I have now been living in Taipei for one
year. For the most part, I love it here, but as with any place, there are a few
things I don’t like so much. So I plan to post a series about the best and
worst things for a foreigner living here. Each day I’ll cover two things I love and one
I don’t so I can keep things balanced. They are grouped based on themes, not
based on how strongly I feel about them.
Things I Like:
9. Awesome Foreigners
Expatriates
are a really cool group of people. Although there aren’t a lot of foreigners in
Taipei, we all tend to find each other because we tend to hang out at the same
places, work at the same jobs and have many friends in common. After all, it’s
easy to make friends with someone who speaks your native language and who shares
the joys and frustrations of trying to find their way through the maze that is
Taiwanese culture. But in many cases, our status as “Wai-guo-ren,” or foreigners, is almost the only thing we have in
common. This actually leads to many
interesting conversations, especially about the places we come from. For
example, I have learned more about South Africa in the past year than in all
the previous years of my life combined. In Taiwan, I’ve met people from Canada,
England, Holland, France, South Africa, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Korea, Japan, New Zealand and probably a few other countries that are slipping
my mind right now. I’m learning a lot about different cultures – and not just
Taiwanese/Chinese culture.
Expatriates
are also interesting because they tend to have a broader perspective and more
travel experience than most other people. I haven’t visited many countries in
Asia, so I’m always fascinated to hear stories about other people’s travels and
to dream about all the places I’d like to visit. We live in such a big,
colorful, fascinating, diverse world, and living in even one country outside
your home can help you take in much more of it.
10. Awesome Locals
Taiwanese
people are incredibly friendly. I’m not just saying this because I’m used to cold,
aloof New Englanders – everyone I mention this to agrees with me. I pretty
regularly have people strike up conversations with me on busses or subways, at
restaurants and in shops. In most cases, they speak to me in English, which
could be caused by a desire to practice their English or an assumption that I
don’t speak Chinese, but I prefer to think of it as their way of being
hospitable. Once they find out where I’m from and how long I’ve been here,
people are always eager to hear what I think of Taiwan (especially the food).
They’ll ask if I miss home, give me tips about where to go and what to do, and
in some cases offer to help me out in some way. Of course I’ve had a few bad
experiences, but these were mostly cultural misunderstandings, and many of them
arose from people being a bit too
friendly.
The
Taiwanese are very polite; they wait in line and apologize if they
inconvenience you. I also feel very safe here. One time I dropped a small
wallet that had a little cash and my transportation card in a metro station. I
didn’t realize this for about ten minutes, but when I returned, someone had
turned the wallet in to the information desk. My card and all my money were
still there. Obviously, I don’t recommend leaving money lying around, but this
experience does say something good about Taiwan as a whole. That’s why when the
locals ask me what I like about Taiwan, I always respond “The food and the
people.”
Things I Don’t
5. Not Being at Home
In
spite of all the awesome people I meet in Taiwan, I can’t stop missing the
awesome people I left behind. Once in a while, especially when I’m tired after
a long day of work or other activities, I find myself thinking longingly of
eating dinner with my family, playing games with my brother or staying up late
playing cards, watching TV or having deep discussions with my college friends.
I guess that’s an inevitable part of living away from home, and in a sense I’m
glad of it. This lingering homesickness is proof that what I had back in
America was good and valuable and that it is still a deep part of who I am. It
would be very sad if I never looked back on the past, never missed my family,
never wanted to return to where I came from. That’s the hardest part of living
in Taiwan, and sometimes I think that if I could bring my loved ones here with
me, I would be perfectly happy. But I’m realizing that leaving some things
behind is an inevitable part of growing up, and that we need to keep and
treasure the good things in our past while we move on into the intimidating but
invigorating adventure that is our future.
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