Outside of the homesick days that are to be expected when living abroad, it is hard to find much to fault with day to day life as a foreigner living in Taiwan. Just get over the staring, and if you have the right attitude you can make this your paradise. I have met expats with attitudes ranging from hopelessly negative to blindly positive to jaded and resigned. The complaints are all pretty softcore - there are no mysterious disappearances or unprovoked assaults, as is the reality for foreigners in many countries. Until you are a resident, it isn't even possible to pay tax.
However, when it's pouring rain for the tenth day in a row, your clothes are moulding in the closet due to the humidity, you found a cockroach in your bed and some kid's mother is pointing at you and giggling while her child screams, “look at that foreigner!”, many of us tend to lose perspective. The negative ones criticize the absence of arts and culture, including the lack of a drinking culture, the “us versus them” attitude of many locals toward the world outside Taiwan, and the resulting psychologically isolated and often uninformed population (IE, the unnervingly common belief that English was first spoken in the United States). They complain about the complicated recycling system, the inconsistency of Pinyin formats, the China thing, the local obsession with eating, eating at buffets, karaoke and eating (http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2011/05/06/2003502534), the difficulty of gaining competence in written and spoken Mandarin, the bugs and the weather (too hot/rainy/humid/too many earthquakes).
Still, there are others with a more resilient opinion of life here. The positive ones can't say enough about the warmth and generosity of Taiwanese people, the country's scenic beauty, the low cost of living, the temperate weather, the beaches, that Asian kids are always cuter than other kids, the abundance of food and opportunities to eat it, and the fun that can be had in a six hour karaoke marathon. The resigned and jaded types claim you get used to the stares and whispers of “waiguoren”, the cost of living isn't actually that cheap if you get paid Taiwanese wages, and karaoke can be tolerated with a good dose of alcohol.
I can sympathize with all of these attitudes, depending on the weather, the number of weird bugs I have found in the bathroom, and the number of people who have tripped over cracks in the sidewalk while gawking at me that day. Maybe it's because they usually hang out with other foreigners, or maybe it's because these concerns don't necessarily apply to daily life, but there are issues in Taiwan that leave me full of resentment that probably don't bother most foreigners. The local attitude toward women and education are similar in that both are to be kept on a short leash. It is nothing compared to many countries which have drastically more conservative policies in these areas, but coming from a country so liberal, the differences are still glaring. These things would not concern someone who had come to Taiwan to work as an overseas employee for a company in their home country, but in my position, considering the possibility of an education and a subsequent career here, these are issues I cannot seem to reconcile with.
It would not be accurate to say that women are severely disadvantaged, or even disrespected in Taiwan. Although the wage gap is significant (http://474miranairresearchpaper.wmwikis.net/file/view/exportgrowthgenderwageinequalityTaiwan.pdf/168379043/exportgrowthgenderwageinequalityTaiwan.pdf), women are accepted in all fields of study and arranged marriages are increasingly rare. It is more that they are coddled, discouraged from developing any style or opinion that may be controversial, and very rarely present in positions of power and influence. Democratic Progressive Party Chairwoman Tsai Ing Wen is one extraordinary example of a powerful, successful, unmarried Taiwanese woman. Over the past few months she has been bombarded, shamelessly, by local media (which has the integrity of your average tabloid) with accusations regarding her sexual preferences. What's worse than the obvious sexism of this is the population's readiness to gobble it up, speculate, and maybe even change their vote as a result. Women are still very much a man's possession here, and although there are many families that are progressive, most still expect that their daughters will remain in the home until they are married, at which point they will go to live with the husband's family. Even if they are successful at their jobs and capable of financial independence, and even if they're 45.
The other issue that has been grating on me is with the nature of the school system, likely a product of having been spoiled by excellent educators and a freethinking academic culture in Canada. Educational culture in Taiwan revolves around a concept of obedience and success above all else (http://www.chinapost.com.tw/editorial/taiwan-issues/2010/08/30/270639/p2/Education-system.htm). Students are expected to accept the teacher's word without question, and to learn the textbook well and without deviation. The Mandarin word for teacher, laoshi, means age and wisdom, much like sensei in Japanese. The unfortunate reality is that not all teachers are necessarily old or wise, and as such the average classroom setting has the blind following the blind. It is common practice for grade school through high school educators to be trained to teach only the material in the government provided textbook for the course they are assigned to, and by no means anything else. This means that little is required of grade school teachers in terms of professional qualifications, and the person guiding your child's education may have barely completed a two year teaching certificate. Open discussion and even questions are avoided in the classroom, and students who excel are confined to the learning pace of those who are average. Being textbook correct is rewarded, while critical thinking and opinions that variate from the status quo are barely tolerated. Such emphasis is placed on correctness that most students adapt a strategy of rote memorization for all textbook material, and forget how to approach a problem constructively (http://www.taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=164889&ctNode=428). The idea of completing an education in such a stifling setting is too depressing to accept.
For a country that is striving to differentiate itself from an overbearing China, Taiwan still has a long way to go in it's development of social ideology. What good is democracy without the momentum of a population capable of critical thought? Many Taiwanese youth can barely speak to, nor are concerned with, the country's relations with China. Last year ECFA passed with shocking ease, considering the long term economic ramifications for anyone working outside the white collar sector. Increasingly fewer youth speak Taiwanese, as their parents are so caught up in Amy Chua's “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” philosophy of raising over-achieving money making machines, that they fail to encourage their children to do so. It is baffling that the first generation who has not been restricted by martial law from discussing the 2-28 massacre openly is so amenable to laying down and being steamrolled by China. Could it be that this docility is a product of 16+ years of compliance education?
