Before I start on this rant I will give you, the dear reader, a pleasing picture of a cool monastery in Northern China. Sent to me by my friend Kurt who has been sighted thereabouts. Ok, so Taiwan, pros and cons. Pro: You get really good service here. As a consumer, the people you meet are terribly polite. Every store, it's "welcome to out store", "how can I help you today?", and "yes sir". (Although mostly this is said in Chinese, the idea is the same). The clerk will go out of his way to find anything you want, will even literally run to the back to find it. They will bow to you and if they can't find something you want will apoligize profusely. As a consumer this is great. Con: In personal relationships this can be tricky. This super polite attitude may often be superficial and hiding the person's true feelings, which may be the opposite. This can lull you into a sense that everything's OK until they turn on you. This is caused by their society, going back to Confucious, whose main idea was social harmony through conformity and obedience to authority without question. Recently President Hu of the PRC claimed his new vision of China's "Harmonious society" which he claims puts him in the pantheon of great thinkers such as Mao and Zhaoping (in Chinese eyes these men are great thinkers). But this is not a new idea. It has ruled China for 5,000 years. So this means people will smile to your face even when they hate you because getting mad disrupts this precious social harmony. This is sort of disturbing to Americans because we may feel unsure of a person's true feelings.
Pro: As an American you will be treated very well here. You are almost like a movie star or something. Everywhere you go people will stare and say "look it's a foreigner, or it's an American" (in Chinese), with the kind of schock and awe that Americans would have if they saw a celebrity. You can use this to get what you want and get away with just about anything (in most cases).
Con: For the same reason celebrities hate the paparazzi, this becomes annoying. When living in a foreign country one hopes to blend in and act like a local (I do at least). This worked when I lived in Poland because I looked like everybody else. My proudest moments were when someone at the bus stop would ask me "when is the next bus?" (in Polish), and I couldn't answer cause I can't speak Polish, but just to galnce at me they assumed that I was one of them. Not so in Taiwan. I stand out like a sore thumb. This gets old when everybody on the street has to stop and say "Hello", even though that is the only English word they know. When in an elevator, or walking on a campus a group (they only have the nerve to speak in a group) they will see me and someone will say something terribly clever like "10th floor", or "How are you today?", and then the whole group will burst out laughing. But this is the teeneage/younger set. Older people will genuinely try to use English to talk to you.
Pro: You can make good money here and there is lots of work.
Con: Your boss may speak poor English, and may surprise you with stuff you can't imagine in the US. My roomate gets paid every week, and last week they told him that he hadn't been paying taxes (no one told him to do so) and so this week they would take his whole check to pay it. With no notice, on payday. Kinda ruins your whole week. At my school, I started in Aug. and they said they couldn't pay me until Nov. They did get around this, but only through dreadfully difficuly maneuvering. They constantly send me memos and e-mails in Chinese, and wonder why I don't respond or comply.
