Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Expat Culture in Taiwan: I don't want a Taiwan girl who wants a foreigner

As i say after a few years in Taiwan and the culture shock begins to wear off, you start to work out the stupidity of some of the things you believed. I don't want to date a Taiwan girl who wants a foreigner was one of them.

We go through this spell when we refuse to go to the foreigner bars - and we only date a girl who doesn't speak English. We sit around in groups complaining about girls who only want to date foreigners. I remember we justify it with cries of them being groupies - and us wanting an authentic experience with a local girl. It was nonsense of course stimulated by culture shock.

John refreshingly didn't suffer from this, mainly because he didn't speak any Chinese - and never forgot it was a different culture. Slowly, after several mishaps, I started to go back to the bar where the girls went to meet a foreigner, but the attitudes of new arrivals hadn't changed.

"I got to get out of here," would say X new arrival. "Look at these girls, they only want to date a foreigner. It is sad."

"Sure, but you only want to date Taiwanese girls," I would answer.

Said foreigner: "It is different - There are only Taiwanese girls here."

"No, there are not. There are hundreds of white women. Nobody wants them so you can take your pick."

"Exactly, man. "

"Exactly what? It is tough being young and ungrateful. I know i have been there."

(I only said the last part if the person concerned was smaller than me.)

And I had been there and it was about wanting something that didn't want you.

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