I left the country when I was 4 years of age but have returned each year to visit my family (grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc)…
When I was a kid, going back to Taiwan was such a fun and exciting thing I’d look forward to every year… but now that I’m older… I no longer feel that way.
Sure I love seeing my family… but sheesh… the place seems to be getting dirtier, the people seem to be becoming ruder, and so on
I can say now that Taiwan is not a place where I’d want to live… not now, not ever :s
You are experiencing culture shock. Breathe deeply, look at your return ticket, exhale, and repeat.
When I go back to NY I notice the police are every damn where; obese hicks are still buying 20 TV dinners at once; and kids are foulmouthed little SOBs.
My point is, I’m not used to it anymore. And you have never really gotten used to Taiwan.
Just hold your ticket and rockback and forth. All is well.
Taiwan ain’t paradise, but it’s not a bad place to live, either. There are annoyances that you don’t have elsewhere, but elsewhere has annoyances that you don’t have here.
It has a lot to do with relationships.
It also may be that before you were treated kindly by everyone because you were still viewed as a child. Since you are no longer a child you get the same treatment all the other strangers do. But once you are no longer a stranger people will treat you quite well.
My advice: Don’t write-off Taiwan just yet. A home is not something that is easily replaced.
I agree…doesn’t it make you feel ashamed that you are associated with Taiwan??? I think you are so shocked by Taiwan’s de-evolution because when you were young, Taiwan/Republic of China was under the control of the Kuomintang…now, it is under the control of Chen Shui Bian and the DPP…this is why, “the place seems to be getting dirtier, the people seem to be becoming ruder, and so on…”
I really don’t think Taiwan is much of a place to go for a short vacation. I wouldn’t want to keep going back from time to time. Always the same vacation. I think of family visting me in Korea or Taiwan and I can’t think of one good reason for them to come except to see me order food in another language. That’s kind of a waste of a plane ticket.
[quote=“Pluck-A-Duck”]I agree…doesn’t it make you feel ashamed that you are associated with Taiwan??? I think you are so shocked by Taiwan’s de-evolution because when you were young, Taiwan/Republic of China was under the control of the Kuomintang…now, it is under the control of Chen Shuibian and the DPP…this is why, “the place seems to be getting dirtier, the people seem to be becoming ruder, and so on…”[/quote]Go troll the Taiwan Politics forum mate. You might find someone who gives a shit about your opinion there. But I doubt it.
Completely agree. I’ve ranted before on how much this place stinks and it does but I guess you get used to it after a bit and I just make sure I find time to go to other places in Asia and Kenting every so often so I don’t go completely insane.
Still I mean, there’s interesting stuff to see in Taiwan, but in Asia there’s much more fascninating places to see other than Taiwan. I would love to see someone disagree with that
[quote=“puiwaihin”]Taiwan ain’t paradise, but it’s not a bad place to live, either. There are annoyances that you don’t have elsewhere, but elsewhere has annoyances that you don’t have here.
It has a lot to do with relationships.[/quote]
Hear, hear. I’ve spent just over 18 months here now, and look forward to hitting the 7 year mark.
