back here? Did I forget?” I remember being downtown chatting up a pretty girl and seeing a massive rat stroll by with the mother of all cockroaches locked in its jaws. Shit like that colours your vision. I can appreciate where she’s coming from.
The Liberty Times has done a story with a title that could be loosely translated as:
Canadian Woman Trashes Taiwan as a Dirty Mess Arousing Public Ire
Oh, the Taipei Times is on it
A really poor piece of writing by this so-called journalist. She conveniently forgets to provide a balanced view of life in Taiwan and mention the many positives, such as people’s undying dedication to their own health and well-being. For instance when swimming in public baths, they regularly cleanse their respiratory system by clearing out its entire contents into the gutter at each end.
The rats and roaches are still here. In fact, the whole city government and police force in TC are rats.
about the OP…The article appeared in the life section of the Gazette. It’s a filler article/blog entry. Besides, I had similar thoughts and experiences in my first year here. Is it NOT true that Taiwan has one hell of an impact on a young newcomer from North America or Europe? She didn’t lie about the pollution, the traffic, the lawlessness and the confusion. I’m from Montreal (French Canadian at that) and I’d say that there isn’t one single thing/aspect similar to life here as there (or vice versa). Had she stayed in Taiwan longer and settled in a bit more, she would have most likely gotten over the major differences and seen a change in her thinking. Nevertheless, any foreign media that criticizes Taiwan in any way always gets lots of attention here. Kind of how a guilty person gets defensive.
She was in Taichung in 2005. I’d say she pretty much NAILED it.
Oh dear! Does that mean I’ve just HURT the FEELINGS of the 23 MILLION glorious Taiwanese PEOPLE? 
:roflmao: This is such a great post! Well done.
T
There’s no doubt it’s an intense experience for somebody who have never travelled to come to Taiwan. Outside Taipei It’s really in your face. I remember when I came first and landed up in Taoyuan…wow, everytime I passed the night market I was thinking why was the sewer underneath it, only later did I learn people were eating the stuff the smell came from, chou dou fu 
.
Nobody spoke English there, there were basically no English signs, I took the bus and the bus driver guy was making a cross at me with his fingers…of course he was saying 10 NTD but it just illustrates the cultural gap, I just had NO clue what he was doing. Then trying to figure out if you had to pay getting on the bus or getting off and hoping that the bus was actually going where you wanted to go, often going round in circles. Borrowing a scooter and cops waving these red sticks at me a few times (I had no idea they wanted to pull me over, I just kept going, no helmet either).
Taking the train into and out of Taipei, at that time the train had no English whatsoever, now they have some English signage and you’ve got the high speed rail too. Sweating as the train pulled in trying to guess which destination the train was going too and when they suddenly changed platforms it really put things out.
It took me about 6 mths to get a good idea of how things run here…then many years to figure out the rest and pick up the language.
Taiwan is not everybody’s cup of tea, let’s be honest. It can be pretty intense, noisy, dirty, crowded aswell as being vibrant and colourful. For all the criticisms of English teachers in Taiwan etc. you have to be quite strong to establish yourself here in what is a very different culture.
[quote=“Ducked”][quote=“ThreadKiller”]But who wants to hear about some girl’s disgust at finding one or two cockroaches?
.[/quote]
Yeh, right!
Oh, wait…
http://www.forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=71025
I havn’t read it. Does she complain that “I’m cold and this weather sucks 2010-11” as well?[/quote]
Well, I hope I’m not going to break any hearts here - but neither of these threads are ones I frequent much.
It’s one thing posting a pet peeve in a forum where there are going to be many different ideas presented. We each have things that we feel suck about Taiwan. But then there are also other things that we do appreciate.
I don’t mind her article TOO much - I mean some of her perceptions of taiwan are apt - it’s just her reactions to things that make me feel she is (or was then, at least) a rather sad individual.
I have sincere sympathy for people who come to Taiwan alone, end up in a really small town (when Taipei with its foreigner comforts would have been a better bet, had they known before), where literally nobody speaks English, and where they have no contact with other teachers and therefore no way of knowing to what extent the boss is being an asshole. People do get raw deals sometimes and life away from home can be harsh.
