Same old questions. Again

Taiwan Living in Taiwan
1

Tl;dr version: ABC (ABT, whatever) wants to go to Taiwan with no real applicable job skills, how does one go about it?

So I’ve finally decided to a (a rather pitiful) initiative to start researching on how one comes to live in Taiwan. I’ve never been terribly interested in coming here till the days I started college and started thinking about how incredibly severed I am from my own supposed culture. Now that college is done and has been done for a year, I’m stuck at a crossroads now as to what to do with my future. I’ve browsed through a few threads here and there and it seems like my situation isn’t that much different from many others, though many others seem to have many of their plans or a goal set out already. I don’t really have anything in mind besides improving my Chinese and maybe taking it from there. Worst case scenario is I get shipped back home. But the biggest obstacle right now is getting to Taiwan and setting up some sort of plan first…

2

[quote=“nue”]Tl;dr version: ABC (ABT, whatever) wants to go to Taiwan with no real applicable job skills, how does one go about it?

So I’ve finally decided to a (a rather pitiful) initiative to start researching on how one comes to live in Taiwan. I’ve never been terribly interested in coming here till the days I started college and started thinking about how incredibly severed I am from my own supposed culture. Now that college is done and has been done for a year, I’m stuck at a crossroads now as to what to do with my future. I’ve browsed through a few threads here and there and it seems like my situation isn’t that much different from many others, though many others seem to have many of their plans or a goal set out already. I don’t really have anything in mind besides improving my Chinese and maybe taking it from there. Worst case scenario is I get shipped back home. But the biggest obstacle right now is getting to Taiwan and setting up some sort of plan first…[/quote]

Well if you are an ROC national just come on over and find out. No other way really to see how you will find out how life is here.

Getting to Taiwan is easy just head to your nearest international airport with flights that end up in Taiwan. Do you have any relatives here that can assist you to settle in?

3

if you are fluent in both English and Chinese you shouldn’t have much trouble making yourself useful to a company.

probably be best to cut your teeth with a trading company or some small to mid-sized outfit with heavy overseas interest. after learning the ropes you can parlay that into something else. don’t expect to be well paid right off the get go however.

4

There are some geniuses out there who have managed that, so I am overall optimistic with your situation.

5

we certainly can’t set up a plan for you, and honestly speaking, reading your post doesn’t give the impression that you are prepared for Taiwan. I would ask yourself some really basic questions. Do you like being around Chinese people? Can you manage to survive rather hot and at times exceedingly humid weather?

Go to Taipei, check in in one of these expat hostels, stay there for a couple of weeks, start with checking out the ET scene, cram schools, private schools etc. and get the feel for life in Taiwan. You will meet people, expats and Taiwanese and you will certainly enjoy yourself (don’t forget that outside the cities, Taiwan is very beautiful). If you enjoy yourself more than 6 month and feel like “yeah I could live here” then go for better jobs, which I think will be rather difficult to get. If you can’t find a job, go home, If you find a job, check it out.

6

[quote=“nue”]Tl;dr version: ABC (ABT, whatever) wants to go to Taiwan with no real applicable job skills, how does one go about it?

So I’ve finally decided to a (a rather pitiful) initiative to start researching on how one comes to live in Taiwan. I’ve never been terribly interested in coming here till the days I started college and started thinking about how incredibly severed I am from my own supposed culture. Now that college is done and has been done for a year, I’m stuck at a crossroads now as to what to do with my future. I’ve browsed through a few threads here and there and it seems like my situation isn’t that much different from many others, though many others seem to have many of their plans or a goal set out already. I don’t really have anything in mind besides improving my Chinese and maybe taking it from there. Worst case scenario is I get shipped back home. But the biggest obstacle right now is getting to Taiwan and setting up some sort of plan first…[/quote]

If you’re looking for a solution for your lack of direction in life, I do not recommend Taiwan. Taiwan is the place where goals come to die.

What did you study in school?

If you actually really want to learn Chinese/local culture, then great. You may or may not become fluent after 2-3 years, depending on where you are at now and how much work you put into it. And you have to be ready to really work hard in order to have something to show at the end of your time.

