Re: KTV
You have to go to Cash Box (maybe called Partyworld now) to get the decent (at least semi-decent) selection of English songs. Thatmay change now that it’s merged with Holiday. Holiday is cheaper, but crap songs. I might be up for a KTV night if it’s debauched enough, and no serious attempts at singing are made.
Brian
Running into just one or two more psycho xiaojies might make me want to leave Taiwan. I am finding that the concept of healthy romantic love in Taiwan is completely wacked, as in off the fucking radar screen.
On the other hand, my friends (both male and female) are normal, so that gives me hope.
There’s a simple solution: stop chasing women for their looks.
And on a side note, can we arrange a forumosa KTV night?
You know it’s time to leave when you stop noticing the earthquakes. Or when a major one pops up at 8am on a Saturday and barely wakes you up only enough to think, “Hmm…maybe sleeping under a glass window isn’t the safest thing to do during an earthquake” before you fall back to sleep.
When your salary is not high enough to keep it a secret from locals.
Some interesting replies above.
A number of people say that they feel stuck here. ie They have been here a while have put down roots & somehow feel guilty that they are not moving on.
This reminds me of the saying " People who stay at home dream of travelling & people who travel dream of staying at home"
Others feel that they feel OK here or in some cases not so OK & wonder
if there is something better out there in the big wide world. I guess they mean, will I find people elsewhere who I can relate to & form deep attachments…because lets face it the physical enviroment (unless you live in real poverty)doesnt make that much diffference to happiness …its the people & relationships that make the difference.
This reminds me of another story:
A traveller approaches a village & wants to know wether this would be a good place to settle. He/she finds the wise man of the village & asks him.
" What are the people like here ?" The wise man replies “You will find the people here are very similar to the people where you came from”.
In other words it is within ourselves & not within others (people or countries) that we must look for solutions to our disatisfactions.
Having said that , I do think this place suits some people better than others.e.g. if I were a SWF over 30 looking for a long term partner, I would be out of here on the next plane.
Did I just contradict my previous ruminations ? Ah Well as Oscar Wilde also said “consistancy is the last refuge of the unimaginative mind”
Those who knew the answer to that question, left about 6 years ago.
I only came 4 years ago.
One answer could be …
When people (on the telephone) think you are Taiwanese when you are speaking English or Chinese. 
Actually this happened to me (speaking Chinese) recently - I came away thinking “I didn’t know my Chinese sounded THAT bad”. That’s right, I am not too happy that my Chinese sounds Taiwanese.
I would think it a compliment if people would say that about my Taiwanese language though.
Scuba mentioned being stuck in Taiwan and feeling guilty about not leaving. It’s funny, I have been here for three years and sometimes experience that kind of “Damn, I really like it here, but I guess I should get the hell out” feeling.
I’ve never lived in any other place long enough to get a similar kind of feeling. So people who have lived for a while in other countries: is this specific to Taiwan or does it happen everywhere? Or are you thinking: Guilt? What guilt? What are you talking about?
That’s a great question… I’m glad you asked. I’ve been here for a long time, and will be here for at least another decade… never lived anywhere but the US previously… so I look forward to reading some interesting replies.
I left Kaohsiung recently and although my reasons for leaving seemed valid, they have left me questioning everything. I really miss it right now. I don’t know if that’s because I don’t know what I want to do in America, because I have no plans, or because Kaohsiung is where it’s at. I know I can go back anytime, but I need to determine why I feel so melancholy now that I’m “back home.” What do you think?