Can someone explain this? When I lived in Taiwan, Taiwanese people would often walk into me; foreigners never did, and it’s extremely rare back home in Canada. However, at the university in my hometown there are a lot of Asian students. When I’m in the computer lab people often brush against, knock into or even crash against the back of my chair. A few of the almost imperceptible brushes have been by non-Asians; ALL of the extremely annoying crashes have been by Asians. Why? What could possibly be the reason?
taiwanese live on the second most densely populated land on earth. being very close to and often bumping other people is soo frequent and common as to be almost second nature.
Perhaps they have a bababa fetish. I know I do.
Taiwanese live on the second most densely populated land on earth. being very close to and often bumping other people is soo frequent and common as to be almost second nature.[/quote]
Definately…I’m sure they aren’t just bumping into you…they’re bumping into everyone. It’s just the way of life in Taiwan or any place that has soo many people in such a small space. I kinda liked it, it was sort of like a game of human pinball.
Also watch them walk. MANY of the people here walk looking down. You can’t see where you are going looking down.
Scooters or cars occupied the places which belonged to pedestrian.
Nah, they’re having fun; frotters are everywhere in this part of the world.
HG
I’ve seen that in the streets here too and I really don’t get it from a basic safety skills perspective. The streets here are very dangerous and busy; that would be the last thing I would do. Maybe Taiwanese people are better at coping with that than I am, but still, yikes!
I think they bump into you because you are a VICTIM! Get a hold of yourself, think positive thoughts and watch them be repelled by you and bump into someone else. 
While walking on the streets of Taipei I spend a lot of energy trying to avoid people that are potentially going to bump into me. However it does happen every now and then, cause people here just tend to stop out of no reason in the middle of the street and don’t feel like moving to the side. Why is that??
And they fear the magic moving stairs in the MRT
I’ve had people even turn and walk into me while looking directly at me on an uncrowded sidewalk. Sometimes I may even be right up against the wall, with plenty of room on the other side, but they seem intent to walk between me and the wall. :loco:
They sense your power, and they seek the life essence. Do not avoid Taiwanese, but deny them your essence.
O.E.P.
O.P.E.
P.O.E.
This morning someone crossed over the sidewalk and walked into me. Sometimes, yes. Sometimes it is obvious that they do it on purpose. But in my case, who can blame them. I’m just so run into-able.
(So kidding)
Buy a porcupine-hide coat, or some politically correct animals-are-our-fuzzy-little-buddies alternative. Maybe a coat with finish nails in it… sharp little buggers. 
I experience the same thing every bloody day… my theory is that it’s due to the average Taiwanese having very weak spacial awareness and orientation due to the lack of playing sports/doing any kind of physical activity growing up or, er… ever… co-ordination in general and especially spacial awareness is easily developed by playing ball sports and/or interacting with your environment, and since for 95% of Taiwanese kids that means randomly throwing basketballs whilst screaming in gym class once a month and then sitting at home staring at text books and/or the TV, they grow up having spacial awareness skills comparable to that of certain species of blind cave dwelling crustaceans… just try walking up behind someone in a supermarket, you could be wearing a gorrilla suit, with one hand down your pants and holding a machette in the other, but unless you are in their direct field of vision, you just don’t exist, and they won’t notice you… however, they will invariably then turn around and blunder smack into you… 
I find that having developed a “teacherly presence” for classroom use I can also use it to good effect sometimes out of the classroom. I’m not a tall or imposing guy but I generally get where I want to go without many bumps, and without causing too much aggro either.
Same reason that everyone drives around like they are the only person on the road, when they know full well that traffic density is very high.
Look out the side window? Nah, nobody there. Look out the mirror? What for? Couldn’t be anyone there. Have a look over the shoulder before turning? Gimme a break!
I think it’s a lack of concern for the consequences of those actions, a conviction that such contacts are inevitable, and a belief that it’s more important to be lucky than to be skillful.
-
I bumped into, so what? Noone got hurt, and even if they did I wouldn’t take responsibility.
-
Everyone bumps into everyone else. Nothing can be done about. Therefore, I don’t have to learn to be more careful.
-
I won’t get hurt by being bumped into or crashing my car/scooter because I went to the temple often enough. Therefore, I don’t have to learn to be more careful since nothing bad will happen to me on the way to pick up my lottery winnings.
It’s kind of like what PJ O’Rourke said about Russians,
if you were with one Russian at the Kremlin he’d walk all the way across Red
Square just to stand on your shoes.
They assume that YOU will move out of THEIR way …