If you just want to bum around, see new things and so on, why not just take a long roadtrip? Live out of your car or take that thousand dollars you would spend on airfare and buy a 2 month greyhound pass, hammock, and sleeping bag instead. Sleep in people’s backyards across America. You’re sure to see and experience all kinds of crazy, eye-opening shit. Without the hassle of moving all your stuff to Taiwan and then moving it back.

7

[quote=“nue”]Tl;dr version: ABC (ABT, whatever) wants to go to Taiwan with no real applicable job skills, how does one go about it?

So I’ve finally decided to a (a rather pitiful) initiative to start researching on how one comes to live in Taiwan. I’ve never been terribly interested in coming here till the days I started college and started thinking about how incredibly severed I am from my own supposed culture. Now that college is done and has been done for a year, I’m stuck at a crossroads now as to what to do with my future. I’ve browsed through a few threads here and there and it seems like my situation isn’t that much different from many others, though many others seem to have many of their plans or a goal set out already. I don’t really have anything in mind besides improving my Chinese and maybe taking it from there. Worst case scenario is I get shipped back home. But the biggest obstacle right now is getting to Taiwan and setting up some sort of plan first…[/quote]

Sounds like me almost 2 years ago. Except I wasn’t at a crossroads in my life, I came with the specific purpose of learning Chinese. After college, I was like “damn, I’ve gotta get back to my roots, experience life in Taiwan, and improve my Chinese”.

And then I got sucked in after a few months of living here… Game over…

You don’t need a plan, just come here and do it. There is nothing you can do or plan for when you are half way around the world. Be adventurous and take a risk. You’ve got nothing to lose. Like you stated yourself, the worst thing that can happen is that you end up back home.

8

“Take a chance, while you still got the choice.”

9

Thanks for the feedback thus far.

I think I need to rephrase my obstacle… What I tried to say was to take that first step in trying to get to Taiwan and then staying here as I’m not a ROC national, I was born and raised in SoCal my entire life. Only came to Taiwan probably 3 times my entire life and never stayed for longer than 2 weeks.

At this point, my life is sort of like leaning towards Tony’s experiences. I feel like I need to get in touch with my roots. But I’m also scared shitless at this prospect as I wouldn’t call myself fluent in Chinese, probably rudimentary at best with the ability to recognize my own name and perhaps a few words here and there. I’ve only got one relative living in Shuling at the moment and no friends. There’s really nothing around here it seems so perhaps Taipei is a better bet? Being here is sort of depressing too because Taiwan is always glorified by family members and my few Taiwanese friends but I’m having (and had before) a incredibly difficult time believing it. Seems like my thoughts mirror lupillus in this particular manner.

At this point, I’m just on the fence as to whether or not this is a good idea so I’m just trying to garner some more opinions on the matter. That and a good point of insertion would be cool too.

Anyways, thanks again for all the responses. I’m trying to look further into this…

10

I think that I’m one of few people who has had exceptionally bad luck with this country, but I want to share with you a special kind of experience you could potentially encounter.

My parents are Taiwanese, and I was born and raised in New York. I’ve visited Taiwan a few times when i was a kid, and although didn’t remember much about what I saw, I remembered feeling that my experiences here seemed a lot more exciting than life at home. Being in high school and college with other Taiwanese-Americans yearning to reconnect with the motherland also made me feel the need to “get in touch with my roots”.

So immediately after college, I came here, with much excitement, first to Taoyuan, which was okay, then to Kaohsiung, which was awful. Since my arrival in Kaohsiung, I’ve reconnected with Taiwan in a way that I really never expected to or wanted to. Taiwan was awesome when I was a teenager, but I feel like it’s my worst nightmare now.

