hee hee. Maybe I’m a nut myself then. 
By the way, I don’t have any Taiwanese female friends. They just happen to be my friends’ wives. 
They’re not nutless wonders. They are just normal Taiwanese women. Part of “The Borg” of Taiwan.[/quote]
Heh! I was referring to the husbands, not the wives. Nutless in that they should grow a pair instead of whinging. Why stay married to a woman ya don’t even like? :s
hee hee. Maybe I’m a nut myself then.
By the way, I don’t have any Taiwanese female friends. They just happen to be my friends’ wives.
They’re not nutless wonders. They are just normal Taiwanese women. Part of “The Borg” of Taiwan.[/quote]
Heh! I was referring to the husbands, not the wives. Nutless in that they should grow a pair instead of whinging. Why stay married to a woman ya don’t even like? :s[/quote]
sorry, I read it wrong, was thinking “nutty” rather than “nutless”… 
You’re right. It’s strange though. I really don’t know any happy couples.
One couple we are close to seemed very happy, and have been together and worked together for many years. He just confided in us about a month ago about how he is trying to get her to sign divorce papers because he has had enough, and she won’t sign. We were shocked. Poor lad.
Its weird. I wonder if the women up north are really more … I don’t know … urbane? worldly? … normal?
Out of the 20-or-so mixed marriages I know well, its the men – except for me, of course – who are screwballs (you know who you are) while their Taiwanese wives are normal, well-adjusted individuals, apart from their strange taste in men, that is.
[quote=“sandman”]Its weird. I wonder if the women up north are really more … I don’t know … urbane? worldly? … normal?
Out of the 20-or-so mixed marriages I know well, its the men – except for me, of course – who are screwballs (you know who you are) while their Taiwanese wives are normal, well-adjusted individuals, apart from their strange taste in men, that is.[/quote]
I think you may be right, actually. Sometimes I wonder if my jaded view on the people has everything to do with the fact that I have lived in a small town an hour from Kaohsiung the entire time I have been here. Whenever I have been to Taipei, I feel like I’m in another country. It feels more normal, more worldly for sure.
I really do get so annoyed with the people here where I live. And this is coming from a gal who was voted “Most Friendly” in her graduating class in high school, and who has lived and worked very happily in rural sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and Europe and made many friends in all places. The only Taiwanese friend I have here is the taxi driver I use at times. After six years, I find it sad to say that I have one real friend here who is a local. So, it makes me feel jaded and anxious to get out. No one should live in a place where they can’t relate on any level to anyone except for other foreigners.
Anyway, my lack of female friends here has been a problem. Most of the women I know irritate me to no end. They are gossipy, jealous, ignorant types who I can’t stand being around. Aside from that, they are always nervous and giggly around me. After a while, it gets old. I do all that I can to be friendly and nice and patient. But hey, I can only take so much.
My friends who have married here seem unhappy and under the thumb, so to speak. Not allowed to do this or that; wifey doesn’t have a clue about cleanliness, cooking, or anything else for that matter; unrealistic expectations and very expensive tastes. I don’t know, but it has made me really bitter. The more I get to know my friends’ wives, the more I dislike them and women in general here. I can’t help it; I see nothing different. I wish I did. :s
I have to step in and say that all my friends here are local, and I have plenty of well adjusted, cool, female friends.
I do see a bunch of the kind you are talking about also. But I think saying they are all (or even most) like that is a bit of a stretch.
I think the major problem with foreigner’s wives is that white guys let a bunch of faults slip thinking that they are cultural problems, when in fact it is the fact that the girl is nuts…
[quote=“SuchAFob”]I have to step in and say that all my friends here are local, and I have plenty of well adjusted, cool, female friends.
I do see a bunch of the kind you are talking about also. But I think saying they are all (or even most) like that is a bit of a stretch.
I think the major problem with foreigner’s wives is that white guys let a bunch of faults slip thinking that they are cultural problems, when in fact it is the fact that the girl is nuts…[/quote]
You may live in Taipei, and your friends are a bit younger than the wives I am familiar with, I am assuming, since you said before you were a student (am I correct?).
The younger crowd seems to be changing, and even the high school and junior high students I teach now seem to be more mature than a lot of the grown women I know here. I certainly have more hope for the future generations here.
