Job Discussion Forums

[Jojo]

Hi Everyone,

I am new to this forum although I've read many of the posts.

I am a qualified teacher from Canada, with a BEd. in primary/junior education. I am hoping to go to Taiwan in the near future to teach English. I have many questions to all of you that are in Taiwan or who have been living in Taiwan.

One question in particular I have been wondering about is my safety in Taiwan. I realize the culture is very different towards women in general, but, would I feel safe walking at night alone? What about during the day? I am thinking of going to Taichung which I know is the third largest city in Taiwan. I've read about the woman in Chiayi(sp?) that was killed. How are foreign women treated by Taiwanese men in authority(supervisors)?
All responses welcomed. Thanks in Advance.

Cheers,
Jojo

[Aristotle]

If you never learn the language, you may make it a few years until you figure out what the Chinese men on the street are saying to you. All women in Taiwan get this. The first time I really noticed it I was on a train that was packed beyond capacity. I was forced to stand in the open doorway as it went down the line.
At every stop the men would yell sexual request to the women and girls waiting on the platform. It wasn't just one either, there were two or three on every car. They were saying some really nasty things at any unaccompanied female, regardless of age.
Foreign women don't usually stay in Taiwan for more than a year, for this reason and many others. A Canadian friend of mine in Taipei used to run up to these obnoxious men on motorcycles and knock them off. She would then chase them down the street. She was a big girl and made quite a reputation for herself. The old women used to bring her flowers when she walked down the street. They really loved to watch her chase these ass holes and would hoot and holler every time she did it. Even the police would just stand there and laugh.
Generally speaking however, it really isn't that safe for women. Besides the obvious harassment women are generally treated as lower than their male counterparts. As most western women tower above the majority of the would be local assailants, attacks are rare in most places. The exception being Chaiyi.

[WorkingVaca]

Geez, Aristotle paints a pretty hysterical portrait of life for women in Taiwan. Come on. We get cat-calls and harrassment wherever we go in the world, and Taiwan men are much more polite than in other places. I feel as "safe" in Taipei as I did living downtown in a big U.S. city. In some ways, even safer. It depends on what you're accustomed to, but if you have the usual smarts (don't take candy from strangers, etc.) you should be fine. Of course things DO happen, but you shouldn't live your life in fear based on some small chance that something might go wrong.

[Okami]

Good ol, Aristotle. The college freshman telling stories around a high school keg party.

Taiwan is not very dangerous to your average westerner, female or male. I've walked the streets at all hours and been all over the place in Taipei and have had no problems. I have almost gotten into a couple traffic fights, but that was due to their awful driving. I see you facing the following 3 problems:

1. Taxi drivers, over 38% of them have done jail time. They have been known to harass and/or rape women. I think the most ironic one was the rape of the woman in charge of handling rape cases in Taiwan. Never get into a cab by yourself if you're very drunk, have someone go home with you home. When you take a taxi have someone write down the license plate number. Talk on your cellphone and try to ignore him unless he's asking for directions. Unfortunately, a lot of cabbies are absolutely clueless about how to get to point A to point B in Taipei as they come from down South.

2. Overbearing bosses, sometimes they will think your an easy target. A single woman without a friend in taiwan. Stand up for yourself and this shouldn't be a problem, though you might have to get a new job.

3. Psycho Taiwanese boyfriends: I'm not sure if these will be a problem for you, but it is a very real problem for a lot of Taiwanese women. Imagine a man who has never been scolded, told no, and had everything done by a woman in his life. This is a lot of Taiwanese men. So when a gf breaks up with them, they take it very badly. They will harass you at work, call all the time(they do this even when they like you, though), get into your apartment and destroy everything, kidnap you, threaten you, and/or kill you(maybe himself too). He'll also have his friends help him. Taiwanese like to do everything in groups. If you're going to break up with a Taiwanese bf/gf, make it seem like it was their idea.

Taichung is known for gangsters and great weather. Mostly mid level thugs into pornography, drugs, and pirated goods. They busted a cop near a city there with 5.4 kgs of heroin. He drove a Mercedes and was depositing 2-3 million NT/month in his bank acct. He liked to deal drugs dressed in his uniform and claimed to be undercover. Police are useless in Taiwan. They are a strictly 9-5 outfit that excels at giving out fines to motorists and seemingling nothing else. If you don't believe me, wait till you need them and they refuse to help or give their name.

With your qualifications, you need to apply for the international schools in Taipei, instead of some hack language school. Be choosy and set up your interviews for when you enter Taiwan. Getting a job sight unseen is a major mistake. Most schools take advantage of such people, by offering lower wages, etc... I would check out the following websites for better info. I like daveseslcafe.com, but it lacks the depth and breadth of these two websites in the following ways

Jobs: www.tealit.com so-so site, but hands down the best for jobs put up your resume and watch the hits come or look for jobs.

Living in Taiwan: www.forumosa.com.tw(formerly www.segue.com.tw) Need to knwo where any type of restaurants are? have a hard to answer legal question? It's all there.

Post anymore questions you may have and I'll try to answer to the best of my abilities.

Okami

[Jojo]

Thanks to everyone who responded to my question. I feel a bit safer now considering that I do know how to stand up for myself especially if I have Taiwanese men yelling at me!

Okami: How do I know which schools are International or not? Does anyone know the name of some good International schools in Taipei or any other place in Taiwan?

Keep the comments coming.
Thanks
Jojo

[taiwan boy]

I think Taiwan is a pretty safe place generally. The most dangerous thing you will encounter daily is definitely the traffic I agree with Okami's point about taxi drivers though. Most Taiwanese women are reluctant to take a taxi alone at night. Whenever I am with one of my female friends in Taiwan at night and they need to take a taxi I always go to put them in the taxi and write down the taxi's number.

[itchy]

Taxi drivers steal from you too. You drive two blocks and they're like "500NT!" and you're like "not on your life, buddy"

[MissusFish]

"Leave your feminism at home, guys and girls get along there"

Ha! That had to have been written by a guy!

The women of Taiwan need classes in feminism even MORE than they need classes in English! Beetle nut girls, anyone? And I'm not even talking about the skimpy outfits, I'm talking about running out in little ankle breaker shoes in the freezing cold to the lazy ass who can't even get out of his car to feed his addiction.
Ever met the mom of a high school student? Do you know what percentage of YOUR female students have been raped? Forced by their husbands to get an abortion? Divorced or estranged from their husbands because they want to go back to work after having kids?
At least a lot of women seem to be owning and operating language schools, bookstores, cafes, etc. Although, I tagged along on some errands once with a friend who was building a school-it's really a pain to get service in male dominated industries, like construction, technological crap, etc. only the stuff she NEEDS to run her business.

Anyway, sorry for the derailment. This is actually stuff for a different kind of thread, probably on a different board. Just, you know, open your eyes a little more.