Why do they come out so early and disappear again by midday?
Are they really so different from oldies in the west?
Retired people in US at least have some fun, I think, and aren’t bound to taking care of infants.
Why do the elderly always look so glum and bored in Taiwan.
Do you know of any elderly folks who break this mold?
I think Poagao’s Dancing Ladies would fall into this category. 
Glum? Maybe its because you’re seeing them at street level. Its when you come across them bounding up mountain paths without a trace of sweat, laughing, smiling, chattering away to each other as they gambol past you with a cheery “Jia you!” that you really have to restrain yourself – “Next old geezer that tells me “jia you” is going home for hip-fucking replacement surgery, I sweartagod!”
I just got back from a long hike around Yang Min Shan. I made a number of new friends among the packs of elderly, sprightly older women and men I met on the way up and back. No glum faces there.
Also gave directions to an old guy tooling around on his scooter, off on a lark.
The building superintendants where I teach are all elderly and very enjoyable to talk with.
Taiwan is full of great A Mahs and A Bei’s. You just have to look around. Or get out more.
Seniors in Taiwan? Well, I like to hangout late at night and drink beer with young xiao-jies. 
Thanks.
Could you guys share some stories of some old geezers you’ve become buddies with? I’d be interested to hear more about them.
[quote=“fredericka bimmel”]Thanks.
Could you guys share some stories of some old geezers you’ve become buddies with? I’d be interested to hear more about them.[/quote]
I’ve got several elderly neighbours with whom me and Jojo are friends. No real stories about them – they’re just nice old folk who are always happy to stop and chat, look after our animals should the need arise and vice versa, etc. Or the old lady with bad legs who used to bring chicken soup up four flights every day at our old place when we’d just lost our daughter and Jojo was in her sitting month, the list goes on and on, actually.
I second that. And I just seem to slow down as I get older. Actually hanging around in the park, chewing nut and playing chess seems like a nice life to me.
Brian
Okay, here’s a brief story:
My girlfriends parents have an elderly neighbor (about 70 years old) whom they refer to as “Mother Gung (Gung Ma Ma).” This kindly old woman cooks nearly every meal they eat. It started shortly after they moved in six months ago. It’s gotten to the point where they are sometimes embarrassed to tell her they’ll be home for dinner, because as soon as they arrive, Gung Ma Ma has a multi-dish, delicious, hot dinner waiting for them. She never asks for anything in return; seems happy just to be of service.
When I visited the gf’s parents last time, I enjoyed one of these meals. Fantastic food–I ate until stuffed. Gung Ma Ma and I had a nice chat, after which she went on and on to anyone who would listen about how wonderful I am, and how the fact that I am a foreigner shouldn’t matter one damned bit. Got to love someone like that.
There are spaces available for rent near Gung Ma Ma. Let me know if you want an introduction 
.
Okay, here’s a brief story:
My girlfriends parents have an elderly neighbor (about 70 years old) whom they refer to as “Mother Gung (Gung Ma Ma).” This kindly old woman cooks nearly every meal they eat. It started shortly after they moved in six months ago. It’s gotten to the point where they are sometimes embarrassed to tell her they’ll be home for dinner, because as soon as they arrive, Gung Ma Ma has a multi-dish, delicious, hot dinner waiting for them. She never asks for anything in return; seems happy just to be of service.
When I visited the gf’s parents last time, I enjoyed one of these meals. Fantastic food–I ate until stuffed. Gung Ma Ma and I had a nice chat, after which she went on and on to anyone who would listen about how wonderful I am, and how the fact that I am a foreigner shouldn’t matter one damned bit. Got to love someone like that.
There are spaces available for rent near Gung Ma Ma. Let me know if you want an introduction .
Depends on what you think is elderly too. My mother in law and my father in law are 60ish. I think they have a great life. (We don’t rely on them for babysitting… we’re all pretty independent.)
MIL sees her friends (from high school!) every week, they go shopping, have lunch and hike on Yangming Shan. She goes hiking every morning too and connects with her three children by phone(California, China and my dh here) several times a week.