The lady under discussion, however, didn’t get a raw deal - it was Taichung (not the biggest, but not - by far - the most inconvenient), she came with her boyfriend, they stayed with another friend, she met other foreigners (but seemed to have trouble making concrete friendships 
), and she seems to have had a good job (the one thing I didn’t notice her complain about).
I like moaning about life as much as the next person and while it might not have been her fault - she simply lacked any exposure to any other lifestyle before she came - you simply have to see the positive as well as the negative.
She wasn’t just complaining about cockroaches, but about the pollution, the general oddness (e.g. betel nut chewing), the difficulty of finding her way around (oh my God - once she had to cancel a doctor’s appointment because she couldn’t find the place), the irritation of trying to communicate without words.
While I don’t think the article fits my definition of good writing, I do think it’s silly that Taiwanese in Canada are up in arms about the article (I mean they would be in Taiwan if they loved it so much, and people have the right to publish their opinions). But I strongly suspect that the writer must be a sourpuss who spent her time in Taiwan telling other people how she was trying so hard to adapt while (unconsciously) not really trying at all. At least she only stayed for 7 months; I’ve known people who have gone on for 5 or more years about how strange the Taiwanese are.
The article reminds me of one in South Africa’s YOU magazine a long time ago. Girls writing of their horrible experience - there wasn’t even anywhere to hang their washing in the apartment (The horror! The horror!).
Why would you want to tell people how you, as an ex-pat, couldn’t find anything to enjoy in a country, when clearly so many others before you have found something? And then end with crap about it having made you appreciate the world because you needed to end your article on a positive note and make yourself look better?
Some people do have a difficult time in their first year, but they take the edge of with a drink, a prayer, or friends. I wish her the best now, but I suspect she is a teetotaling atheist who has difficulty connecting.
true, but this article wasn’t written like you wrote it. It was wriien in a derogatory manner by an imature and unworldly Bái Bái that, for some reason, decided 6 years later to lambaste the good ol’ ROC.
her website says:
[quote][b]Lindsey Craig is…
a passionate traveller.
an experienced journalist.
a sports and fitness buff.
a student of language and culture.[/b][/quote]
I think she did her career a genuine disservice by writing this swanky little editorial. Nothing to be gained by flaunting your own inability to assimilate into a foreign culture.
Does anybody know what school this is?:
T
Man, this is beautiful:
[quote=“headhonchoII”]I remember when I came first and landed up in Taoyuan…wow, everytime I passed the night market I was thinking why was the sewer underneath it, only later did I learn people were eating the stuff the smell came from, chou dou fu .[/quote] :roflmao:
From the Taipei Times article linked by Feiren:
[quote]Montreal-based Taiwanese created a group called “226 protest of media bias Gazette in Montreal” on Facebook. . . .[/quote] taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/ … 03497426/2
The 226 Incident! I wonder if this atrocity will be addressed by the Legislative Yuan.
Um… I’ve driven in Montreal traffic before. It was a harrowing experience!
cow = female
silly = probably the nicest thing I could say about someone with such a horribly inaccurate description of a place.
The appalling thing about the 226 group is that they will doubtlessly be confused with another 226 group formed to protest a very real threat to Taiwan: gangsters posing as police during the Chen Yunlin visit to intimidate students:
facebook.com/pages/226學生自救小組/113655435379108
Hey fuckhead Montreal CBCs, your country has real issues. Six year gripes from neurotics is not one of them.
Streets dry…wearing rain gear…wearing sandals…one should keep in mind…she is Canadian…:roflmao:
Someone told her they wear burkhas in Taiwan and it was the best she could do on short notice.
Heaven forbid anybody be young and inexperienced!
I am sure glad you guys have found someone to get steamed up about - life in Taiwan must be rather unsatisfying.
[/quote]
No, I am generally happy, someone forwarded this to me and I found it painfully inaccurate, imbalanced and mean-spirited.
I posted it here so others could comment, this being F.com contrarians would surely come out in full force, but at the end of the day, how I described the piece in the paragraph above is basically what it is.
LOL…7-Eleven rain coat = Canadian burka!..you people crack me up!.. :roflmao:
LOL…7-Eleven rain coat = Canadian burka!..you people crack me up!.. :roflmao:[/quote]
C’mon TC you know you can’t get THOSE raincoats at 7-Eleven. THEY are only sold at helmet shops and scooter shops.
Hm… methinks some people here (and in Montreal, etc.) protest too much. 
