OK, you are here and you gotta stick it out for however long you have committed yourself and/or is practical, but do you regret coming in the first place and was the effort and expense not worth it?
Or is it just that I am feeling a little depressed and frustrated with the place and it will pass? I have been here just under a couple of months.
I regret coming here about 3 or 4 times a month sometimes. Other times I canât imagine living anywhere better. Other times its meh. Other times its OK. Other times its great. Much like anyplace else, I expect â no, I KNOW. Iâve been here 20 years and have no desire to move elsewhere.
âJust under a couple of monthsâ is prime time for home sickness.
Do something familiar, rather a lot, to work through it. Then go explore the new place some more.
Donât worry; thatâs classic âcrashâ time for culture shock. Iâve lived in a few different places and the two month mark is the hardest. Youâll get through it.
Try and find a balance between resting and recharging your batteries alone and getting out there and making friends and finding new things to do and people to see.
Are you learning any Chinese? Although itâs a ballache, initially, it will give you structure, a goal, new friends and a way of (slowly!) making sense of your environment a bit. Donât beat yourself up if you canât be arsed, but it may be something to bear in mind?
Take care of yourself and trying and remember all the positive reasons why you came here. Jia you.
Hey man we have all been there. I think many of us had a black patch around the 2 or 3 month period.
It will pass, it wonât be easy but it will pass.
The platitudes regarding culture shock aside really examine the reasons you came here in the first place.
Are they still valid? Did you or do you have unrealistic ideals?
This place is what it is, could it be better âŚhell yea but there are a thousand reasons to love it along with the thousand to hate it.
Put your head down and push through it or bail but Taiwan will not change for you,you need to change for Taiwan.
Jaboney is right. Culture shock is very real. After the excitement of the new retreats, it is normal to be overwhelmed. I went through a bad patch during my third month. Thankfully, my good friend BEER pulled me through.
Go to the next HH. They are all wimminâs purse carrying weirdoes, but some of 'ems are OK.
Happened to me around the 2nd month too. That passed, and by the 4th month I was in love with the place. Now Iâve been here for nigh unto 9 yearsâŚby choice and preference.
The âtwo monthâ thing happens every time; Iâve experienced it twice, this year already.
Find your niche in the 'wan. The place has a lot to offer; language, culture, the outdoors, the, erm, indoors.
Honestly, if I didnât have to earn a living, Iâd definitely settle there.
Twice in 7 days :eh:
Excuse, I meant âthis last yearâ.
Accentuate the positive, minimize the negative.
That regret thing comes around every now & again, usually getting sharper angles, though of a more limited duration.
Get out of the city when it gets too much. Get off the beaten track. Wake up in the middle of the night and go greet the dawn somewhere. Avoid the droids.Yes. Everyday for nine years.
eh, jes coz no more waves brah, no need grumble.
No regret at all. Taiwanâs been fantastic for me. Kicked a long-time, troublesome addiction with no effort whatsoever, got married, had a child, completely transformed my career from something that was petty, nasty and unpleasant to something huge and exciting. Admittedly, Taiwanâs cities are largely dirty and ugly, but theyâve also got many positive aspects, they grow on one, and there are also lots of beautiful places and things on this island. If you havenât been out of the city or out of your regular routine in a while, perhaps thatâs all you need. Chiayo. Hang in there. It just gets better.
Get out of this misty damp weather shit for a few days and find the sun somewhere down south.
Horse shitâhuge swell on Saturday with 6 footers breaking in my backyard and 6 scared locals floating over them. I was totally free to surf my balls off.
This hereâs a cake walk. I figure all the shit holes Iâve been to and dead end jobs Iâve worked. Itâs a good enough place to slip into madness and the waves are relatively empty. I lived in Vietnam in 1991-1992, what a screwed place that was, they ended up putting me in jail at the end of it all.
Good friends, safe place, making money and I speak the language. Count your blessings children.
Got to go South and East !!
Regrets? Iâve had a few; but then again, too few to mention. I did what I had to do and saw it through without exemption. Yes, there were times, Iâm sure you knew, when I bit off more than I could chew. But through it all, when there was doubt, I ate it up and spit it out. I faced it all and I stood tall. Iâve loved, Iâve laughed and cried. Iâve had my fill, my share of losing. And now, as tears subside, I find it all so amusing. To think I did all that; and may I say, not in a shy way. No, not me. I did it my way.
For what is a man, what has he got? If not himself, then he has naught. To say the things he truly feels; and not the words of one who kneels. The record shows I took the blows -
and did it my way.
Non
Rien de rien
Non
Je ne regrette rien
Sorry, Iâm not even there yet but couldnât resist. 