Where can I make friends? aka the find-a-friend thread

Dear fellow Forumosers,

I’ve recently accepted a post in the rural countryside teaching English in a remote school. It was so much easier for me to meet people in Taipei by joining Meetup.com groups … but now that I’m out in the countryside of Hua-lian, population is sparse and I’m having a hard time meeting new people. I’m situated near a small town call Yuli, which is about 120km south of Hualian city. There are no Starbucks, Mcdonalds, subway , Alleycat, TGI fridays, or any major chain stores. Barely any pubs or bars for people to mingle and socialize.

Does anybody have contacts who reside in the rural countryside such as Hualian? Do any of you have any advice for me if I want to meet people outside of my network through the co-workers at school? Are there any speed-dating events in Hualian city? I’m single and looking to hook up.

Thanks and let me know

Just go outside and talk to people. Taiwanese people can’t wait to hook you up.

Now and then I suffer from the relative cultural isolation of Hualien. So I can feel your Yuli pain.

Historically (so I’ve been told) Yuli Township was home to several facilties for the mentally ill / psychotic from all over Taiwan. Due to it being one of the most geographically isolated places in the country, it grew into a convenient place to dump those relatives who’d lost the plot. When some of those ‘abandoned’ inmates recovered and were discharged from their Yuli hospital, they found themselves with nowhere to return to, and many just set up home nearby. So the story goes.

I was once having dinner in Yuli and a crocodile of adults, chained in pairs, escorted front and back by blue shirted men, stumbled past the restaurant window. Most of them looked like they were medicated.

But there is good stuff in Yuli too! You’ve got the Antong Hot Springs a stone’s throw away, and if you’ve got transport, the remote east coast is just beyond that, up and through the tunnel. Then there’s Yushan National Park and the Walami hiking trail.

Good luck with nightlife and bars etc. AFAIK your nearest source of English speaking humanity would be the Dulan posse and the surfer crews around there. I’d wouldn’t be banking on Hualien speed-dating. You’re going to have to get out in there into Yuli and mingle.

Hey guys. I learned about this website after trying to google ways of making new friends in Taiwan.
So, a quick backstory: I’m an 18 year old male, born and raised in Canada with Taiwanese parents. I speak English and French fluently, and I’m pretty decent in Mandarin except my vocabulary is next to crap and I have an accent. Last time I’ve been there was when I was 14, and I stay at various places (mom’s house/grandma’s, vacant hotspring condo we own =P)

Anyways, I have some friends in Taiwan but they are mostly the FOB type… Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against them; they’re my friends and I’ll hang out with them but they aren’t usually the type of group I associate myself with.
With that said, I’m looking for either Taiwanese teens/young adults (16-25 I guess) that, like me, come form overseas and speak English. Also, I wouldn’t mind hanging out with white people either (by white I guess I’m just referring to non-asian). I guess I just have some sort of prejudice against Asian people… I’ve asked some at my school if they thought I was whitewashed and apparently I really am although I just thought I was the right balance.

Anyways, I’m not usually the type who looks online for friends but I really want my summer worth it. I’m mainly going back because I haven’t seen my mom in 3 years, otherwise, i would have opted to stay in Canada.


So, I’m not sure if this forum is made for meetups, but if it’s not too weird for anyone, I’d like to meet people here. Umm, I guess meeting groups of friends would be more appropriate, but if anyone else is looking for a friend, then by any means let me know!
I’m also just asking around for places I could meet people (english speakers, asian/non-asian). I mean, I’m 18, and I’ll definitely be hitting the clubs and bars don’t worry about that haha but I don’t know if it’s the right place to meet people.

Yeah… gonna take down this part to avoid offending people (lol) and their pointless replies.

What do you guys say ? =)

Most guys here are acid washed.

nobody can help me? :pray:

How soon? I can’t even remember when the last HH was for Forumosa.

