Job Discussion Forums

[istanbullheaded]

I hear that in Korea people have no problem talking about how fat you are with you, and they apparently don't think that's rude, and they focus on that as a value, which I'm not sure I appreciate. In any case, is Taiwan the same/similar? If it is similar, how so? Please let me know

[donfan]

It's the same in Taiwan. I have a slight beer belly, not really overweight at all. Even so the kids would tell me, "teacher fat" and want to rub my belly. One day a really huge woman came in as a substitute teacher. The kids were beside themselves. I really had to lay down the law to them and keep telling them that we come in all different shapes and sizes and that it is what is inside a person that counts. But yeah I don't know what it is they find so amusing about someone who is overweight.

[Xenophobe]

Considering there has been such an explosion of fat Chinese children over the past decade too.

[Tamago86]

Sorry to say but the Chinese practically invented the poking fun at non-anorexic looking people. Maybe you'd like Thailand or Japan? Possibly Vietnam? Unfortunately the Chinese live by the saying that the best medicine is bitter tasting.

[demaratus]

I dont see why you would care, little kids are going to be little kids. I know plenty of overweight people who have lived in taiwan and had nothing bad to say. I'm sure you would be fine just dont go there with a chip on your shoulder and expect no one to ever say anything. Do people in your home country ever say anything offensive about overweight people? I bet so.

[Ki]

Go the Bombers!

I find that it is the adults, not the children which make the worst comments. And I don't even consider myself fat. Pointing and saying 'baby' is a common one. Try to avoid trading insults. Saying something like 'I can lose weight but you will always be ugly' will only seek to alienate yourself.

[Sheep-Goats]

If you leave US/Canada/UK you'll have people calling you fat. It's mostly kids that do it, but adults can sometimes be very insulting about it -- or sometimes they really haven't learned that fat's a bad thing to call someone. More like saying "You have a moustache." Yeah, it's kind of rude to say that, but not really as a moustache isn't that negative a trait.

Unless you're a woman, I guess.

Anyway, going to Asia (or Europe or South America or Africa) with thin skin will just get you stung.

[Xenophobe]

But aren't we supposed to be teaching our students how to communicate with Westerners? Should that not include letting them know what questions and comments are inappropriate or rude?

[Aristotle]

The Chinese on Taiwan are some of the rudest people on the planet and worse yet, they don't even realize it.
Children on Taiwan are often brutally honest and remain so until indoctrinated into the ways of Taiwanese society at which point they become brutally dishonest.
Yes, you will be insulted and laughed at not just because you are overweight but because of your inability to adapt to the local ways of doing things, body hair, color of your skin, the language you speak.....
This is Taiwan and this is the way the people of Taiwan are. You must be prepared for that if you want to live here.
As teachers it is our obligation to try to educate our students in the ways of cultural sensitivity.
Good luck!
A.

[demaratus]

I dont think that calling chinese and taiwanese people the rudest on the planet is really fair. There are many Canadians, Americans, Brits, Russians ect... who are rude. Rudeness is a personal trait not a cultural trait. I have heard many stories about Chinese people being very helpfull and kind too, heck I have even heard the "mythologically rude" ( insert sarcasm) Korean people can be nice too, and not all of them are rude, insensitive white haters.

[go_lightly]

yes i agree that aristotle over-generalized. chinese people in Taiwan are a lot more open-minded & progressive (esp. the younger generation who themselves have travelled &/or studied abroad) than some of the Asians in other countries. yet when it comes to physical attributes, yes, the Taiwanese can be very blunt. i think that if one approaches the issue w/ humor & light-heartedness it can actually make the situation better than worse. if you start to feel that you are being discriminated because of your weight then it becomes problematic. sadly, being overweight may give you unwanted attention &/or comments anywhere you go in the world. i think it may also be harder for females in Taiwan b/c most Asian women are quite slender & the diet industry is just as overblown in Asia as it is in the U.S. Finding fitting sizes may be problematic too. To end, if you are looking to lose weight, you might just be able to do so easily during the hot summer season in TW. Although there's a lot of delicious cuisine in TW, it's really easy to lose your appetite during the humid summer. Good luck!

[Sheep-Goats]

[Xenophobe]

OK then,

Don't tell them it's rude. Tell them if they say it to the wrong person while visiting a Western nation they may get a slap up side the head or a rude comment back.