If people hate it here all the time, then they will leave.
We all have good days and bad days, the latter most often when the cultural gap came into play. However, there are ways around that and well, I don’t hate my inlaws, the weather and the food, and that’s a start.
Most of the time people nag and bitch in order to let out steam, and I often catch myself doing that when driving with the missus and complaining about traffic and all the ugly buildings but up in stunning locations. Therefore, when foreigners get together and start bitch, they might say things they only mean when bitching or after a bad day - if they felt that way all the time, they would have left a loooong time ago.
I can still remember the anniversary of my arrival in Taiwan by the smells on the street at that particular time of year. The stench of chou doufu and durian mingled with discarded betel nut and scooter exhaust somehow takes on a slightly different odor in late August.
travelgoddess, I have to say, for what you seemed to be looking for, you picked the wrong place to find it. You would have been much better off in Taipei. Why Tainan as your first stop? Aw, nevermind my nosiness. Honestly, you should give Taipei a crack, even if for 6 months and then see how much you’ve changed your mind before you write Taiwan off completely. As for whiners who bitch about everything, it doesn’t say as much about Taiwan as it does about them. Follow my rule of thumb: never hang around with negative people. One would think it was common knowledge, yet I see you absorbing all of their negativity into yourself and letting it exacerbate your own feelings about Taiwan. Get away from that and get to know people who have a realistic view of life here rather than someone who sounds like they’d be unhappy anywhere.
I think Taiwan is FUBAR (military speak for fucked up beyond all repair). I base that on having lived here for the past 11 years. But, I stay. Three reasons for that (in order of importance):
I love my wife and she has no desire to move to California. So we stay.
I love being “free”; career-wise. Here I work for myself and only have to answer to God and my wife. Taiwanese society does not ask/expect anything of me and I don’t ask/expect anything of it. This approach does not net me much money by the end of the month but I don’t have to eat the daily shit that goes with a 9 to 5 job back in Cali.
Here I get to do things I would never be able to do back in the states. Back in California I am just another attorney, there are thousands of guys just like me. Here (over the years) I have got a chance to do lots of different things (e.g. be on ICRT, be a book author, be a respected but low paid law teacher, sit on many “show” committees and lots of other things.)
Plus a fourth reason; having left the U.S. and not stepped foot back on American soil for the past 11 years I have really learned a lot about America. That seem odd but true. I see America far more clearly now than I ever did when I lived there.
Having said that, Taiwan is a fucked up third world country that is well on its way to being a backwater of Asia. It is sad; but the Taiwanese people are their own worst enemies.
take care,
Brian
President of the Taiwanese-California Friendship Association of World Harmony Inc.
(“we” Neo-Taiwanese like to declare ourselves “president” of NGOs with long names. I learned that my years working for Amnesty International here on Big Face Island)
The one thing I harp about is the traffic…And then only behind the wheel.
Living in the city can really drag you down. Now that I’m out in the burbs Taiwan is far easier to handle. In the end, I’ve managed to recreate a very western lifestyle while in Taiwan, the best of both worlds. If Tainan doesn’t work for you, try somewhere else, and do some research first before jumping up to Taipei. What is it in Tainan that you are missing? What hobbies can you not pursue because of your location?
When I listen to people bitch about Taiwan, they are usually the ones that never do anything…Piss it up at the pub, and go to work. It’s no kind of life anywhere. The tranquil ones, on the other hand, are out and about. Taking long rides, going to the beach, camping, surfing, staying active.
If you cannot do the things you enjoy in Tainan, then move. If you need better infrastructure, then go to Taipei. Want to get back to nature? Find some hicktown and rent a farmhouse…It’s all here and it’s all good.
Would still like to hear more about what makes Taiwan so unbearable for you…Isn’t this what this thread is really about? Why these negative people can handle living here and you can’t? (No sarcasm intended )
Kennedy,
You are someone of considerable repute on this island, and someone who, in the past, represented a very prestigious and honorable organization. I think you should perhaps tone down your rhetoric a notch. Because of who you are/were, when you write or speak I, and others, want to pay attention to you, because based on your reputation, you will probably have something intelligent and informative to say. However, when I read statements of the above ilk, that are inflammatory and provide no arguments to back up its claims, I may tend to want to dismiss your opinions on ICRT or elsewhere in the future.
In other words, your opinions may become indistinguishable from our ambient droning.
And America? How would you describe it?
This is not about me.
I can quite capable of dealing with my own reaction to Taiwan.
This is about the other folks I mentioned earlier.
sigh.
Thank you Brian for addressing the original question.
