You know what the funniest thing is…Jokerofthepack…Was me.
Lol at leaving next year 
As folks can see I didn’t exactly have an easy transition at the start.
To be fair I had challenges , Big challenges.
Could barely communicate
Couldn’t read
Never really ate Asian food before
Dealing with the very hot and humid summer and cold rainy winter
Lived in Taoyuan for a while
Very little money and debts
Homesick as hell and left a good bunch of mates
1000s of miles from said home and hasn’t been back in a year at least (was to go for 2 more years without going back )
Low pay
Hassle with visas
Stray dogs used to keep me up half the night barking
Buses that would go around in circles with no English or GPS to figure which way went where
No Facebook or social media to keep in touch with folks
Very few options for Western food and beer then
…and yes a lot of rude interfering and very curious people even though overall it was also friendlier . The attention could be very overwhelming when you were already struggling with things. Newbies or Asian looking folks might not understand how overwhelming the attention could be back then.
Yeah it sounds so attractive .
Why did I stay ? I’m a stubborn fool mostly and had a girlfriend. I wanted to learn Chinese. I had got a job in my industry fnally. I had made some friends too and enjoyed the adventure of a new planet Taiwan. Mostly I wanted to make it a success. The ego is a powerful force.
Hey I stayed through Typhoon Nari , SARS and 8 years of mayhem under CSB so things have only ever gotten easier for me. Now my life is pure luxury and comfort compared to back then.
Long story short I learned Chinese, how to read and write . I got over the homesickness a long time ago. I finally built a career of sorts with a decent income. I got married to a lovely lady and had kids. I manage to go back to the homeland maybe once a year. Got a car and abandoned the death machine scooter. Ride to work on gleaming MRT system. Take holidays around Asia and Taiwan every year.
So yeah I should give myself a break cos things were a lot tougher for younger me.
I still struggle with the Taipei Summers and Winters though!