My partner and I are moving to Taiwan in a
few weeks
time to teach English in Lu-Kang, fortunately we have read a lot of
books
and surfed through quite a few websites written by people like
yourself,
or not really, as I have found your site exceptionally depressing.
You dont seem to have a nice word to say on the place...the foods bad, the exchange rate is poor, the roads are deadly (well yes, but its an activity one will get used to and work out for themselves), the money is terrible and your not likely to save anything and I could go on! Poor girl! She missed the part where I talked about realistic goals and possibilities. Never did I say one is not likely to save anything! Did I really say the food was bad...???? The things we took into consideration when deciding on where
to travel
to were: Amount of money we wanted to earn Amount of money we wanted to earn - the salary paid leaves us
with more
money to save a month than we could ever dream of in the UK Food type (
I have many allergies to mainly dairy products and the onion family,
irrelevant!)
- Wide variety of options and dairy products are very rare Climate -
Hot
and humid but wet, cooler winters Culture - Fascinating, a whole
different
way of life, we want a fresh start, so to appreciate our own strengths
and learn more about others. Travel to other countries around us -
Thailand,
Vietnam, Cambodia, Australia, China, New Zealand etc... Scenery -
Varied
and beautiful Yes I realise that life will be hard at times, and we will have our ups and downs, but we will make the most of what we have and enjoy Taiwan, its good parts and its bad. I suggest that before you write anymore, you take a step back and realise that no of course Taiwan isnt America, come on, you knew that before you got there. Cheer up and enjoy life, if you are then fair enough, but your website shows otherwise. [After I commented on her lack of knowledge and offered her help if she needed it, I got this steaming arrogant racist pile in reply] Actually Michael. all the sites I have looked over have been ones written by young persons like myself, who have been in Taiwan for the last 2-3 years and they seem to of had a whale of a time. Writing articles on a day in the life a Kindergarten teacher and their experiences from settling in etc... I actually think that you are trying to put people off coming to Taiwan. [What does she think? I should lie to my readers? Is it ethical to ignore the many health and safety issues associated with Taiwan?] <>No thank you to your offer of help, we have made friends with quite a few English people out in Taiwan who have been more than helpful, and very much more positive towards our hopes of an exciting and challenging new life.[Yes me, Mr. negative attitude, former Peace Corps volunteer, former worker for the Taiwan independence movement, general volunteer sap. I just offered to help someone who flung personal insults at me! What a negative attitude I have!] We know that just like other countries Taiwan has its problems, maybe more so in different ways than our home countries, like you said the pollution, the gangs, the hygiene bla bla bla...... but it must have its good points as well. [Of course it has good points. But she was unable to spot the many I mentioned] When I go to work in my car, in to the city centre of north
England,
I can not see hills or rivers either, not until I am 20 minutes out
into
the countryside. But when we are in Taiwan we can go travelling
around
on the weekends and discover scenery that we wouldn't see in the UK or
anywhere nearby. The smog you describe would be no different to us than
an average
As for an apology, I dot think so! I understand you have a wife in Taiwan who is obviously keeping you there, otherwise I'm sure you would have moved away by now. [Not only is she an expert on Taiwan, she also has a deep understanding of my marriage. There's just no end to this girl's knowledge!] I hope that Tim and I keep as open a mind as we have always planned to when we get to Taiwan and that what ever difficulties we come across we will deal with them quickly and without too much hassle. And we will accept that its not as clean a place as the US or UK but also realise that this is their way of life and that its not necessarily the wrong way but just different. [She's OK with pollution and gangsters because, after all.... it's their culture.] Tim's sister has just come back after 2 years of teaching in Taiwan and although yes she agrees that some areas are grubby and not worth visiting, she feels that you are very harsh on the country and that is has much to offer travellers in the way of culture and beauty and that she loved her teaching job and the children and families she taught, she was invited to weddings, birthday celebrations etc.... and she swears that we will love it. [Apparently her friend little Miss
Expert never
noticed that the reason she got invited to all those weddings and
whatnot is that she's a foreigner, and it gives the inviting
party
great face to bring a foreigner along to the local wedding, banquet, or
birthday. I wonder how often Little Miss Sensitive reciprocated and
took
her Taiwanese friends out for a change. I'll bet the answer
is.....never!
