I will be going to do my 4 months mandatory military service very soon. And I don’t know a single word of Chinese. I have a few questions I hope anyone could help me to answer.
What will happen and what is the usual experience for someone with 0 Chinese language skills? Will a lot of things not need to be done and instead switched to other types of work like cleaning dishes etc?
Will my mates in the unit help me out, what is the usual reaction of meeting someone with no ability to speak Chinese in their unit?
Will they officers go easy on me because I won’t be able to understand any order or thing they say to me and I genuinely want to work and serve though.
Are there mosquito nets? And how to fold the mosquito nets and blanket in the morning?
How many minutes to be exact do you have in the morning to get ready after waking up at 5:30am?
How short should your moustache and nails be, and how do you do laundry?. I have a marker pen to mark my bags and that’s all.
What are the rewards if you or your entire unit gain a lot of merit for being well disciplined?
Could you refuse meat at meal times? Because I don’t eat pork and beef and only eat chicken for meat.
I hope to not disturb my room mates and want to do favors for them in the future if they helped me out at the beginning. Is it okay I buy them drinks (juice, tea).
Do they give you a box or locker to keep your stuff on?
Can you not do most of they physical exercises if you are not able to. Because I’m really weak and underweight, so I don’t think I can run, push up or do bars.
My papers say I go to one location but it looks as if my unit is also in the same location. Is it possible do be in the same location after boot camp, and if that’s the case have they already pick the draw/lottery for me already for my remaining 3 months?
Is it true that lunch and dinner is 1 hour long? What can you do if finish eating early (roommates also finished eating). Also, regarding 30 minute nap in afternoon. What exactly can you do at that time aside from napping?
Can you wake up earlier and get ready?
I know I asked too many questions, but I’m someone who does not know any Chinese or anything much about Taiwan. I live in Taiwan for 5 years now but I did all my work in English and this is the 1st time I require Chinese. I don’t have any issues with my mind and I’m determined to do smoothly my service if not for the language barrier. Other than my father’s experience decades ago and the posts in here, I didn’t have any place to ask questions regarding my situation.Thanks to all for helping me out~
I cannot help with your questions, so I hope you don’t mind that I ask you one: didn’t the 1-year service kick-in over the summer?
Earlier this year, I attended a parent meeting to advise families with boys 18 and under about the latest changes. One of my takeaways from that meeting was that the 1-year long terms start this year. Sound like you made it just under the wire!
Thanks for the reply. Are you also doing the military service this year and how long will the duration be if I may ask?
No I was born in 1999 I got into university late because I was living in another country. I am mixed Taiwanese and I got my ID 4 years ago. I just graduated and have to do the service now. Also, they 1 year service is for those who turn 18 years old this year! There are many 19, 20, 21 and 22 year olds still doing the old 4 months system lol. I’m 25 and someone like me also exist too!
My son is 12yo. So I attended that meeting in anticipation of what we should do when his 15th birthday approaches, when we need to decide if we will do anything differently (probably/hopefully not)
I don’t think it’s easy to get to do the alternative service, even for foreigners. There are so much criteria. In my situation I’m full Taiwanese now and not overseas Chinese or dual national. All the records count me as a normal Taiwanese but the “new immigrants” type.
They got confused twice when I went there because my households were over age 60 so they said I can do alternative service. My father, uncle and grandpa are over 60, but they didn’t include my mom because she’s a foreigner, and she’s below 60, because of that I don’t qualify for alternative service . Also, I don’t know Chinese and you really need Chinese to do English jobs as well. I don’t look like an obvious foreigner.
We asked the lady about my language barrier and she said “it’s only four months la just go do it oh, it will be quick la”.
Yep I did. And they checked my eligibility because my father asked them for that and they said I can’t do the alternative service. My major is foreign languages at college so the main language is English but I don’t think it means anything.
Four months up a mountain teaching indigenous kids English would have been really quite nice, as well. Plus, considerably more useful to Taiwan than having a non-Chinese speaker doing basic training.
Yeah, I don’t meant to bring an attitude or anything about me needing to do the military service, and I know the positive experience, pride, etc so many say you get after completing it.
But, in my situation as someone said, I would be a weak link in the unit and probably won’t do anything military - related at all. Just cleaning and moving stuff but at the same amount as the others do of course. You are right it’s better if I teach English and do something useful for Taiwan than not be useful in the military. Because I’m my situation I don’t even know basic Chinese.
Yeah, she said in Chinese with my father, but he translated it for me and I was listening to how she said it. It was a very typical Taiwanese conversation ah, usually everything is no big deal la
She wasn’t rude or anything. She was nice but she wanted to mean that 4 months is quite short and will fly away quickly, compared to the 1 years and 2 years for the ones who did it decades ago.
Ah I see. He will have to attend the 1 year service period when he turns 18 and doesn’t enroll in college. I think it starts with those who are born after 2004. Wouldn’t want the current young people to get mad when the presidential election was near lol, and because under 21 or maybe under 20? can’t vote in Taiwan. But good luck in your decisions and thanks!
A few years ago I stopped at some tourist center I found while doing a huandao. Inside was a young guy wearing a military uniform, guiding visitors in the center, and he spoke to me in perfect English. Turns out his situation was like yours (as far as I know) and he was doing his 4-month service. He considered himself lucky because he just had to stand around an air-conditioned room and give some background info to tourists. He figured it was his English ability that got him that assignment (but he spoke Mandarin as well, so I guess he had a leg up).
I really don’t know. I hope you at least know enough mandarin to march though. That and just learn to get done and ready faster than you can imagine when you wake up.
Maybe they’ll just have you work in a recruitment center somewhere, or apply for the alternative service, much more likely to do light duty there.
4 months isn’t a lot of time and that’s barely boot camp. It will be over before you know it.
No boot camp specific advice, but some general advice - don’t worry about stuff like this? It’ll be what it is, and there’s nothing you can do about it - you’ll just get it done.
And work on this now? It’s good for you regardless of military service.