The one upside to being here was that I managed to absorb A LOT more Chinese than my foreign friends. This was mostly because when I hung out with other foreigners, Taiwanese people wouldn’t talk to them. Instead, they’d talk to me, regardless of how little Chinese I knew. Back in the day, when I spoke much less fluently, people thought I was a stuttering idiot, or they would ask if I was from the mainland. It was really frustrating because the white foreigner next to me would get a huge applause for chirping the few words that even you probably know. Then again, I’ve heard of other heritage Chinese/Taiwanese who get by just fine by cluelessly nodding their head at anything that was being said to them…

However, you may need to prepare yourself for getting ignored a lot. I feel like a ghost because people rarely ever go out of their way to help me, even when I ask for it. They assume you’re one of them and openly wonder why and how you don’t know any better. The reaction becomes expected after a while, but it never ceases to be off-putting and discouraging for me.

Also, getting to know the Taiwanese was, for me, a complete and utter disappointment. I heard so much about the friendliness and hospitality, and after over two years of being here, I just felt like I got shat on daily. I’ve grown more and more ashamed and embittered about my heritage with what I see everyday, and I realize that I much prefer vacationing and visiting to actually working and living here. I think you get a very different perspective and experience in Taiwan when you look like the locals and not like most other western foreigners.

If what you’re really looking for is an opportunity to reconnect with your culture, and not necessarily working in Taiwan, I’d recommend joining a camp with the OCAC ocac.gov.tw/english/index.asp. If your parents (or at least one of them) is Taiwanese, you would qualify to attend a camp. It sounds childish, I know, but they actually have a program for young 20 somethings, and you can explore and hang out with other Taiwanese-Americans, Taiwanese-Canadians, or even Taiwanese-French. It’s super cheap (about $500 all inclusive fee + airfare), and everyone I’ve known who has attended has good things to say about it. It’ll get you into the country for a month or so, give you something to do, give you a chance to network and time to decide whether or not Taiwan is an ideal place for you to stay.

11

Sorry to hear it worked out that way for you…

That sounds like an awesome opportunity. :thumbsup:

I wish my father’s country had had something like that for us.

12

Being Chinese/Taiwanese looking and not speaking the language is tuff in Taiwan. Unless you are really cute, then they forgive you and will help you. Otherwise you are on your own. Better make a circle of buds to make life in Taiwan a lot more fun.

Its really who you know that defines your situ. But hey you can change things. GO out there and KNOW more people !

13

[quote=“nue”]Thanks for the feedback thus far.

I think I need to rephrase my obstacle… What I tried to say was to take that first step in trying to get to Taiwan and then staying here as I’m not a ROC national, I was born and raised in SoCal my entire life. Only came to Taiwan probably 3 times my entire life and never stayed for longer than 2 weeks.

At this point, my life is sort of like leaning towards Tony’s experiences. I feel like I need to get in touch with my roots. But I’m also scared shitless at this prospect as I wouldn’t call myself fluent in Chinese, probably rudimentary at best with the ability to recognize my own name and perhaps a few words here and there. I’ve only got one relative living in Shuling at the moment and no friends. There’s really nothing around here it seems so perhaps Taipei is a better bet? Being here is sort of depressing too because Taiwan is always glorified by family members and my few Taiwanese friends but I’m having (and had before) a incredibly difficult time believing it. Seems like my thoughts mirror lupillus in this particular manner.

At this point, I’m just on the fence as to whether or not this is a good idea so I’m just trying to garner some more opinions on the matter. That and a good point of insertion would be cool too.

Anyways, thanks again for all the responses. I’m trying to look further into this…[/quote]

Your trepidation is understandable but unwarranted. In the words of a famous delinquent MMA fighter: “Don’t be scared homie”.

Taipei is the ONLY place that you’d want to live in. If you are not going to be living in Taipei, then you mine as well not come at all. (Sorry to the other members) but anything outside of Taipei is pretty much crap and you won’t be getting the real Taiwan experience(the one that your family and friends talk about). Either you come to Taipei or you don’t come at all.

Much like you, I also lived in So. Cal my entire life. The life(style) in Taipei is just so much different. Maybe you’ll like it or maybe you won’t, but the only way to find out is to do it.

Your lack of Chinese is not a major concern. You can get by in Taipei without speaking much Chinese. Even though most people in Taiwan don’t speak English, there are written signs in English everywhere. The MRT is in English as are most street names. A lot of the western restaurants have English menus. In America, you don’t need English to get by. Well it’s the same thing in Taipei, you don’t need Chinese to get by. Many members on this board can attest to that fact.

