I’ve been here a while now, almost three years barring some trips to the US. I’ve spent over 400 hours in professional Mandarin lessons (in addition to practice with Taiwanese ex-gf) and I’m fluent enough to handle most conversations. I spent a lot of time trying to dive deep into Taiwanese culture - I watch all the popular TV series, attend local music festivals and can even sing hundreds of Mandarin songs at the KTV. I play guitar, and I’ve also performed at some small events around the city. I have taken a few 台語 lessons as well, and can make very basic conversation with people if required. In short, I can hold a conversation about any topic with anyone here, and have been complimented about the same.
Despite all my efforts, I find it incredibly difficult to make good friends with locals in Taipei. I’m a pretty chill and outgoing guy - I never had difficulties making good friends in the other places I’ve lived at - namely India, US (SF, Boston, New York) and UK (London).
I am in my mid-20s. In addition to joining groups related to my interests (e.g. badminton, music, etc), I have attended a lot of events conducted in Mandarin for young professionals in Taiwan as well. I always take the initiative to meet new people and add their LINE account at the end. I follow-up with them as well, but only rarely get any interest in hanging out or doing any activities together.
One thing I’ve heard from a lot of locals here is that “they don’t want to be friends with Indians”. I don’t know where this sentiment came from, but it really hurts me. Girls have often told me that they don’t “expect me to respect them cause I’m Indian”, but I usually attributed that to prejudice and ignorance and just didn’t make a big deal out of it. But even guys have expressed similar sentiments.
When I used to do Language Exchange, people often ignored me because they assumed I suck at English and sound like Apu from The Simpsons. I have a neutral American accent since I spent nearly a decade there and found that people were more interested in chatting with me once I mentioned this aspect in my bio. And of course, no one wants to learn Hindi here so knowing that was literally of no use here in Taiwan.
If you Google 印度 on YouTube here, a large percentage of the top results would be news about women getting raped or molested. I’ve actually scrolled through news channels here and ran into segments about India which are literally the most backward, annoying shit you can imagine. Think snake charmers, kids slinging feces in slums, etc. People regularly ask me about the caste system and whether I am allowed to get close to the “service class” (服務業) in Taiwan. The media is actively tarnishing the reputation of an entire nation. I never felt remotely this way in multicultural countries such as the US or UK 
It’s come to the point where I feel like I need to explain myself when I meet new people. I feel handicapped by my “Indian”-ness, and whatever prejudices and stereotypes that comes with in Taiwan. I’m tired of keeping a positive outlook when meeting a new person when I know that with very high probability he/she will never want to meet me again.
When I talk to my Caucasian male friends, they seem to be having a much better time. At least girls seem to be more interested in being friends with them. I’m not talking about dating, because that’s a whole different conversation, but life just generally seems easier for my Caucasian friends who aren’t nearly as fluent as me in Mandarin. I’m sure we have a common set of problems that are faced by most foreigners in Taiwan, but at least people don’t think of them as rapists and molesters and “engineers who smell like curry” all the time…
I know this is a fucked up irrational thought, and it’s been ephemeral for me because I’m proud of my heritage, but I’ve actually wished that I was white sometimes due to these experiences. I’ve never had these thoughts outside Taiwan…
I became eligible for the APRC last week. I should be excited… but I’m not. I’m starting to look at jobs in EU, UK and US these days. I’ve already started ruing the fact that the hours I spent getting to know the culture and languages will all go to waste once I move out and lose touch…
Anyway, sorry for the rant. I hope venting out my frustrations doesn’t end up with me getting trolled into oblivion here. Maybe this will help some other south asians in Taiwan realize that they’re not alone… it’s really a struggle