The original poster states that she is originally from Taiwan, she left at 4, and would return occassionally, remembering it as a place with happy memories. As she slowly grew up, she noticed it became more and more “chaotic” to the point that she would not even consider living here…well, I do not know how long you have been in Taiwan, but many who have been here for the long term (~30 years or 20 years???) have seen what she is talking about…so I agree…what she says is a true statement…many people who have made this place there home for the long term have slowly seen Taiwan getting worse and worse…althought she makes trips back ever-so-often to visit relatives, the trend that she is seeing is true…this has happened over a period of time…during the 80’s, although the traffic was a mess, there was a general feeling that the country/society was moving forward…to sum it up…people were in a “good”/positive mood in general…you could walk into the night market, buy something…bargain with the seller on a friendly basis, leave…and if the item was broken, you could go back and get it replaced with little haggling and excuses by the seller…nowadays…that is virtually impossible…I am guessing she remembers people buying newspapers and breakfast from local family operated corner stores where the owner would know your name and would give candy to the kids…nowadays, you walk into a 7-11 where the student working at the counter doesn’t even look up to greet you…these are obscure examples, but it was the way that Taiwan operated a while back and were the “happy” memories that many carry from their youth…but the attitude today in Taiwan is that people DO NOT CARE…as long as their 30 ping concrete box is not leakng water and money is in their pockets, everything is OK…this was not the case before…to many who just came to Taiwan and did not see this “de-evolution” they may just accept it and find some bright/good points about the island…I have no problem with this and think it is a great attitude…but to those who have seen it slowly rot, and who are BORN in Taiwan…how exactly do you think that makes them feel? How do you think she is feeling right now…so obviously, the next logical question is does she feel ashamed that she is associated with Taiwan…it isn’t exactly a good experience when a Caucasian comes up to you in a New York school and asks where you were originally from, and when you say Taiwan…his first reply is, “oh yeah…that is the place where your politicians throw their shoes at each other and fight!”…it is the same idea as a foreigner in Taiwan constantly facing comments like, “you are fat”…you try to ignore it and brush it off with an open mind…but you cannot necessarily say that it does not take a psychological toll on you to the point that you feel a little ashamed about your own body…but in her case, the shame may be towards her country of origin…
The next comment I make is political…but do not tell me that the current state of Taiwan has never been discussed with any political innuendo before…as a Taiwanese kid growing up overseas, her Taiwanese parents most likely will have a political view…you hear your parents discussing Taiwan with their friends…you see your mom and dad watching Taiwanese satellite news and watch the politicians fight and call each other names…you more or less, even if you grew up overseas, form some sort of opinion as to the state of politics in Taiwan…one of the things that Taiwanese parents stress to their children is that Taiwan is a democracy that we should be proud of…well, Taiwan is democractic written on paper, but does Taiwan really utilise its democracy to what it is intended for, or do they take ADVANTAGE of their democratic rights making it into the big mess that it is today? It is interesting to hear a Taiwanese youth who grew up overseas to see what they think…many 50~60 year old “KMT-associated” parents say, “God…Taiwan is what it is because of Chen Shui-Bian and those rotten DPP’s…things weren’t like this when the KMT were in power”…does her parents’ comments influence her mindset? Is Taiwan’s problems political? Did the chaotic state of politics in Taiwan contribute to the “negative” mindset we see among Taiwanese nowadays? Does the constant barrage of media attention on the negative side of Taiwanese politics affect what Taiwanese youth think about the future of Taiwan?
The response I have been seeing to her post have been mainly of two kind…first, foreigners living in Taiwan who say that although Taiwan has its problems, it still has some bright sides…this is a great attitude and I applaud it…then, there are those who reply if you don’t like Taiwan, then don’t post here and just god damn leave…well, she can’t exactly “severe” her ties with Taiwan by packing up a suitcase…although she grew up overseas, she still obviously feels some sorta connection with her birthplace…if not, why would she still be posting on this forum? Why would she be posting this question? This is an issue that many Taiwanese children who grew up overseas are facing today…they are Taiwanese, but they feel ashamed about the chaos that is happening in their country…they are in shock that these “rude” and “inconsiderate” people are associated with them in some way…they simply cannot identify with Taiwan in any way…the key here is do they care…do they care enough about Taiwan to come back and contribute to its society to improve it…from her post, it is sad because she is one of those youths who is just fed up with this place and just said, “to hell with it”…this does not reflect well on Taiwan’s future…
I was under the impression that we were allowed to post our opinions and comments openly on this forum…but if my comments are “shit” then I will gladly leave…just because people post something that may not exactly fit into your realm of thinking or may poke at a soft spot, doesn’t necessarily mean their post is “shit”…have a nice day
I would like to concur with Sandman. What he meant was you no longer have to take a trek to Tien Mu to get decent wine, a wide selection of beers are available, and cheese, port, and even cider (!) is available! Pies, fish suppers, mashed potatoes, Christ the place has improved one heluuva lot in some ways if you’ve still got a job.
[quote=“hexuan”]I would like to concur with Sandman. What he meant was you no longer have to take a trek to Tianmu to get decent wine, a wide selection of beers are available, and cheese, port, and even cider (!) is available! Pies, fish suppers, mashed potatoes, Christ the place has improved one heluuva lot in some ways if you’ve still got a job.
All we need now are pork pies and haggis.[/quote]
Exactly. I had two pints of porter at lunchtime today. Try doing that in the 80s!
Seriously though, to say Taipei is dirtier and more nasty now than it was 20 years ago is just :loco:
Sure, outside of Taipei you’re fucked, but hell, who cares about that? That’s where all the little unimportant people live. Taipei is FAR, FAR better now than it was then.