Only negative thinkers like this writer believe in reciprocity
and
treating others as human beings like oneself. No, for this woman, the
local
human beings are merely vehicles for ensuring that she has an exotic
and
unique foreign experience.] |
Hello Michael, and
congratulations
on a great page. I want to ask you if you know what the penalties are
for
overstaying your visa here in Taiwan. I have a friend (he is a US
citizen)
who has been in Taiwan illegally for the past 12 months. Do you know
what
will happen when he tries to leave the country? Any recommendations?
Thank
you very much in advance.
[Wow! A whole year overstay! The usual
penalty is
heavy fines and being barred from re-entering Taiwan for five years.
But
I've never heard of a case like this.] |
The stunning Kaoping River Bridge, easily the most beautiful modern structure on the island. |
A temple atop a house in Kaohsiung.
A stream full of trash, one of Taiwan's major tragedies. |
Dear Mr. Turton, For what it's worth, thank you so much for your wonderful website. My bfriend and I have been here for two years and your warnings and advice have been of immeasurable importance. Thanks! Letters like this make it all worthwhile. Interestingly, I found your website about a month before coming here, and all of my foreign friends found my adjustment to be far more painless than their own (though certainly not entirely painless, I can assure you!). I'm not sure if it's normal to have a rollercoaster of "I love Taiwan" versus "I hate Taiwan" days for the first year, Ha! After 12 years of involvement with this crazy island, I now have "I love Taiwan/hate Taiwan" hours. I think the duration of the rollercoaster ups and downs slowly shrinks over time. but things have since settled down and we'll be staying indefinitely until we've saved a good load of moolah. Trouble is, we feel that this is "home" now... And all without shovelling a single footpath or scraping a single windshield, even in the dead of winter (We're Canadians). And teaching EFL has morphed from "what we do" to "who we are". Do you find that the same happened to you? Yes. I went back and found out that I missed Taiwan. One thing that may be worth noting in your website is the treatment of animals here. (If you have recently added something regarding pets, please disregard this notice). Actually, I'd been considering a web page on them for some time. Thanks for the final push.] Thank you for listening to me rant and rave and keep up the great work on the website! (The new design looks fabulous!) And the article about returning home rings far more true than I would like...damn Texans! Well thanks again for an amazingly truthful and helpful website, and if you're ever in the Chia-Yi area, we'd love to buy you and the family a coffee or something. Likewise for Taichung! Stop in if you ever pop up here, we'd be glad to host you for a weekend or a week. ps- Have you had a chance to check out the forums at http://segue.com.tw ? They're well worth looking at, especially if you like forums. If not, maybe not... Agreed! Segue is great! |
Dear Mr. Turton:
It's been over a year since I looked at your link and was pleasantly suprised to see the update. Wow! Thanks for all your hard work. And the pictures are fabulous--can you put more in?! I can totally relate to your comments regarding the alternative teacher certification programs in the US. I also applied to Texas and after completing the TASP was told there wasn't much open in ESL. What a crock. What they really want is bi-lingual Spanish, which I refuse to support in any way, shape or form. Since then, I've investigated about four other routes to certification and the obstacles are mind-boggling. One of my friends is teaching in an inner-city school district that has been without accreditation for several years. They are crying for qualified ESL teachers, yet are willing to settle for a high percentage of uncertified subs with an undergrad in anything. If I wanted to work for them and complete their accelerated certification program, I'd have to pay for 6 credits of undergrad composition and writing. And I have an MA-TEFL! I think at this stage of the game, I know how to compose sentences and write coherently on a variety o The part about wanting to return despite the negatives hit home too. I guess this happens anytime a person has an experience that leaves such a dramatic impact on their life. Best wishes to you and your family. Again, thanks for such a great site GT |
A
traffic jam in a morning market. |
I really enjoyed your website! My husband
and I lived
in Kaohsiung from 2001-2002 and most, if not all the information you
have
given is correct. We are thinking about coming back to Taiwan, because
for some odd reason we really enjoyed living there! Just like America,
Canada is very different and a lot less crowded. It did take some
adjusting,
especially coming back to Canada (oddly enough). The one thing that we
are afraid of, is that we may not like it second time around, but will
see, hopefully we can make things work here, before moving back!
P.S The bit that you wrote about Taiwanese females and foreign attraction to the darker skinned etc... is so true! |
I have no plans to visit
Taiwan. However
my son married a Taiwanese woman here in the States and they are
planning
a trip there, so I was just browsing around and found your site.
