Taiwanese mafia infiltrating cement industry?

Sometimes, when I walk around new or old Taipei, I'm noticing some strange things. On the photo above you can see how a Taiwanese construction company fixed a stretch of a sewer. The asphalt was torn up, a big hole was dug up, new concrete sewer pipes were laid in and the complete hole was filled up with concrete. That's definitely something I have seen for the first time. In my country they would fill the hole with the soil they previously dug up and use a roller to compress the surface. And I'm not sure, what is the purpose of those steel pillars sticking out there, but maybe some of you readers can enlighten me.

Btw, my friend told me that he heard about Taiwanese mafia being connected to the cement industry. If that's true, then it's no wonder that so much of Taipei is flooded with cement: Roads, streets, sidewalks. In some parts you won't find a single stretch of grass, which is pretty sad. Taipei needs more parks!

[My TAIWAN LIFE page][TAIPEI page][Photo by MKL, 2011]

Taiwan life 4 months later

My thoughts and observations 4 months later

Life in Taiwan is tough.

Time flies in Taiwan. I'm four months here, living the fast-paced life of Taipei City and it's killing me. The first month was cold, rainy and I needed a lot of time to figure out whether it was good to leave everything behind and move to the other side of the world. I came for love and for new valuable experiences, for an investment in the future, that would benefit me, my wife and our future family. And when I came, I got a job very fast - I was finally able to do exactly what I always dreamed to do: International business. I knew it will be tough, it's always tough when millions are in play and faces need to be saved, but this is beyond my wildest expectations. I learned so much about how it is to work in a big Taiwanese company, I could write a book about it already: After only 3 months! But I won't even blog about it, because "the internets" are a very small place and I don't wanna feed the rats.

Life is tough and stressful in Taipei. The noise and air pollution are amazingly high for someone, who was used to be surrounded by fresh air and chirping birds. The population density is one of the highest in the world and the problems related to that are seen on every corner. It's almost impossible to go a popular place in Taipei and not encounter huge crowds. That's awesome, when you are a visitor in Taiwan (and traveling in Taiwan is one of my favorite hobbies), but when you live and work here, you just want to get away from the hustle and bustle as far as possible. With all that said, I would not want to return back home, I am not a quitter. I'm starting to get to know people I would never had the chance to meet in my previous life. I am meeting new real friends and I am gaining a lot of experience in this very new field of work. I'm not sure, whether I will burn out in a couple of weeks (it's possible!) and change the job to something less demanding (like teaching) or whether I will toughen up, learn more and aim for something higher. This year is the most challenging year in my life and it can go either way with me. And it has nothing to do with Taiwan, it has everything to do with me.

I wish that one day I can write a post like Jenna here.

[My LIFE IN TAIWAN page][Photo by MKL, 2011]

Taiwan's electronic megaphone noise pollution

Read the same post in Chinese here>>

One thing that really surprised me in Taiwan (especially in and around Taipei) is how Taiwanese accept noise pollution without ever complaining. Garbage trucks, cars, scooters, fire crackers, religious parades, shouting vendors, all of these noisemakers are seen as normal here, nobody (except me) seems to be bothered by them. But the worst of them all must be the electronic megaphones, which are usually put next to tea shops, sometimes on night markets. If I stand next to one for half a minute, I'm almost going nuts. But you Taiwanese just accept that. How come? In my country, if someone would use these megaphones for "advertising", people would call the police on them.

See the video below of one of these annoying megaphones I took in Xinzhuang:

I wonder how can the tea shop owner listen to this every day over and over again?

This is where Taiwan (the big cities) and I are worlds apart. I grew up in a house surrounded by a forest, where chirping birds woke me up every morning. I think, if I return home one day, my ears will need some time to adapt to the noiselessness and tranquility. I wonder, if they can.

[My UNIQUELY TAIWAN post][Photo and video by MKL, 2011]

Taiwanese are obsessed with smartphones

This is an image you can see in Taipei every day: People standing still and completely losing themselves in their smartphone universe. Apple's iPhone is so popular here, it looks like everybody's having it. And Nokia, Samsung, BlackBerry and HTC are not lacking behind a lot. I do plan to get me an iPhone, too. It's not yet 100% confirmed though, but I'm very strongly leaning to one. So I guess you'll be seeing me standing like these two beautiful statues girls. In case I become like them, tap me on the back and wake me up, I will be grateful to you.

