Chinese Proverb: He who returns from a journey is not the same as he who left.
My Photo Links
- 89.37 It's a mystery
- 88.36 - Sounds of the city
- The quest for cake
- 87.35 - Did someone say competition?
- When you most need it
- 85.33 A weekend warming
- I have to show off.
- 83.31 Delicious
- Singing and Snacking on the Beach
- 82.30 Was that a truck?
My Taiwan Adventure
Thursday, April 21, 2005
90.38 Making it work.
90 days in Taiwan. Celebration time?
Culture shock: adapt or die trying.
The English (UK) Encarta Dictionary defines culture shock as
Suffering the 3 month phase of culture-shock. I'm a lone wolf. And boy do I feel like howling at the moon. It was fun in the first month exploring the countryside, sleeping in, eating late, sacking out in the hotel to watch endless HBO when I wasn't feeling well. Now I have to deal with the realities of living in Taiwan. I don't speak the language. I don't like the bugs. I don't know how to cope with the humid weather. (Antipersperant is a pointless endeavor here!) I don't feel prepared for so many different experiences. I live on my own and have nobody to rely on. And it is just flat out hard sometimes.
Other times I just have to smile. Seeing people walk their kids to the front gate of the school and then waiting outside until they see their children wave from the 3rd floor is pretty endearing. Having a night market available at my doorstep where some of the merchants are starting to recognize me and what I order is also neat.
I'm just fighting the blues and have found myself laughing at my mood swings in the last 2 weeks. One second I'll be up and happy and the next I'll be muttering about how inconvenient it is to tote around your trash for an hour or two. The noise here is a constant assault. I think the Taiwanese probably doesn't have a clue what true silence is like. And why do the businesses here package things with multiple layers of plastic but almost invariably withhold napkins as part of a restaurant experience?
Things we take for granted in Canada:
Culture shock: adapt or die trying.
The English (UK) Encarta Dictionary defines culture shock as
Sudden exposure to unfamiliar culture. The feelings of confusion and anxiety experienced when an individual or a group suddenly finds itself in an unfamiliar cultural environment.
Suffering the 3 month phase of culture-shock. I'm a lone wolf. And boy do I feel like howling at the moon. It was fun in the first month exploring the countryside, sleeping in, eating late, sacking out in the hotel to watch endless HBO when I wasn't feeling well. Now I have to deal with the realities of living in Taiwan. I don't speak the language. I don't like the bugs. I don't know how to cope with the humid weather. (Antipersperant is a pointless endeavor here!) I don't feel prepared for so many different experiences. I live on my own and have nobody to rely on. And it is just flat out hard sometimes.
Other times I just have to smile. Seeing people walk their kids to the front gate of the school and then waiting outside until they see their children wave from the 3rd floor is pretty endearing. Having a night market available at my doorstep where some of the merchants are starting to recognize me and what I order is also neat.
I'm just fighting the blues and have found myself laughing at my mood swings in the last 2 weeks. One second I'll be up and happy and the next I'll be muttering about how inconvenient it is to tote around your trash for an hour or two. The noise here is a constant assault. I think the Taiwanese probably doesn't have a clue what true silence is like. And why do the businesses here package things with multiple layers of plastic but almost invariably withhold napkins as part of a restaurant experience?
Things we take for granted in Canada:
- Grocery stores with things like "Michelina's"
- Regular and Diet soft drinks in every 7-11
- Napkins at McDonalds, toilet paper everywhere
- A trash can on every street corner, in every bus and in every office building
- English in every building, bar and street corner
Things they take for granted in Taiwan:
- Grocery stores with conveniently dehydrated fish & peanuts
- Paying bills at every 7-11
- You carry your own tissue
- A trash can will be found eventually, just take it with you
- Chinese on every building, bar and available surface
I find wry humour in my list. I'm doing alright. I just have to be gentle with myself for a while. I can not adapt overnight. I'd like to order something different for breakfast this week, so I'll suck up my pride and go back to grunt and point. JiDian is great for a while (Egg sandwich) but it's starting to get boring.
Posted by T. Destiny in Taiwan at 5:05 PM 
