[quote=“Icon”]The good:
We do not have enough people to fill Taipei, let alone the whole Taiwan. So we would start importing people from everywhere. Lax ARC regulation, open Taiwan to everybody!
The bad:
The economy goes kaput when the elected president runs away with half the gold reserves. The rest was given to his political oponents as hush money. Expresident uses such gold to buy himself a nice position within the UN/Human Rights comission/european union government -as he has double nationality, etc… from which he speaks in favor of world peace and criticizes the imperialists interventions… Investment trust goes out the window as enterprises and banks are taken over by the Gov’t, while utilities and health care are privatized. Environment is finally killed by opening rights to seashore oiling and open mining, while turning a blind eye to chemical and plastic factories’ pollutants. Following IMF’s advice, economy is dollarized and that is the final nail in the coffin. Military dictatorship takes over, later replaced by extreme right government, later replaced by extreme left government, later replaced by military junta, later replaced by right… ad nauseum.[/quote]
Not to mention the president would sleep with family members.
Oh, please, don’t get us started on the private lives of our Beloved Leaders… I went to school with some of their children and I know far more than I wanted ever to know… But Chewy, remember, right or left, it is just an excuse: their only policy is me, me, ME!
That made me thinking. How many of us stay in Taiwan because of the Taiwanese, and how many of us despite the Taiwanese? Or the other way round: how many of us don’t live in our own country because of our compatriots there?
I’d definitely move too to avoid my fellow countrymen, I guess.
Just in: A Taiwan populated by Germans would now celebrate winning the “Eurovision Song Contest” with a contestant who can’t sing, can’t dance, but can cute.
I’m moving to your dream! Can we get leberknoedelsuppe as well? All served by Buxom blonde women with an angry demeanor but willing to slap a customer’s face with her chestal region if called upon to do so?
[quote=“Chris”]The bad:
15% tips in restaurants would be “required” by social custom.
The good:
Some nude beaches would open.
[/quote]
I think you have to switch these 2.
Yeah so there’s 15% tips but there’s no 10% service fee that doesn’t actually go to the wait staff, so it’s only 5% more, and the service is usually a shitload better in my part of the states.
And uh, maybe you’re built like Jason Statham and hung like Ron Jeremy but most of us aint, and I wouldn’t wanna see most of our sorry asses and other bits and pieces hangin out while we ogle the fei ji chang local prey…
I dunno, I lived in Germany and I much prefer Taiwan to Germany. Germany is just too bland. Everything from the food to the people is just so neutral. I much prefer the night-market when I can get some chicken feet, a hot dog, fried mushrooms, and watermelon juice to every restaurant serving nearly the same salty meat and potatoes(surrounded by kebab stands). I also like that wait staff actually attends to you here. In Germany the first thing you learn is how to snap your fingers loudly so the waiter will slowly mosey over to you and ask what you want.
You sure you’re not talking about France? I had great service in Freiburg (and Munich), and then I drive right across the Rhine to Strasbourg and it’s like WTF the waiter didn’t wanna even look our way, and when he did he was totally apathetic, he’s all like “we didn’t need you to win the war” yap yap yap (OK I mighta imagined that part but you get the picture). Shit the food was even bland. I’ll take standard German fare and service over standard French fare and service any day. And don’t get me started on the beer…
Where did you go? I lived in Munich and worked occasionally in Frankfurt, Koln, and Berlin. In some places where foreigners frequent service is slightly better, but at the average mom and pop place I felt like I was imposing on them by supporting their business. Nowhere in Europe have I ever heard the war brought up, but this could be due to I hide my accent very well when I speak German. When I started my job I showed up and was put in a training meant for a regional sales manager because the receptionist and HR person thought I was Dutch because of my accent.
[quote=“djlowballer”]Where did you go? I lived in Munich and worked occasionally in Frankfurt, Koln, and Berlin. In some places where foreigners frequent service is slightly better, but at the average mom and pop place I felt like I was imposing on them by supporting their business. Nowhere in Europe have I ever heard the war brought up, but this could be due to I hide my accent very well when I speak German. When I started my job I showed up and was put in a training meant for a regional sales manager because the receptionist and HR person thought I was Dutch because of my accent.
I heartily dislike France except for Marseilles.[/quote]
Joking about the war dude. To be fair I was in toursty areas of Munich and Neuschwanstein and Salzburg (OK it’s not Germany but, well, yeah it is), but in the Freiburg area we didn’t see many tourists, and they were just a bunch of damn nice people.
I thought the French Riviera was nice but it’s even more ridiculously priced than elsewhere in France. We had great experiences in the Loire valley area, service was fine and the people were friendly. And the one guy I know from Brittany is a pretty good guy (and unsurprisingly dislikes France-proper), I’d take a trip out there sometime.
But this ain’t a French vs German topic, what would a French Taiwan look like?
Smoking would be back in restaurants
Local wine would take a huge leap forward, or would disappear entirely for heaven’s sake
Cheese would grow on every tree, and wouldn’t cost half what it costs at City Super
President Horse would be married to Gong Li and we’d have fabulous pictures of her tata’s akimbo everywhere
There would be 1000% better bakeries
The Lafayette scandal wouldn’t have happened
Stinky Tofu? I don’t think so… A 20kg chunk of year-old Roquefort? Yessssss
There would be boobies and other accoutrements on TV, billboards, and the beaches, but…
they’d be hairy and smelly
Service charges would go up to 20%, plus the 50% union costs would be factored into the pricing to actually double the cost of everything
The MRT and HSR would be shut down on seemingly random days for striking workers
They would already have surrendered to the mainland
Ren Ai would be pronounced Jhhhren Ai… no wait it already is
There still wouldn’t be any horses here but for different reasons
There would be fewer Americans working here and more Americans visiting here
I stay because of my family members, clients, students, and friends. Most of them are Taiwanese, but some aren’t.
If you hate living here, you really have to get away for a while and then come back. You might change. I’ve spent the last year traveling all over the world and there’s no better sight to me than the coast and the farms near the Taoyuan Airport as the plane brings me home again.
I still love the US. I’d like to live there again, but only when I’ve got so much money that I can live where I’d like and enjoy the lifestyle I want. And it could only be a part-year situation for me. I couldn’t give up Taiwan for very long.