Do you lose yourself in your smartphone?

[My TAIWAN life][UNIQUELY TAIWANESE][Photos by MKL, 2011]

Getting a custom-made suit at EZ Collezioni in Taipei

If you are looking for a custom-made suit in Taipei, read further...

I was never really a "suit guy" before I came to Taiwan. I would avoid wearing it at all costs. Besides, in my home country there weren't many occasions where wearing a suit would be the norm. If you're not in politics or big business, wearing a suit is pointless. Of course there are some posers and wannabes... But once I came to Taiwan and got the current job, wearing a suit more frequently was inevitable. Taipei is a global city full of important people. If you want to be taken seriously in the business world, you need to have a proper formal wear. So far, I'm not as rich to fly to London and pay £3,000 for a bespoke suit at Savile Row, but I have a great mother-in-law, who followed the Taiwanese tradition and treated her new son-in-law a custom-made suit.

Where did I get my suit made?

I went to Ximending, to the EZ Collezioni shop. They have several branches in Taiwan and they specialize in custom-made suits. I have not known about them before, but now that I do, I have to say that they are really good. I was pleasantly surprised at their professional attitude, friendliness and good service. Let me stress, that they did not pay me or give me discount for writing this post, I am only doing so, because I want to help those like me who need a customized suit at a decent price somewhere in Taipei. This is purely my personal recommendation.

The shop is very small, but was quite full with people every time I passed by. All employees are wearing customized suits (including a female) and you can immediately see, that they offer a very fine product. I had my wife with me, who handled all the details, I am not sure, if they speak English well enough to serve you. I think it's better you bring someone, who speaks Chinese with you.

This is how the shop looks like from outside.

In order to get a perfectly fitting suit, you will need to give them your measurements. But not only that, they will ask you all kinds of questions in regards to the look of your new suit. You choose the materials, patterns, colors and some additional design elements. They will fill out a form first and later ask you to try on a generic jacket and pants and take your measurements.

Samples on display for your reference.

The very skilled female employee taking measurements.

The most interesting and partly awkward part was when a very lovely young lady took my body measurements. She was of course very professional and careful, but I did feel a bit embarrassed, when she put the tailor's meter around my too roundly shaped belly. In a normal situation, where a beautiful woman would be so close to me, I would of course pull my belly inside, but what's the point in doing this here? In the end the suit would be too tight and would need to be altered to my tummy's reality. There was no way to escape her perfect measuring skills and I just had to let her do the things she had to do. The toughest part was, when she went down on her knees in front of me and measured some very private parts. I won't go further into this, but if you're a guy, you probably understand the tricky situation. However, if you want a perfectly fitting suit, that's just part of the bargain. And she's really very fast and accurate. Later I was thinking about how she sees men. Since she has measured so many male bodies, she must see a guy and already know all his sizes. Kinda scary in a way, as if she has some kind of super powers.

On the photo on the left you can see the suit I've chosen. They needed about 1 month to make it (I guess it's because they have a lot of customers) and it cost me 9500 NTD together with the shirt (that's around 225 Euro or 330 USD). If you want only jacket and pants, it will cost you 7700 NTD, the shirt is 1800 NTD. The tie is for free. Their cheapest suit will cost you 3800 NTD (90 Eur or 130 USD).

I have to say the suit fits perfectly, the materials are great, I couldn't be more satisfied with what I got for my money. Adding the good service with a lot of tips, I have to say that EZ Collezioni in Ximending is really a great shop and I will definitely return, when I need another excellent suit. And next time I don't need to be taken measurements again, they saved them in their database. Of course If I get fatter lose weight, they might need to take the yellow tailor's meter out and take few measurements again. But next time I am ready for it.

Show bigger map

You'll find the shop at the northern part of the Kunming Street 昆明街 in Ximending (click here for a detailed map), very close to the intersection with Hankou Street 漢口街. Use the Google Street View above for your reference.

[My LIFE IN TAIWAN page][All photos by MKL, 2011]

How Taiwanese shake hands

An interesting thing so different in Taiwan is the way Taiwanese shake hands. In my home country it's normal, when you meet a new person, to shake hands. Be it a man or woman, shaking hands is a must. The usual procedure would be following: Let's say I'm introducing a person to a person, I would say something like "This is XXX, my colleague. This is XXX, my old friend." I would do so by pointing at each person with my palm and then they would briefly shake hands (medium firm) and say something like "Nice to meet you" to each other.

