The average Chinese intellect is the same a a redneck fron Alabama. “Wah! U look mighty diffrent. Me better stare at yous.”
Thats just how they are, whether it be China or Taiwan. In the west, they have become more civilized due to being taken out of the backwoods (just like rednecks, a few generations after moving to the big city do).
I always wave at starers and say in a loud voice in mandarin “some boring idiot keeps staring at me, how strange!”
Fuck 'em.
[quote=“Ermintrude”]People are FAR more polite here than in Taiwan: they never talk about me within earshot like they do in Taiwan, to give one example. They do stare more, though, and even take pictures. I have this group of women of different ethnicities and appearances that I go out with. The Jamaican woman and the blonde American have the patience of saints for posing with locals.
Was out with a male friend the other week, and he noticed that people stare at me ‘Like I’m Marilyn Monroe’, like people slow down their cars to cop an eyeful. I really don’t bother about it, having been in Asia since college. People stare at me back home, too. There are two main reasons for this and I don’t see why I should cover 'em up.
To quote a great American philosopher: ‘I still don’t give a fuck, y’all can kiss my ass!’. :discodance:[/quote]
were u implying boobs? wow.
really you find them more polite? i only went to the airport last year and there were a couple of old bags talking about me right infront of me. youtube.com/watch?v=5o1jR0_ … B0kCiocQjw this guy recounts a pretty funny story too of some girls gossiping about how ugly and fat he is on the bus. his videos are pretty popular in china now too… he is known by chinese netizens as ‘fatty austin’
[quote=“puljaljuyan”]The average Chinese intellect is the same a a redneck fron Alabama. “Wah! U look mighty diffrent. Me better stare at yous.”
Thats just how they are, whether it be China or Taiwan. In the west, they have become more civilized due to being taken out of the backwoods (just like rednecks, a few generations after moving to the big city do).
I always wave at starers and say in a loud voice in Mandarin “some boring idiot keeps staring at me, how strange!”
Fuck 'em.[/quote]
If you grew up in their circumstances, you’d probably be doing the same thing. It has nothing to do with intellect, and everything to do with experiences in life.
fizzlybubbleh wrote: [quote]So I know that the Taiwanese are sticklers about swimming caps, but, in terms of swimwear…
Can I wear a bikini at a public pool? I may opt not to just to avoid falling out of it in midlap, but is it forbidden?[/quote]
in america, we call that attention whore.
just bringing this thread another notch down.
I am interested by this. I am a foreign looking (blonde) woman too and I have never been bullied by a Taiwanese woman now that I think of it. The worst is definitely groups of roving male high school students and overly nationalistic (KMT) types (I study politics so I run into them sometimes). I have confronted individuals who were being disrespectful and usually they just shut up and avoid me from then on. If it’s a large group, I just ignore them and tail it out of there.
I don’t think being in a group of foreigners makes you less susceptible to harassment, in my experience it was when I was in a group of foreigners that people were the worst. They work up the nerve to go up to you and scream HELLO. Reminds me of living in mainland China where that happened pretty much every day. All things considered, Taiwanese people are pretty polite or at least shy.
Anyway, high schoolers and zealots aside, usually just directly talking to the person in Chinese will flip on some sort of “Oh, this person is a human too” switch in their brain and they will stop harassing you. They’re doing so because they think you can’t understand. Sure, it’s easy to say that that is bad, but can you really say you’ve never gossiped about somebody who wasn’t around? Similar concept. When I was in high school my friend and I would sit at the mall and laugh at fat people out of earshot. In retrospect, that was wrong, but high schoolers’ brains aren’t fully developed enough to consider all of these scenarios. That person likely has NEVER had a meaningful interaction with a foreigner.
Just walking around by myself not too often that somebody gives me a hard time. Although there are little things like people trying to tell me how to sort my recyclables, as if they’re 100% positive I will do it wrong. It’s not that hard, Taiwan! There are damn pictures most of the time and in the worst case scenario one can always peer into the container to see examples of what should go there!
[quote=“mao-mi”]I am interested by this. I am a foreign looking (blonde) woman too and I have never been bullied by a Taiwanese woman now that I think of it. The worst is definitely groups of roving male high school students and overly nationalistic (KMT) types (I study politics so I run into them sometimes). I have confronted individuals who were being disrespectful and usually they just shut up and avoid me from then on. If it’s a large group, I just ignore them and tail it out of there.
I don’t think being in a group of foreigners makes you less susceptible to harassment, in my experience it was when I was in a group of foreigners that people were the worst. They work up the nerve to go up to you and scream HELLO. Reminds me of living in mainland China where that happened pretty much every day. All things considered, Taiwanese people are pretty polite or at least shy.
