Job Discussion Forums

[rupert shellgame]

I already know mine, but will post them later. I wonder how much overlap we'll all have.

[creztor]

I know mine, so I'll post them later, too

[zipper]

1. Love the colorful and pretty Beetle nut girls

2. Love being able to drink in public without getting arrested.

3. Love being able to buy essential antibiotics without needing a prescription.

4. Love the weather: not as hot as Thailand in the summer and not as cold as Korea in winter.

5. Love the mountainous areas.

6. Love the temples and their architectures

7. Love the way you don�t need to worry about road rules, because no one here abides by them anyway.

8. Love the kids, most of the people and the work hours.

9. Love the typhoons and earthquakes that add spice to what would be an otherwise a geographical bore.

10. Love its ideal location to other East and S.E Asian countries.

There's more, but you only ask for ten.

[JZer]

1.Love the lack of stress in life.
2.I love studying Mandarin.

I will add eight more later. I still have to teach from 7PM to 9PM.

[Hightop]

1. No stress
2. Working 4 hours a day with fulltime pay
3. Not cold
4. Nice food on the street
5. Not exp to have a healthy diet here
6. Living in the middle of Taipei
7. Friendly non agressive people here
8. People speak Chinese to me and understand me when I speak to them
9. No people in the pool at the gym
10. Of course my gf and her family too^^

[JZer]

1.Love the lack of stress in life.
2.I love studying Mandarin.
3. Opportunities for meeting women
4. Can save 33,000 a month and eat out every day.
5.Beautiful view from my apartment near a river in Taipei.
6.Getting paid just to have fun with the kids.
7. Some Taiwanese will go out of their way to help a foreigner.
8. Opportunity to meet different kinds of people in Taipei from factory workers to people working in the financial district.

[Rooster_2006]

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!

[BigWally]

the thing i miss the most....

-the kids
-the people
-friends
-the food
-travel (japan, malaysia, singapore, thailand, cambodia, vietnam, hong kong, macau)
-travel (taipei, hualien, taroko, taidong, maolin, kenting)
-kaohsiung
-my scooter
-cheng ching lake
-the glass box
-taiwan beer
-betel nut
-blue trucks
-7/11
-hilarious attempts at written English
-my hilarious attempts at speaking Chinese
-"Hello, baby!"
-"Waiguoren!"
-HSR
-KMRT
-the 85 story building (which I think is better designed than the 101)
-chijin island
-family mart
-grapefruit green tea
-monks

[steve_c]

1. Friendly, helpful people.
2. The national health system.
3. Learning and using Mandarin.
4. The variety and availability of food.
5. Getting cash, making a photocopy, paying utility bills, picking up an online purchase, buying concert tickets, and grabbing a snack and coffee/beer/wine/gaoliang all at the same place, 24/7 (don't forget your Family Mart/7-11 game points!)
6. No tipping.
7. Laid-back Buddhist beliefs that permeate life here, yet are non-dogmatic.
8. No guns. Low crime.
9. 薄荷奶茶 (Mint milk tea)
10. "Foreign" enough to be exotic, yet "Western" enough to be comfortable.

[Rooster_2006]

I'm not talking to any one particular person, but most people's top ten lists seem to read like "the ten things I love about Asia."

Folks, I realize that lack of open container laws, no tipping, unbelievable hospitality, etc. are wonderful parts of Taiwan. However, they're also parts of China, Japan, Hong Kong, probably Vietnam and Cambodia, and even the dark side of the moon, Korea.

I tried to assemble my list specifically of Taiwan-specific things...

[markcmc]

1. The students I've taught.
2. My co-workers.
3. Musical garbage trucks.
4. Hot weather.
5. Taxi drivers who always want to give me a free Chinese conversation class.
6. My adopted dog.
7. Dumplings.
8. Formosan tea.
9. Chinese martial arts.
10. And lots of other people I've met.

[heidihcb]

1. Cheap living.

2. Being able to drink legally on the street.

3. Getting teaching jobs without a credential.

4. Scootering.

5. Having random strangers come up to you and want to take a picture.

6. Breakfast shops... Mmm... Dan bings.

7. Dumplings.

8. Cheap health care.

9. Being a short flight away from Thailand.

10. Pointing back and saying "Taiwan ren!"

[yamahuh]

Posted '10 things I hate' so gotta round out the Karma...

10: Most of my kids and classes
9: Cheap travel to S.E Asia
8: Decent wages and minimal tax
7: Ability to save more than in N.America
6: Mountain roads
5: Most of the food
4: Cheap living
3: Shocking the whispering locals by saying 'Bu shi Meiguoren, wo shi Tianadaren"
2: Betel nut girls
1: Not having to shovel snow

[phdinfunk]

1) Mountains with forests
2) Slow morning walks through the markets as they're opening up, seeing fish flopping around on our sidewalks
3) Taiwan grapes, wax apples, and Guavas
4) Eating lunch by a lovely temple by a river
5) Negotiating an already good price into a phenomenal price
6) Motorscootering on a lovely day, winding mountain roads or blowing down the coast at 80KPH, Pacific to my side.
7) Chou Tofu hot pot! Or WeiYu hotpot.
The way people smile when you give respect to an old person, or say a few things in Taiwanese (I always say LiHo and DouXia! to respect Taiwanese independence)
9) Taiwanese Stationary stores (So many pretty pens and paper teacha!)
10) The Taiwanese kids

Edit: 11) Affordable and good health care!

JP

[zipper]

11. Passing through a construction site at your own risk, with total disregard for personal safety and without being stopped by high paying traffic cops or directed by them is one of the hassle free experiences I enjoy about Taiwan. I am amazed when I see other people blatantly ignore the orange traffic cones and plastic Jersey barriers placed at construction sites, and diligently drive their scooters and cars under working cranes or over freshly painted and asphalted roads. Yet, there always seems to be some degree of harmony between motor vehicle operators and construction workers when drivers squeeze through construction barriers. The construction workers and drivers seem to ignore each other, and I have never seen an accident as a result of it either; but I am sure that they have occurred. Nevertheless when I come across one, I just follow the crowd and I am never late for lunch.