Do people REALLY stare at you that much? I live in Kaohsiung, and it seems most people are kind of indifferent about foreigners nowadays. I feel like I only get really stared at when I venture into the countryside. There I might as well be a zoo exhibit. But in the city? Nah, not really. Occasional side-eye from an old codger, but nothing to fuss about.
Now that you say it, I very get what you mean by that. Good point.
Do people REALLY stare at you that much? I live in Kaohsiung, and it seems most people are kind of indifferent about foreigners nowadays. I feel like I only get really stared at when I venture into the countryside. There I might as well be a zoo exhibit. But in the city? Nah, not really. Occasional side-eye from an old codger, but nothing to fuss about.
Honestly, everyday. I am not far at all from you, living in Tainan. I guess they are not insisting stares but perhaps I became sensitive to this for some reason, perhaps isolation as some posters said above.
Oh, some here mentioned the āloud helloā, I got that just 3 or 4 days ago from a guy at a drink shop where I was just passing by, and the female staff laughed. I never got what their laugh really means.
Better than being black in America and being beaten by white cops, no?
So you would disregard any complaint that doesnāt rise to this level?
Iām gonna need pictures for research purposes.
I donāt get stares but everyday I get asked if Iām a basketball player. It also doesnāt help my Chinese name is one letter off from Jeremy Lin so i get are you guys related every time I write my name for something. Or the annoy parent who tries to use me to get their kids to eat veggies and milk because they think it makes you tall. Iām lactose intolerant and I never ate veggies as a kid.
Better than being black in America and being beaten by white cops, no?
You are obviously right. at the end of the day Itās not a big issue, I was just in a little negative mood today!
No itās normal to feel uncomfortable from excessive attention. But there are some weird foreigners who absolutely love this attention !
Usually they wear white shirts and black ties and ride around on two wheels.
Either it doesnāt happen to me or I donāt notice it. Perhaps the latterās the way to deal with it?
I donāt get middle aged men telling me Iām handsome anymore. No loud "Hewwo"s, "Waiguoren"s, or "Where you from?"s. Even when I visit the in-lawsā in freaking Yunlin County nobody notices me.
You kind of miss it when it stops. I think I might be starting to look a bit Taiwanese.
Alright I will not look at anymore to all āguaposā promised ā¦ I will close my eyes.
I think this has happened to most foreigners in Taiwan. Majority of times is just curiosity I suppose, we look different and some Taiwanese didnāt have much chance to travel around. I get why you may find this annoying because I do too, especially when itās a prolonged, no blink, creepy stare.
I also find that there are a lot of weirdos that come bother me while iām Walking on the street and ask me weird questions like ā hi, are you a foreigner?ā ā¦
anyways itās part of a fase, it will either become better in the future and hopefully taiwanese will get more used to seeing foreigners ( especially in the south)
I think @Brianjones has it about right. The aggravation you feel is a sign that you feel isolated.
It may be a sign that you need to talk more in English, spend more time among foreigners, or maybe even that you need to spend some vacation days back home.
Itās funny, but Netflixās Bojack Horseman actually deals a lot with isolation and its effects on happiness ā¦
But yeah, you have no idea. The kids who want to jump on my back and take a ride, incredible burden. Incredible!
Iāve seen a few eps. Good show. Would watch more of it if I had the time.
Would watch more of it if I had the time.
Arenāt you the one who works like three hours a week?
Iām in Taipei, but the staring is not an issue. Not sure if maybe you dress weird or something if you get a lot of stairs.
I think I stick out a bit more than average foreigner as i usually walk around with two dogs, and not many foreigners here have dogs. But still, I get very little stairs.
I have noticed though that many locals do ask me if itās my dogs, as if how can a foreigner have dogs, and yes they are both mine.
I get very little stairs.
Yes, Taipei is a pretty flat city.
Arenāt you the one who works like three hours a week
16 class hours, but uni classes require a lot of prep. Plus, have a baby. Plus Iām doing privates on the side. So yāknowā¦