Observations from a half-fried, half-Chinese, half-Australian American.

Working in a Taiwanese company has provided me with great insight into how things work here. I get to witness and participate in group decisions on a daily basis. On one hand it can be particularly frustrating because people are not forthcoming with their thoughts, or when they do say something, they try to say it in a way without rocking the boat. On the other hand, one can witness the deeply rooted attempts to maintain harmony at work: the principle of “不好意思” (bùhǎoyìsi). One example occurs daily at lunchtime, the question being “where should we eat lunch?”. Read more

Being here for a few years, I’ve just attended what has to be at least my tenth wedding here in Taipei. Though each wedding has its nuances, just about every wedding I’ve attended save one has followed a simple formula. I’m writing this guide as a record for myself and also as a tip sheet for others who are less familiar with weddings here in Taipei.

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I participated in the Olympic Day 8K run this morning behind Da-Jia Elementary School, just by the riverside. There were a lot of people there, many groups and societies.

The most amusing bit had to be the warm-up sequence, led by a woman who had to be an aerobics instructor. The music started out with “Chariots of Fire” of course and then ended with a bizarre, Disney-fied rendition of “Amazing Grace.” We started out doing some easy movements, but it just got weirder with everybody holding hands and jumping left and right.

The motivational warm-up over with, the race began. In my case, this was a perfect example of slow and steady wins the race … I burned myself out and had to walk after two-thirds through the race. This old guy who I passed way at the beginning (and then who passed me and then I passed again) passed me and finished the race probably a couple minutes before me. Finally, in homage to the Taiwanese penchant for lining up for free stuff, I jumped in line for five minutes to grab a free cup of honey-water.

A nice morning and an enjoyable experience.

I should start this series of posts by first mentioning that I’m not a hater. That said, no matter where you go, some things will piss you off, regardless of how open-minded, PC, assimilation-ready you are. Taiwan’s a great country, but it has its rough patches. Here’s one:

It was a rainy winter day in Taipei today. I wore my work shoes today. Unfortunately, the soles of my shoes aren’t exactly Gore-Tex super grip recycled F1 rubber or anything like that. I say unfortunately because whenever it rains here in Taipei (which is often), I slip on the marble-tiled sidewalks which seem to skirt every bank and post office in town. I’m pretty sure that most salarymen here experience the same, slippery imbalance every rainy day.

Luckily, the designers didn’t totally ignore this seemingly obvious flaw. Most of the marble-tiled footpaths have thin “friction strips,” as I like to call them. They aren’t the polished slip-traps of the marble tile, but are rough and cling to your shoe. They’re like buoys in a vast ocean that I tentatively jump to in order to keep from sliding around and bumping into people, or worse, making myself look foolish. If only there were more of these strips.