FIL plays golf, goes out drinking, checks on his money, goes out drinking, plays golf, and does a lot of hiking too. (Okay, so it’s not a Good life, but the guy defiinitely has a lot of fun.)
Together, they visit Grandma, travel a few times a year, drive distances to enjoy good food, and dote on their grandchildren.
In contrast, Grandma is 80+ and not very happy from what I can see. In three years, I’ve never known her to go for a walk or have lunch with a friend.
Losing your daughter must have been awful. I’m so sorry for your loss. 
Your neighbors sounds wonderful, especially that sweet old lady who brought the soup.
:x :x Arrgghhhh… I miss Taiwan! :?
These old people you mention above sound wonderful. I’d love to meet Gung Mama, Tomas! It’s been a while since I had delicious home cooked Taiwanese food.
But question: Do Taiwanese seniors partake in other activities besides shopping, drinking, golfing and hiking?
I mean, do they do much travel on their own perhaps with other seniors, engage in hobbies, join clubs, take extension courses, get involved in community work?
My parents do all of that and more so I consider them pretty young 73 and 76 year olds.
A couple of years I helped judge an English speaking competition for some oldies. They just read a short prepared passage, I have no idea if they understood what they were reading…
That was for some sort of classes or club…
Oh, and they play mahjong sometimes
Check out the parks in the morning, before noon. You’ll see seniors dancing, singing karaoke, exercising, playing badminton. Some of my neighbors and mil’s friends take classes too… cooking, quilting, sewing, health/wellness. I don’t know about volunteer work. I’ve had the impression that volunteerism/charity work are kind of a new concept here. I think most people have always just worked as much as they could to make more money, but I could be wrong. I know my husband has always said his favorite charity is himself. 
Yeah, my husband (Taiwanese) thinks it’s a total waste that I post advice here on the forum. I mean, if I’m not getting paid, why do it?
But anyway, back to the topic. Many old folks in the US aren’t all that active or happy either. We see the active ones because they’re out. The others just sit home watching TV all day. After all, they can’t drive safely anymore and have to save their money to buy medication. For my grandmother, a trip to Walmart is exciting.
Dunno. Every time I’ve had to be in a hospital, there are always loads of older people around doing voluntary work – they take wheelchair-bound people out for walks, talk with them, that kind of thing. The services they provide are becoming more and more important as modern urban life breaks up the traditional family structures and many more elderly people than in the past are living to more advanced ages and finding themselves unable to take care of themselves and with families who maybe live far away from them.
Our “Lin Mama” does hospital work two or three times a week, she helps organize some kind of community activity thing for oldies, she goes to flower arranging classes, taichi, hiking, blah blah blah… I joked once that she has a different volunteer vest (you know, those brightly coloured nylon things they always wear) for every day of the week, but indeed, she has. 
You know, now that I think about it, I do see people at Chung Shan and Adventist who seem like volunteers… they help you with your blood pressure, weight and help you get around, right?
Isn’t that wonderful? Okay, I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want to have my inlaws’ life of golf, food, shopping and travel when I’m a senior. I think I’d like to be useful.
Ditto! That’s what my mom does (thought I don’t consider her “old” yet…). Not only do these activities help pass time, most importantly, they get to make friends, contribute something back to the society, all the while keeping a healthy body and mind!
Me too! But I think you can combine the travel and shopping with the usefulness. My mom does, and she even got my dad into it. He volunteers a couple times a week at Meals on Wheels, while she does volunteer paper work and counseling at the cancer ward in her local hospital.
You know what? I think that whatever you’re like as a young or middle aged person, you are as a senior. So, if you’re a pretty active person now, involved in things, have friends, hobbies, and interests, then you probably will when you’re old. If you’re a dullard who sits around complaining and drinking alcohol thinking that’s the height of entertainment, you’ll either be dead by the time youre 65, or just a miserable old person who never leaves the house like the ones ckvw talks about above.