In Taiwan however there are two types of introducing or meeting people: The casual one, where you get introduced to friends or relatives and the formal one, common in the business world.

In the case of casual encounters, Taiwanese will either shake hands or not. For me it's sometimes very hard to read, whether a person is a hand-shaker. I feel that especially women don't really like to shake hands at the first meeting, they would usually just smile and nod, say "Hello!" or wave at you. Guys are half-half on this, it really depends. And some of them, who do shake, will do it in a very soft way, as if they are shy o awkward doing it. I used to extend my hand a lot, when I came to Taiwan for the first time. But now I'm usually holding it back and just nod, smile and say hello. I don't want to make people feel uncomfortable.

When it comes to business, the picture is completely different. I was a bit surprised, when I had the chance to shake hands with some Taiwanese business men for the first time: Their shake was strong and long. They hold you firmly and don't let go for like over 5 seconds... sometimes even longer. Of course not everybody is that way, but it's definitely common, especially among older people with higher positions. My wife said, that a firm long shake means a person is sincere.

I can't really give good tips on how to do these things the right way, just be prepared for everything and try to read the person's way. If they are they shy type, hold your hand back. If they are open and talkative, extend your hand to them. If you meet a boss of a company, shake it firmly and wait for them to let go.

How do you shake hands?

[My UNIQUELY TAIWAN page][Photo by MKL, 2011]

Yellow beavers, foreign goons

Below are excerpts from a diary of a ______ in Taiwan (in italic text). I found it on the street while walking around Taichung, picked it up and decided to publish some parts for you. However I had to censor some things, because that's how we do it in Taiwan, we avoid communicating directly. And I'm sure you can fill in the blanks with many different words.

~The Doctrine~

"I'm not here to bash ______ and say that I despise them. I love their way of life and their culture, but that still doesn't mean that I won't trash them in every post I write or ridicule them for everything they do, because I know much better what is right and what is wrong. After all, I come from the pinnacle of civilization. I'm tired of hearing people say "That's the way they are". I believe that as ______ we need to change the culture everywhere we go, we are the foamed milk on top of the global cappuccino, we know better how other cultures need to behave in order to make them better, in the rare case almost as good as us. If you disagree with what I said, no problem, feel free to challenge me, but I will delete you for trolling."

~The Confession~

It's not easy to be a ______ in Taiwan. It feels like being here on a mission 24/7, I feel like a cultural James Bond, not an escapee, what most people mistakingly think of me (go figure!). Of course I also behave like one, when I walk around here. I really enjoy to play this new role, because back home I am nobody. But not only that, I am so dedicated to be the new ambassador of culture, that's why I chose to be an educator here, so that on the one hand I can start to change the local culture from the bottom up (excluding aboriginal people, of course!) and on another hand, I have short working hours, which gives me plenty of time to observe all the things Taiwanese do wrong (excluding aboriginal people, of course!) and then write about it on my blog (where other like-minded people usually applaud me). It's a pity that the community is so small and insignificant in Taiwan. One could say that I am actually wasting time and energy for something that doesn't serve any purpose and doesn't have any effect on anything. I am just somebody among nobodies, but that's ok, it still makes me feel great and superior.

~The Questions~

I really don't want to be mean to my brethren from ______, who decide to settle in Taiwan, but they are just not trying hard enough to help us ______. They are wholly integrated, usually accept the Taiwanese way of life with all its contradictions, try hard to blend in and they mostly don't work as educators. That's a problem. How can they accept things the way they are here? I don't get it. How can you go to Asia and not try to do anything possible to change the local culture, traditions and way of life? How can you not feel the urge to impose your superior views on them? No idea. In my country ______ we believe in going beyond the determinations and limitations of culture (of course not when it comes to our own), that's why we know exactly what's best for everyone.

Common belief: Taiwanese always need others to tell them what to do.