Hell forbid I get started on the impotence of the national service, whose directors supply their soldiers with empty guns and a hefty dose of brainwashing. I have a lot of love for Taiwan, but making a life in Mini-China is not something I can jump at the thought of. Despite the prospect of a free ride through grad school, it is back to Canada, and the apparently worthwhile student debt that comes with it, for me.
However, when it's pouring rain for the tenth day in a row, your clothes are moulding in the closet due to the humidity, you found a cockroach in your bed and some kid's mother is pointing at you and giggling while her child screams, “look at that foreigner!”, many of us tend to lose perspective. The negative ones criticize the absence of arts and culture, including the lack of a drinking culture, the “us versus them” attitude of many locals toward the world outside Taiwan, and the resulting psychologically isolated and often uninformed population (IE, the unnervingly common belief that English was first spoken in the United States). They complain about the complicated recycling system, the inconsistency of Pinyin formats, the China thing, the local obsession with eating, eating at buffets, karaoke and eating (http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2011/05/06/2003502534), the difficulty of gaining competence in written and spoken Mandarin, the bugs and the weather (too hot/rainy/humid/too many earthquakes).
Still, there are others with a more resilient opinion of life here. The positive ones can't say enough about the warmth and generosity of Taiwanese people, the country's scenic beauty, the low cost of living, the temperate weather, the beaches, that Asian kids are always cuter than other kids, the abundance of food and opportunities to eat it, and the fun that can be had in a six hour karaoke marathon. The resigned and jaded types claim you get used to the stares and whispers of “waiguoren”, the cost of living isn't actually that cheap if you get paid Taiwanese wages, and karaoke can be tolerated with a good dose of alcohol.
I can sympathize with all of these attitudes, depending on the weather, the number of weird bugs I have found in the bathroom, and the number of people who have tripped over cracks in the sidewalk while gawking at me that day. Maybe it's because they usually hang out with other foreigners, or maybe it's because these concerns don't necessarily apply to daily life, but there are issues in Taiwan that leave me full of resentment that probably don't bother most foreigners. The local attitude toward women and education are similar in that both are to be kept on a short leash. It is nothing compared to many countries which have drastically more conservative policies in these areas, but coming from a country so liberal, the differences are still glaring. These things would not concern someone who had come to Taiwan to work as an overseas employee for a company in their home country, but in my position, considering the possibility of an education and a subsequent career here, these are issues I cannot seem to reconcile with.
It would not be accurate to say that women are severely disadvantaged, or even disrespected in Taiwan. Although the wage gap is significant (http://474miranairresearchpaper.wmwikis.net/file/view/exportgrowthgenderwageinequalityTaiwan.pdf/168379043/exportgrowthgenderwageinequalityTaiwan.pdf), women are accepted in all fields of study and arranged marriages are increasingly rare. It is more that they are coddled, discouraged from developing any style or opinion that may be controversial, and very rarely present in positions of power and influence. Democratic Progressive Party Chairwoman Tsai Ing Wen is one extraordinary example of a powerful, successful, unmarried Taiwanese woman. Over the past few months she has been bombarded, shamelessly, by local media (which has the integrity of your average tabloid) with accusations regarding her sexual preferences. What's worse than the obvious sexism of this is the population's readiness to gobble it up, speculate, and maybe even change their vote as a result. Women are still very much a man's possession here, and although there are many families that are progressive, most still expect that their daughters will remain in the home until they are married, at which point they will go to live with the husband's family. Even if they are successful at their jobs and capable of financial independence, and even if they're 45.
The other issue that has been grating on me is with the nature of the school system, likely a product of having been spoiled by excellent educators and a freethinking academic culture in Canada. Educational culture in Taiwan revolves around a concept of obedience and success above all else (http://www.chinapost.com.tw/editorial/taiwan-issues/2010/08/30/270639/p2/Education-system.htm). Students are expected to accept the teacher's word without question, and to learn the textbook well and without deviation. The Mandarin word for teacher, laoshi, means age and wisdom, much like sensei in Japanese. The unfortunate reality is that not all teachers are necessarily old or wise, and as such the average classroom setting has the blind following the blind. It is common practice for grade school through high school educators to be trained to teach only the material in the government provided textbook for the course they are assigned to, and by no means anything else. This means that little is required of grade school teachers in terms of professional qualifications, and the person guiding your child's education may have barely completed a two year teaching certificate. Open discussion and even questions are avoided in the classroom, and students who excel are confined to the learning pace of those who are average. Being textbook correct is rewarded, while critical thinking and opinions that variate from the status quo are barely tolerated. Such emphasis is placed on correctness that most students adapt a strategy of rote memorization for all textbook material, and forget how to approach a problem constructively (http://www.taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=164889&ctNode=428). The idea of completing an education in such a stifling setting is too depressing to accept.
For a country that is striving to differentiate itself from an overbearing China, Taiwan still has a long way to go in it's development of social ideology. What good is democracy without the momentum of a population capable of critical thought? Many Taiwanese youth can barely speak to, nor are concerned with, the country's relations with China. Last year ECFA passed with shocking ease, considering the long term economic ramifications for anyone working outside the white collar sector. Increasingly fewer youth speak Taiwanese, as their parents are so caught up in Amy Chua's “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” philosophy of raising over-achieving money making machines, that they fail to encourage their children to do so. It is baffling that the first generation who has not been restricted by martial law from discussing the 2-28 massacre openly is so amenable to laying down and being steamrolled by China. Could it be that this docility is a product of 16+ years of compliance education?
Hell forbid I get started on the impotence of the national service, whose directors supply their soldiers with empty guns and a hefty dose of brainwashing. I have a lot of love for Taiwan, but making a life in Mini-China is not something I can jump at the thought of. Despite the prospect of a free ride through grad school, it is back to Canada, and the apparently worthwhile student debt that comes with it, for me.