I am not the age of the typical student. And while I do have friends in thier twenties, most are not.
I really think the problem is the women you are around and not the women in Taiwan. I have friends in some pretty hole in the wall towns that I respect greatly. I live in Taipei, but I leave ever weekend. And I usually stay with friends. And I don’t see that the women are messed up.
[quote=“SuchAFob”]I am not the age of the typical student. And while I do have friends in thier twenties, most are not.
I really think the problem is the women you are around and not the women in Taiwan. I have friends in some pretty hole in the wall towns that I respect greatly. I live in Taipei, but I leave ever weekend. And I usually stay with friends. And I don’t see that the women are messed up.[/quote]
Indiana, ignore saf. she’s an old fart.
Next time you visit i am going to beat the snot out of you with my walker.
[quote=“SuchAFob”]I am not the age of the typical student. And while I do have friends in thier twenties, most are not.
I really think the problem is the women you are around and not the women in Taiwan. I have friends in some pretty hole in the wall towns that I respect greatly. I live in Taipei, but I leave ever weekend. And I usually stay with friends. And I don’t see that the women are messed up.[/quote]
I find that interesting. But, I don’t think I could be living under that much of a rock and be that blinded…after all, I have been here for six years. I guess it’s a matter of perception of what is messed up and what’s not, that’s probably what it comes down to.
I meet and know lots of people here, not just my friends’ wives, and still would never consider any of them a trustworthy enough person worth calling a true friend. Maybe it’s just me, but the longer I am here, the stronger I feel that way.
You better get that hip replacement surgery if you want to catch me.
Indiana:
My mother once said that if I have a problem with the group, the problem is most likely with me.
You sound very bitter. Maybe your bitterness is clouding your judgement. Maybe because this is what you expect to find, you aren’t finding the good people. Maybe the good people see your bitterness and avoid you.
[quote=“SuchAFob”]Indiana:
My mother once said that if I have a problem with the group, the problem is most likely with me.
You sound very bitter. Maybe your bitterness is clouding your judgement. [/quote]
Well said, that woman! Although Indiana herself admitted as much with her “maybe its my perception.” If you honestly have not met a single Taiwanese woman you consider “trustworthy” or even non-messed up, then yeah – either you’ve been incredibly – incredibly – unlucky, or your perception is skewed.
[quote=“sandman”][quote=“SuchAFob”]Indiana:
My mother once said that if I have a problem with the group, the problem is most likely with me.
You sound very bitter. Maybe your bitterness is clouding your judgement. [/quote]
Well said, that woman! Although Indiana herself admitted as much with her “maybe its my perception.” If you honestly have not met a single Taiwanese woman you consider “trustworthy” or even non-messed up, then yeah – either you’ve been incredibly – incredibly – unlucky, or your perception is skewed.[/quote]
Ah generalization police where are you??? 
Me no unnerstand what you mean.
Look into my ‘hair’ and u will find the answer 
TomHill,
I try to live with how women are these days. It seems it was the invention of agriculture that brought us from tribal goddess loving tribes to gods and eventually patriarchy. Since then, women have put up with domination. The last 100 years of public feminism are less than a drop in the bucket of their journey out of it. Til then, all women grow up being told what they can or cannot do, how they should act, and much more. Not surprising to see that women are obsessed with being accepted, loved, and care so much about relationships. Most struggle many decades to become comfortable with themselves.
Ah, I wish I could see the day when women will be over all of this, when they’ll be free and can just live. All the different personalities that anyone anywhere can have, we’ll see woman and men possess them, and much more. Then among other things, they could care less about one night stands, taking advantage of men, manipulation, power, and every thing else guys like. 
I think using what our ancestors endured as an excuse for behaviour is a pretty lame excuse… using past behavious as an excuse for anything is lame.
I see.
People who grow up seeing war end up changed. Women still grow up right now not being accepted. So they end up the way they are.
We grow up with things like Darwin, Einstein, lots of greek ideas, Christianity. Eventually we’ll think differently of them all. Should we say we it’s possible to escape influence of any idea that still holds influence?
We we thought the was flat, would it be fair to say to them, oh my god, how could you be influenced by this way of thinking and not find your way out of it?
As far as people who believe we are completely free to think anything we want, even the existentialist Sartre changed much of his thoughts after the war. We are affected by history but we can try to escape it.