I really want to make a foreign boyfriend (or friends)
because I think foreign man is different from Taiwan’s (!!?)
but I have no way to do it
and my English is not very well.
What can I do!!? :unamused:

  1. Make sure you have nice legs.

  2. Wear a short skirt.

  3. Go where you see a lot of foreign men.

  4. Smile at them. Wink a little.

Done. Good luck!

Be careful what you wish for! (Out of curiosity, what do you think the differences are?)

Here is a website that may be helpful:

yffm.wordpress.com/

I dunno what to say.

Guess I have to give her kudos for coming her and trying.

There’s plenty bignoses who’ll be your ‘boyfriend’.

[quote=“finley”]You can make one quite easily from parts available in B&Q. Instructions are on the internets.

You could also make friends with sam_wong. He can probably introduce you to someone suitable.

Failing that: language exchange. Works every time.[/quote]

I do not uundertand ~"~
“parts available in B&Q” ? and “sam_wong” search his FB!!?

[quote=“Zla’od”]Be careful what you wish for! (Out of curiosity, what do you think the differences are?)

Here is a website that may be helpful:

yffm.wordpress.com/[/quote]
I do not know .
just feel maybe they are different~"~

about that website…
I do not want that one relationship

Sorry, just a silly grammar joke. Although you can “make a friend”, you cannot (for some reason) “make a boyfriend”, except in a biotech laboratory.

sam_wong is our resident non-existent poster.

Anyway, I was just testing to see if this thread was another one of jimipresley’s(?) trolls. Sounds like you’re a real person. In that case, really: language exchange. It’s a good way to find out if a guy is an idiot before considering him as boyfriend material. If he makes a serious attempt to teach you english, that’s probably a good sign. Don’t just pick some random foreigner to find out if foreigners are “different”. He might well be, but probably in disappointing ways.

I agree with the last comment, try to find a guy who works hard for your love. Some dudes will hate me for saying this but if what you want is a foreigner that worth it and don’t regret a relationship with one, then you have to make sure he is ready to commit first. And please don’t go fast on the relationship, believe me you will regret it, since guys lose interest on girls that go too easy :stuck_out_tongue: sorry guys. The relationship is actually very possible just follow two simple rules: 1. Try to find one that is around your age range (of course is a exception if you are over 30 in which case doesn’t matter) 2. If he want to sleep with you too fast and slow him down (I hope you know what I mean), and after that he stills come to date you and all. Well the guy worth it.

Now answering on how to meet the guys, there are many chances, language exchange is good, through friends is the safest one and I could dare to say some clubs if you are in the university age, just don’t get drunk and talk to some guys. Believe me some guys actually just wanna go clubbing to have some fun and they are not jerks. I have a Taiwanese girlfriend and I have been happily with her close to two years. So I bet everyone can find his or her ideal couple in the island :slight_smile:

Well dude, me and my friend will be leaving Taiwan on July :smiley: so if you come before that and like to party you are welcome in our group. We are mostly foreigners from all nationalities, including almost all Europe, a big part of Latin America, sometimes we have some Americans and also Taiwanese (mostly girls) :P. We are about your age range so if you come before that let me know!

[quote=“Tiby”]I really want to make a foreign boyfriend (or friends)
because I think foreign man is different from Taiwan’s (!!?)
but I have no way to do it
and my English is not very well.
What can I do!!? :unamused:[/quote]

Approach one. You’d be surprised how easy they are.

So, will Tiby come back to post here, or was she frightened away by the cryptic, complex, far-beyond-her-level English laced with sarcasm and other forms of humor she might not understand?

surely , I do not understand so much:P

In Spanish it works OK: voy a hacerme de un novio extranjero.

To the OP: sweetheart, you already have an advantage: you are Taiwanese. Hell if I can get a foreign guy to even look at me. I am seriously considering that the next white bloke that walks by without a glance will get a slap on the back of the neck or something along those lines. No manners, tsk tsk.