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KaiFeng
Joined: 19 Sep 2006
Posts: 89
Location: At the top of the food chain.
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 Posted: Sat May 22, 2010 12:02 am Post subject: |
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| markcmc wrote: |
Working for any school - anywhere - will never be especially lucrative. You need to work for yourself in some way. It's the only way to make money in esl.
Interesting story, Kai Feng. Are you still based in Taiwan? |
No, my wife and I came to the states with our kids a few years back. I think about it every day though and when our kids finish college, I'd like to move back. I might visit later this year and want to visit some of the schools to see what the market and the future competition looks like. Plus, I miss smoggy, stressed, high-pressure Taipei. |
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ord2world
Joined: 20 May 2010
Posts: 55
Location: Jerez de la Frontera, Spain
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| Posted: Sat May 22, 2010 12:04 am Post subject: For Rooster_2006: Concerning Pursuing BA in Taiwan |
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I realize this has nothing to do with the topic and I apologize. I'm new to this site and cannot send a private message until I have 5 postings.
Rooser_2006- Please PM me which university you're pursuing your online degree through. I'm guessing that you're working 20 hours a week and probably spend 10 hours preparing lessons? How many classes do you take at a time? How's the internet service in Taiwan? Please respond and thank you!!!!!!!!!!!
| Rooster_2006 wrote: |
Please note that I also posted ten things that I hate about Taiwan in the other thread. I want to try to keep a level head about this country and not indulge in "gushing" (blindly promoting the country) or "bashing" (knocking things which aren't bad, but just different).
1. Permanent residency is possible after five years (the APRC). This makes Taiwan more appealing at this point in time than Korea, Japan, or China, all of which either require a longer period of residence or don't give out PR at all.
2. An AA+TEFL is substitutable for a BA/BS for a work visa. This is great for me, since I have an AA and CELTA but no BA/BS, and I'm using my income in Taiwan to pay for my continuing education towards a BS. Oh, and Taiwan has Pearson VUE Centers, so I can continue to pursue my American bachelor's degree from the comfort of Kaohsiung!
3. Live in the tropics with palm trees on an island and save money while doing it
4. Biandang
5. Women who are, in my opinion, less likely to be little ice princesses than in a *certain* other country (not naming any names, ahem, but we all know where that is)
6. Not quite so much HATE JAPAN phenomenon as in a certain other country (once again, not naming names)...
7. Vans that drive around with a green Formosa emblazoned on a US flag. I don't have to cover up the fact that I'm American.
8. A slightly more flexible teaching visa system than China/Korea that allows some degree of multiple workplaces and a window (albeit a microscopic window) to change jobs without leaving the country.
9. A relatively diverse society (for this part of the world, anyway) consisting of Taiwanese, Han Chinese, Hakka, aborigines that speak Austronesian languages, and some foreigners who have actually made a long-term home here.
10. Learn Mandarin without selling out to the commies! |
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Modest Mouse
Joined: 09 Jun 2008
Posts: 28
Location: Taiwan
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| Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 11:49 am Post subject: Re: Ten Things You Love about Taiwan |
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| rupert shellgame wrote: |
| I already know mine, but will post them later. I wonder how much overlap we'll all have. |
You never posted your ten things that you love about Taiwan  What's wrong? Are you too filled with negativity now to think of any? |
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rupert shellgame
Joined: 11 Apr 2007
Posts: 109
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| Posted: Thu Dec 09, 2010 3:36 pm Post subject: |
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| You never posted your ten things that you love about Taiwan What's wrong? Are you too filled with negativity now to think of any? |
No Mouse, you're right, I never did post ten things I love about Taiwan. Nor did I ever get around to posting ten things I hate about Taiwan in the thread "Ten Things You Hate About Taiwan". One was too long, the other was too short.
How are you doing, Mouse? Is there still an upside to the filth, the noise, the ugliness, the rudeness, and the ignorance?
I was--excuse me, we, were waiting for you, in the other thread. As a reminder, this is where we stopped:
Mouse:
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I was simply stating that not knowing the language and the people of Taiwan is essentially like being blind to a whole dimension of Taiwan.