I must thank you for your lovely honesty. I must say that it has given me more of an understanding of my daughter-in-law and based on what I have observed, your site mirrors Taiwanese existance. You have done a smashing job, God love you...... [Thanks for all the kind words! Even us
unrepentant
atheists need a blessing now and then] |
Candy overflows in a Tihua street shop. |
A hawk fishes in Keelung Harbor. This attractive northern Taiwan city is built on hills that ring a once-bustling port. Its fabulous potential has been ruined by the inability of the government and locals to engage in meaningful long-term municipal planning to take advantage of the city's marvelous setting. | thank you for creating your
website,
i have been enjoying it. i am an american born taiwanese woman
with
children and "american" dh, your insights and information resonate with
my feelings and memories from my infrequent travels back to the
motherland.
we are considering visiting and moving to taichung.....i'm glad to have
read your commentary to appreciate the realities of taiwan, reminding
why
it is that i remember dreading being there yet still feel a powerfully
magnetic pull to go. plus as an abc i can really connect your
observations
with how i have been parented, something i reflect on since i am a
mamma
myself. plus correlating your views on politics and culture with
my parents' social psyche. thanks again. Back to top |
Dear Michael, "Excellent" is the only word I can say after surfing your website. It seems you know things about Taiwan much more than I do. I've been thinking that should I have to start afresh to know Taiwan because I am a native Taiwanese. I never think about of those many things you talk about of your website. It's amazing to me, I have taken a lesson from it tonight. The website you created is the best one I've ever seen about introducing foreigners teaching in Taiwan. By the way, I didn't write down the correct address you wrote on the blackboard this morning. Could you tell me it, I do want to see those photos. Back to top |
Don't want stale furniture? Go with this company! In Taiwan English is a marker of prestige, modernity, and luxury. How an American language ever became associated with luxury is a mystery to me. The Taiwanese themselves considerUS products to be inferior to European and Japanese offerings in just about every aspect. |
My wife and I pose.... | hello Michael,
first of all,
I really have to say.... you've done a GREAT job on these information
about
Taiwan you put on the web site. Although some of them ticked me off a
little
somehow... but it IS SOOO true and so honest!!!( I know
coz'
I am Taiwanese myself ) My BF didnt' believe whatever
I said about Taiwan before he found your website himself.. thank so
much
.. for giving him a chance to know my county better
!!!
keep working and hope you have a great time staying there~~ oh,
come'on...
my people don't really bite .. do they? ^_^ lol Back to top |
Firstly, I would like to say how much
I enjoy
reading your web site! I have been in Taiwan for 1 year and 8 months. And I have had many up's and down's since coming here however I am determined to make my time here as worth while and enjoyable as I can. When I first came here I found your web site and many of the things you warned foreigners to be careful about have been so true and are so important to know! I completely agree that if you do speak chinese it is best to pretend you don't, if you can get away with it, however, in some situations it is nice to show taiwanese people that you have taken the time to learn some of their language. I understand alot more chinese than when I first came here and most of the time I pretend I don't understand what people are saying to me when I am out of work or in my Apartment block. I wanted to write to you to say hello and to send you what I
believe
to be one of the most important web sites for all foreigners who have
been
asking you questions about working in taiwan legally. You may already
know
it? It is www.oriented.org/legal/
and shows the exact application process to get your ARC.I wish I had
known
about it before coming here however it was the best thing a friend sent
me (who worked for the N.Z government in Taipei) when I ran into a few
problems during my first 6 months here. When I found this
site
I printed out the relevant sections and handed it to my Boss, just to
let
him know that I knew the process of getting my ARC and how long it
should
take. I needed to give them a 'push' so to speak! I hope this site may
help many people who may have questions about working in Taiwan
legally. |
||
Back to top |
i have finished reading your info on Taiwan. do you get plasure at boasting about you being American and slagging off the rest of the world? Oh yes, it is quite true. I hate foreigners. That's why I (a) served in the US Peace Corps (b) lived most of my adult life overseas (c) spent three years working with the Taiwan democracy movement (d) have a masters in international affairs (e) speak several foreign languages and (f) married a foreigner. One frustration of hatemail is that it never contains anything specific so that I would know what aspects of the site I need to change. Sadly it is simply mindless vomitus, in prose. >it is a most negative article , finding fault with almost
everything. That's the point, isn't it? Apparently during the whole process of coming here, it never once occurred to this person that moving 12,000 miles away to a completely foreign country which is heavily polluted, crawling with gangsters, corrupt, and a sitting duck for the expansionists across the Strait, to perform work for which he has no relevant experience, might just involve some risks.... As always, newbies know best!
>sigh< |
To my Living In Taiwan Page
To my Teaching English in Taiwan Page