I’d suggest you come here and study Chinese at NTNU. Do that for a semester and see how you like it.

14

I think that’s part of your problem right there, Taipei is where you need to be. Anywhere else, fuhgetaboutit. You landed in the wrong places.

As a fellow ABC/TBA, I can fully empathize with your experiences. I encountered the exact same thing when I first got here. The people here can be complete pricks. There are a lot of haters and assholes. You just have to ignore these people and not let them bring you down.

Again, very similar experience. The society here is still very lacking in general manners and common decency. A lot of people are completely clueless about proper etiquette and how to behave . Part of it is the culture, and that may never change.

You have to be able to adapt to this environment. Since coming to Taiwan, I have noticed that I have become much more aggressive and assertive when dealing with people here. You have to be, or else you’ll get walked all over.

About being ashamed and embittered, I get the same feeling from time to time also. Sometimes you see something and you just think to yourself “Taiwan, sigh”. A feeling of disgust and disappointment.

I think your experience here is what you make of it. It can be an extremely gratifying and phenomenal experience. There are definite advantages and disadvantages to being an ABC/TBA in Taiwan. The key is to maximum the advantages and to minimize the disadvantages.

My very first semester at NTNU, I got put into a class with 6 other ABC/TBA dudes. We had an absolutely incredible experience, hanging out and getting stupid in Taipei every single day. I don’t think any of us learned much Chinese that semester lol. But the interesting part is that after 2 years, ALL SEVEN of us are still here in Taiwan(Taipei to be sure). We all came to Taiwan at the same time, enrolled in our very first Chinese class, and didn’t plan on staying too long. But somehow we all decided to stay in Taiwan permanently. I believe that this example is a very compelling testament to the Taipei experience. Hell, I joined the army just so I could stay in Taiwan.

15

Argh. Jealous.

I’m going on my third year here in Taiwan. I’ve stuck around because I want to leave Taiwan having had a good experience.

And here I am, still wishing and hoping. At this rate, I may be stuck here forever!

[quote=“Tony the Tiger”]I think that’s part of your problem right there, Taipei is where you need to be. Anywhere else, fuhgetaboutit. You landed in the wrong places.
[/quote]

That is probably very true. It’s amazing how different things are the further away you are from Taipei. Like I said, I was in Taoyuan before I came to Kaohsiung. When I compare my experiences between the two places, I look back on Taoyuan like it was the Golden Years, even though there ain’t nothin’ there!

If you make the decision to move here, make the right decision about where to live the FIRST time you try. Otherwise, you’d have wasted money moving around, like I did. From what I always hear, Taipei is always a better bet.

Ditto. I’ve transformed so much since coming here. Before I used to be quiet and shy (and optimistic), and now I’m loud and forward (and angry), not as easily pushed around. It often shocks or weirds the locals out when they see or interact with me because that’s not how most girls here act.

[quote=“Tony the Tiger”]
My very first semester at NTNU, I got put into a class with 6 other ABC/TBA dudes. We had an absolutely incredible experience, hanging out and getting stupid in Taipei every single day. I don’t think any of us learned much Chinese that semester lol. But the interesting part is that after 2 years, ALL SEVEN of us are still here in Taiwan(Taipei to be sure). We all came to Taiwan at the same time, enrolled in our very first Chinese class, and didn’t plan on staying too long. But somehow we all decided to stay in Taiwan permanently. I believe that this example is a very compelling testament to the Taipei experience. Hell, I joined the army just so I could stay in Taiwan.[/quote]

Just out of curiosity, were you here just for study when you first came here, or did you come here primarily for work?

16

Wait you are a girl? Ok, that may explain the difference in “experience” . The ABT guys are likely delving into the attributes of having tons of nice TW girls about. While ABT girls may not be that enamored of the local guys . And it may not be so easy to compete with other taiwan girls, foreign girls, abc/abt girls for the foreign lads? That may explain the disparity of the TW experience for you versus the dudes?