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Rupert
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I am not completely blind to it, but thank God I am blind enough to it.
Challenge: bring your anthropological wisdom here. In your interactions with the Taiwanese, what is the answer to the general shiit list that has emerged in this thread? |
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Dr_Zoidberg
Joined: 29 Sep 2004
Posts: 406
Location: Not posting on Forumosa.
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| Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 2:06 am Post subject: |
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1. Super tight short-shorts.
2. Girls who wear super tight short-shorts.
The rest, in no particular order...
3. It's a good base for traveling in the region.
4. The weather is better than back home (especially in Taichung).
5. Ginger milk tea.
6. A great place to go cycling.
7. Low cost of living.
8. Easy money.
9. I get to keep most of my money, and what I don't keep is often given back at the end of the year.
10. The health care system (pssst...Canada's isn't the best in the world, pass it on) |
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TaoyuanSteve
Joined: 05 Feb 2003
Posts: 1028
Location: Taoyuan
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| Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 3:49 am Post subject: |
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| Dr_Zoidberg wrote: |
10. The health care system (pssst...Canada's isn't the best in the world, pass it on) |
I'd be careful about that assumption. Taiwan system does have a few advantages. It is easier to see a doctor, 3-day supplies of meds are included in the user fees and basic dentistry is covered.
On the other hand, the system creates an incentive for doctors to over-prescribe. A visit to a doctor here, while convenient, results in a baggie of assorted meds, most of which are unnecessary. Of course, if that were the only issue, it would still be a near flawless system. Unfortunately, it isn't.
The biggest tick in the box for Canada is the coverage for hospitalization and long-term treatment, both things that Taiwan does not cover completely. Simply put, a Canadian doesn't pay for staying in hospitals, no matter how long. There are huge gaps in coverage in Taiwan's medical system, making it necessary to purchase extra insurance to protect against hospital stays and long-term treatments. Many-a-family have been bankrupted by a family member's accident or lengthy illness requiring on-going assistance and hospital stays.
You're fine here as a normally healthy person and even one requiring moderate medical attention. However, if an accident were serious enough or disease serious enough, you'd be going back to Canada.
Not saying Taiwan's system isn't good. Just pointing out that it isn't as comprehensive as many foreigners seem to think it is. |
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rupert shellgame
Joined: 11 Apr 2007
Posts: 109
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| Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 5:10 am Post subject: |
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If that is the case (about Taiwan's health care system), where does on get this supplemental insurance? I haven't had any luck...
Judging on accessibility, Taiwan's healthcare system is much better than America's. How good can a good healthcare system really be if it costs an arm and a leg to get in the door? |
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TaoyuanSteve
Joined: 05 Feb 2003
Posts: 1028
Location: Taoyuan
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| Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 6:22 am Post subject: |
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| rupert shellgame wrote: |
If that is the case (about Taiwan's health care system), where does on get this supplemental insurance? I haven't had any luck...
Judging on accessibility, Taiwan's healthcare system is much better than America's. How good can a good healthcare system really be if it costs an arm and a leg to get in the door? |
Any public health at all is better than none or ridiculously expensive ala USA. However, it is worth being aware that Taiwan's public health coverage has holes in it. A serious accident with hospitalization could be a disaster.
Where would you get supplemental insurance? All those life insurance companies you see advertised. Also, check with your employer to see if they are covering you. |
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KaiFeng
Joined: 19 Sep 2006
Posts: 89
Location: At the top of the food chain.
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| Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 11:33 am Post subject: |
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Every time I used to take my son to the doctor for a cold or upper respiratory infection, I always left with a couple of weeks of pills of at _least_ five or six various types. When I asked about contraindications, collateral damages, when to take them and under what circumstances, etc., the response was, in essence, �You�re not supposed to _take_ them, you�re supposed to _pay_ for them�.
When my father-in-law was diagnosed with extensive cancer, the doctor (a big name physician at Taiwan�s leading hospital) said there were not any hospital beds free for a month or two. At which point my in-laws gave him a fat red envelope, and he said he�d see if something opened up in a day or two.
That was our experience under Taiwan�s centrally controlled medical system. If you control the prices and the supply, people will find a way to capitalize on it. |
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