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Taiwanese bottoms have mystery and double meanings; they are like a lot of things in Taiwan in that regard. In China, not that it wasn’t continually frustrating and complex, but it was generally somehow straightforward. Crazy, infuriating things would happen, but in predictable ways. Take visas as an example. It wasn’t always easy in Kunming to get the visa you wanted, but there was a series of steps and options that everyone knew. In Taiwan, it feels like no one knows. People say the law changes every few months, and even if it hasn’t, simply how the visa office person feels about you may determine what you can get. In Hong Kong the Taiwan visa people were happy to offer me a Resident visa – yet the South African woman in line next to me (with the same paper work) was having huge problems. Another example is schools. In Kunming, it took thirty seconds to work out if another teacher had a better gig than you. What’s the hourly rate, the location, do they pay on time, are the students nice? In Taiwan, it’s impossible to work that out in half an hour. What’s the mandatory preparation time for each lesson? Do they expect you to do that preparation on the premises? Is there homework to mark? Are there exams to mark? What’s the penalty for arriving late? Is it a five or six day week? Are there fun activities on Saturday afternoon they expect you to attend? Are there any other unpaid bits of work they expect from you, like meeting and greeting the students before the day begins? Will that option to stay an extra 8 weeks and teach summer school at the end of your contract turn out not to be optional at all? Most old hands in Taiwan advise would be teachers to come and look for a job once here, rather than sign a contract beforehand - while it's good advice, bear in mind I've been here a month and I still barely know anything. I think that part of all this mystery in Taiwan is that in China, people are so desperately running around trying to get the upper hand on you, they miss the bigger picture. People will argue with you over 5 RMB an hour; in Taiwan they’ll probably agree to your demand, then inform you later of ten extra conditions that make the job far worse. It feels crazy to talk about mainland Chinese being somehow naive, given how expert and tough so many of them were at bargaining and business. Yet, compared to more nebulous, relaxed places like Taiwan (and Thailand) the Chinese are a little innocent, a little unaware of how people really think and want. China beats you down and takes the cash from your pocket, while Taiwan greets you with a smile - only later you realise your credit card is gone. Daniel PS I am using "Taiwanese" and "Chinese" very loosely, because I am very ignorant. Taiwanese people have a long history, their own language, were ruled by the Japanese for a while, were independent very briefly I think and then in 1949 Chiang Kai-shek and his nationalists arrived, escaping their defeat by Mao. Once I understand the situation better, I will be more precise - right now I am using "Taiwanese" and "Chinese" to indicate differences between people in China and people in Taiwan, and "Chinese" on its own when I am discussing Taiwan in isolation, to talk about the vaguely similar Chinese culture that stretches across many countries. Sorry about that. To contact Daniel Click Here The following are Daniel's previous articles for the magazine:
My online diary of living in China: www.suitcasing.com If you
would like to submit an article to Escape From America Magazine Click
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My
Frustrating Love ~ 