D
Well, travelgoddess of course there are tons of things that one can hate in Taiwan: the air pollution, the cockroaches, the lack of electricity and water somedays when you get up in the morning, the heat, the politics, the unprofessional plumbers…etc…etc…
If you start to look for everything you hate, you can do that 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. You have to get out of this pattern and start looking for the things you like. Why have you come to Taiwan in the first place. There must have been something that attracted you?
WeiLong is totally right, if you have every lived in Mainland, then you know why Taiwan is sooo much better.
I honestly love it hear, eventhough I sometimes complain about the above mentioned subjects. What keeps me here? Love and a good job (eventhough it was hard to find…).
This is not about me.
I can quite capable of dealing with my own reaction to Taiwan.
This is about the other folks I mentioned earlier.
sigh.
Thank you Brian for addressing the original question.
D
What the hell is wrong with Tainan.
Maybe drinking beer and bitching is the norm all around the world. At last I get to Tainan and here even the weather misses you. Typhoons.earthquakes they all go around. I just wish all the hippies would go around and stop bitching. You can not get a job anywhere else come here earn a fortune and complian about your three hours of work a day.
Go on say why you hate it. Don’t like your friends get some more because he seems a waste of space. Ohhhhh shit maybe it was me!!!
[quote=“travelgoddess”]I am leaving Taiwan soon, my decision to break my contract a bit past 1/2 way through. Long story why, nothing traumatic back home, just feel as completely unhappy here as humanly possible.
D[/quote]
Travelgoddess also wrote:
[quote=“travelgoddess”]
What happened? The lifestyle is so unnatural to me. The social aspect is as unappealing as tearing my fingernails off slowly. The lack of exercise, bad food, and so much more. Lots of it I still feel too negative about to voice in an objective manner. Being stared at and called stupid and big all the time doesnt help either. Bottom line, I feel uninspired and downright depressed being here. Just not a place I feel good in.
D[/quote]
Sorry for jumping to conclusions, but after reading your previous posts, it’s rather difficult not to…
I would like to see what things you yourself have done to make your stay here enjoyable. The reason I am asking is that I have seen too many folks here expect…or perhaps a better word, demand, that someone or something make them happy. What initiative have you taken to make your stay here enjoyable?
TG
Taiwan is a difficult place to live. I can completely understand the way you feel and you do the right thing when you leave.
Sometimes I hate Taiwan, the holy ignorance all around, the rude staring and the totally uninspiring shallow childishness around me.
Then I meet an old friend, smile and talk, forget the time and come home late.
My wife scolds me with a kiss, good that I brought her a snack from our 7/11. I like Taiwan.
IMO One thing is important, don’t get irritated by people who somehow try to put your decision to leave in a strange light. You choose where you can be happy. Many left Taiwan before you, lots of Taiwanese for example!
Wookie: what are you on about ? Is the man not allowed to speak his mind ? Do you disagree and think the Taiwanese are taking great care of their economy ? Do we have to put on our obligitory “Taiwan is Wonderful” rose tinted glasses ? What’s with the pompous lecturing ?
“However, when I read statements of the above ilk, that are inflammatory and provide no arguments to back up its claims, I may tend to want to dismiss your opinions on ICRT or elsewhere in the future.”
Inflammatory ? A great number of Taiwanese politicians have the same complaints about Taiwan’s economy. Should they be pilloried as well ? I don’t understand. Or os Brian not allowed to make negative comments about Taiwan simply because he is a foreigner ?
And no second dates?[/quote]
I was interested in one, and one was interested in me – but they weren’t the same one.
No mutual sparks yet. They’ve all been extremely nice, though. A very refreshing change from the U.S. Even the lovely young expat I went out with one night was sweet. Might change my mind about American women.
Hexuan,
Just the first thing I read by him on this forum.
I have heard him on the radio and read some of his opinions in some of the daily papers and have always had a lot of respect for his opinions and for what he stood for. I guess I was/am really surprised that he didn’t explain himself a bit further. His comments were a bit trite.
Anyone can rant and rave. I do too, when I’m having a bad day. Maybe Kennedy was having a bad day. Maybe someone just keyed his car or pushed over his motocycle or something.
Calling Taiwan a backwater, armpit, shithole or whatever is not new. I do that and worse somethimes when I get frustrated.
But given Kennedy’s reputation/stature/import/etc. I really did expect to hear more on why he chose to classify Taiwan in the manner he did.
I guess you could say I was a bit disappointed.
DaveorJimmy, how can you say Taiwan is a difficult place to live? What is difficult about it?
As for brianlkennedy’s comments…personally, I am a selfish sob…so if I thought “Taiwan is a fucked up third world country that is well on its way to being a backwater of Asia” (and that bothered me somehow) then there is no way I would stay here…and sorry, brian, but I think I would have figured that out before 11 years had passed.
Sure everyone has bad days but when they turn into bad weeks, months or years, then I think it’s time to make a change. But that just me.
)