Maybe you need visits back to CAlif to chill and mingle with the singles here and decompress before ( if ever) going back to the wan?

p.s. Your taiwan experience leading to a stronger, more independent you is positive but the anger? That is not a positive. You are building a little volcano inside.

Get your butt back to Calif !

17

[quote=“tommy525”]Wait you are a girl? Ok, that may explain the difference in “experience” . The ABT guys are likely delving into the attributes of having tons of nice TW girls about. While ABT girls may not be that enamored of the local guys . And it may not be so easy to compete with other taiwan girls, foreign girls, abc/abt girls for the foreign lads? That may explain the disparity of the TW experience for you versus the dudes?
[/quote]

Meh, not that interested in local or foreign men since I’ve already got a nice lady all to myself.

Competition was not an issue for me, but it was really about the kind of interaction I got from people across the board. I often get overlooked by the foreign crowd, the Taiwanese men treat me like they own me, and Taiwanese women talk down to me like I’m a child (just because I’m a younger woman).

Anyway, I’ve heard that men’s experiences, regardless of what they look like, tend to be better than women’s. So you may be a bit right about there actually being a disparity.

18

Yeah the scene is definitely not the same for a foreign girl going over to the wan versus a foreign guy going over.

19

[quote=“xiaojuan”]Argh. Jealous. I’m going on my third year here in Taiwan. I’ve stuck around because I want to leave Taiwan having had a good experience.

And here I am, still wishing and hoping. At this rate, I may be stuck here forever![/quote]

Not such a bad thing to be here for the rest of your life. I have been here 22 years and a good friend of mine has been here over 45 years.

I am pretty sure I will never leave, this is my home now, especially as the mist covered mountains in Alishan are so beautiful.

20

Funny that many people seem to be commenting on the current situation in Taiwan. I’ve had see-sawing opinions of Taiwan for awhile now and for quite some time, I’d be ashamed to be considered “Taiwanese” at times just because of how Taiwanese Americans AND Taiwanese fobs (boba, whatever’s PC) would act in the states, about how Taiwan is superior to China and how they’d treat Mainlanders like shit. I understood where they were coming from as I know a bit about Taiwanese history but when I confronted a few of them about why Taiwan was better, they spewed forth absolute anecdotal garbage mingled with uninformed pride in Taiwan.

Still, my parents are both Taiwanese and they still do love Taiwan very much, albeit with shame and disappointment in the government of Taiwan and so I’m trying to harness that residue in faith to give Taiwan a chance and perhaps to communicate with my own family on a more personal level as opposed to the “Chinglish” we speak at home.

[quote=“xiaojuan”]
However, you may need to prepare yourself for getting ignored a lot. I feel like a ghost because people rarely ever go out of their way to help me, even when I ask for it. They assume you’re one of them and openly wonder why and how you don’t know any better. The reaction becomes expected after a while, but it never ceases to be off-putting and discouraging for me. [/quote]

[quote=“tonythetiger”]

Again, very similar experience. The society here is still very lacking in general manners and common decency. A lot of people are completely clueless about proper etiquette and how to behave . Part of it is the culture, and that may never change.

You have to be able to adapt to this environment. Since coming to Taiwan, I have noticed that I have become much more aggressive and assertive when dealing with people here. You have to be, or else you’ll get walked all over.

About being ashamed and embittered, I get the same feeling from time to time also. Sometimes you see something and you just think to yourself “Taiwan, sigh”. A feeling of disgust and disappointment.

I think your experience here is what you make of it. It can be an extremely gratifying and phenomenal experience. There are definite advantages and disadvantages to being an ABC/TBA in Taiwan. The key is to maximum the advantages and to minimize the disadvantages. [/quote]

That’s the impression I got too from other threads. You look oriental and you speak a little Chinese, though in a strange manner and therefore it’s assumed you’re messing around and you don’t need help. Seems like there’s no advantage to being a ABC in Taiwan. Nobody’s going to believe you speak fluent English.

So, does being 24 equate to being a “young 20 something”? Hah.

Thanks for the opinions so far again guys, mucho gracias. I’ll look into both programs that ya’ll have suggested.