Anyway, high schoolers and zealots aside, usually just directly talking to the person in Chinese will flip on some sort of “Oh, this person is a human too” switch in their brain and they will stop harassing you. They’re doing so because they think you can’t understand. Sure, it’s easy to say that that is bad, but can you really say you’ve never gossiped about somebody who wasn’t around? Similar concept. When I was in high school my friend and I would sit at the mall and laugh at fat people out of earshot. In retrospect, that was wrong, but high schoolers’ brains aren’t fully developed enough to consider all of these scenarios. That person likely has NEVER had a meaningful interaction with a foreigner.
Just walking around by myself not too often that somebody gives me a hard time. Although there are little things like people trying to tell me how to sort my recyclables, as if they’re 100% positive I will do it wrong. It’s not that hard, Taiwan! There are damn pictures most of the time and in the worst case scenario one can always peer into the container to see examples of what should go there![/quote]
Sometimes, some Taiwanese people try very hard to be helpful to foreigners. Typically, it’s the older aiyi types (at least, in my experience).
And if it’s guys giving you a hard time, maybe it’s because they want to give you a “hard time” if you know what I mean. 
[quote=“FizzyBubbleh”]
I mean I’m a tall (5’11)… It doesn’t really matter though, being gawked at is never fun. [/quote]
Frizzy Bubble Head, consider hair straightener and low heeled shoes. Also get some yellow contact lenses and give them a demon stare when they look at you.
[quote=“Micahel”][quote=“FizzyBubbleh”]
I mean I’m a tall (5’11)… It doesn’t really matter though, being gawked at is never fun. [/quote]
Frizzy Bubble Head, consider hair straightener and low heeled shoes. Also get some yellow contact lenses and give them a demon stare when they look at you.[/quote]
Even barefoot 5’11" is pretty tall in Taiwan.
I wish more Taiwanese girls are 5"11. I’m 6"3 and athletic built so I find most Taiwanese girls too petite for my taste. I usually prefer american/European women better because they tend to physically “match” up with me better. As as much as I have kept my Taiwanese/Korean/Asian culture (I’m half Taiwanese half Korean) my mindset is pretty westernized. I would just prefer someone who communicates the same way I do. And plus, at 22, I notice most Taiwanese girls are still very immature with the opposite sex.
After 7 years I am starting to lose my cool and openly confronting stares and stupid questions. Recently, in elevator ride my neighbor AiYi started asking me why I’m fat and if I’ve always been fat, telling me to move more and eat less. I’ve been jogging 3 days a week every morning and her comments were just to intrusive. In angry voice I asked her to stop and told her it’s very rude to call people fat in my culture. She started apologizing but oh well, I know it messed with face and all that and she’s not talking to me now (thanks god!).
Ps. Please don’t focus on the problem of my fatness, I will just say that by local standards I’m a freaking Godzilla, but by western standards I’m curvy.
Sent from my KFTHWI using Tapatalk
[quote=“Ermintrude”]
…you Beavis and Butthead numskulls.[/quote]
That’s got to be one of the funniest things I’ve read for ages (been off Forumosa for about 2 months).
i hate to be the bearer of bad news, but in the west, curvy is code for fat.
And some people think fat women are hot.
sure, i never implied otherwise. but just talking about the lingo. go check out any craigslist singles ad and you’ll see what I mean. Personally, I love curves. Too many Asian women look stick-like ie no shapely hips and thighs, just a straight board. but the word has take on a different meaning, hence my comment.
One thing I noticed while in Taiwan was that I originally arrived with a beard and I got stared at like I was Zeus descending from Olympus without his loincloth on, after I shaved it off I got less attention. I think I preferred the attention I was getting with the beard though…
Hahahahah, that’s wonderful. But I’m pretty sure Zeus had armor. (Whether or not he chose to wear it is a different question…)
I’ve grown a mustache over the past several weeks partly out of laziness and partly out of curiosity. I’m not really happy with it so it leaves this world behind on Friday, but the most interesting comment I’ve gotten so far, through a friend of a friend after our first meeting: “他長得像吸血鬼” (he looks like a vampire).
you look different… nothing more, nothing less.
i am around a similar height and build /hair colour as the locals and i find i mostly go unnoticed. taiwanese actually keep in their own little bubble for the most part, they are not going out of their way to stare at foreigners. i even observed it with other foriegners. i saw some guys that stand out more than me, typical backpacker types and nobody noticed them.
i did notice i got some stares earlier tho when i was with a taiwanese girl (a friend) not sure if that ups the curiosity value or what.