~The Answers~

I know that there is a big demand for people like me here and less so for people from ______. But can you really blame us for wanting to be here? Taiwan makes it very easy for us. We get paid better, we get treated better and we have enough time and opportunities to date the local population as much as we can, so why wouldn't we come? However I realized that there is obviously a huge misunderstanding between what we think we are doing here and what Taiwanese think we should be doing here.

While Taiwanese just need babysitters for their kids, because they work so much, a certain kind of us here (including me) see ourselves as cultural crusaders, who will educate and build up a new better generation of Taiwanese, that will have a global identity ("God forbid they would think they're Chinese!"). Some of them believe that it is better to pinyinize Taiwan as the first step ("Traditional characters are so troublesome!"), abolish Mandarin and all other dialects soon after that and make Taiwanese speak a global language only ("It's so convenient!"). It works in Singapore very well and everybody knows what a fine city Singapore is. This is how Taiwanese would look like after the cultural revolution of the current foreign missionaries:

Why can't Taiwan be like Singapore? Please, can somebody shrink this huge island!

I think these are some really good prospects for Taiwan in the future. Aren't you excited? Keep in mind that in this very moment someone stepped out of the plane at the Taoyuan International Airport and smelled the fresh breeze of Taoyuan County for the first time. He will take a bus to Taip... Taichung in a day, begin to educate your kids in a week and start to write a blog in a month. And then he will tell you everything that he thinks is wrong with Taiwan without even trying to understand the reality around him. Why is Taiwanese media not picking up on this? Why is the government not reacting? These bloggers should appear on national TV at the prime time and tell the Taiwanese directly how they should improve (don't worry, there will be subtitles in Chinese!). Their wisdom is probably the biggest resource Taiwan currently has and in case a political party is looking for campaigners and future ministers, I can submit a list of these bloggers, who would be perfect for the job. And they are usually very free, they can start working immediately. Well, keep in mind, that they want higher pay and shorter working hours, because they are... special. I am special, too, because my mother used to tell me that. How about yours?

MDGB's translation -

請不要太嚴肅去看待這篇文章，它是在諷刺。如果英文讀者因此而誤會我，我也沒關係，但我要確定的是，台灣的朋友們不會誤會我的意思。我只是想開個小玩笑，但我的點在於，我實在看不慣有些英文部落客不斷地在他們部落格上批評許多台灣人的行為，而且還認為他們比較聰明，可以做的更好。到底他們為什麼覺得自己有資格這麼想？如果事情只是用不同的方式展現，那並不表示那就是不好的。如果有些傳統對你來說很怪異，那並不表示它們真的很奇怪，除非你認為地球完全是繞著你轉的。我尊敬也喜歡那些在部落格上提出建設性意見的外國部落客，他們意見很值得被閱讀。但我真的很不能忍受那些從不試著從他們狹小心胸中站出來看看的外國部落客。因為他們其中的一個人覺得我什麼都不懂，搞不清楚台灣的狀況，所以我決定寫這篇文章。

我知道台灣有許多可以改善的，很多事情並不是那麼好。但有哪個國家是真正完美的？且誰喜歡看到外國人老是指著自己不斷地批評？我也承認我自己的國家並不完美，但我也不想在外國部落格上不停地讀到它有多不完美。有些人的批評缺乏建設性，或許他們只是想寫些很極端的東西以爭取注意，但這些注意就像曇花一現，一下子就沒了。我的方式不一樣，我不想要變成知名的台灣部落客，我只是想要分享在這裡的生活而已。從現在開始，我會分享一些不好的經驗，但我會試著去找到一個比較好的平衡以反應實際情形。台灣真的對我很好，台灣人對我很友善，這讓我很高興能住在這裡。

但是有些外國人非常討厭這裡，然而沒有人強迫他們留著。或許在他們心裡面，他們也不覺得台灣真有這麼糟，他們只是對自己的現況不滿意而已，於是他們把這些不滿意給轉移到別人身上。我不曉得是不是這樣，但我真不喜歡因為如此的原因而產生這些毫無建設性的批評。我也不喜歡有些人，老覺得自己比別人優秀，在這裡把自己當明星一樣。在台灣並沒有有名的外國部落客，甚至人次流量在平均值以下的年輕台灣美妝或者時尚部落客，他們的讀者都比任何一個在台灣的外國部落客還要多。但這些外國人可以每天都寫一篇評論台灣政治或者社會的文章，老是不停著寫著台灣跟中國的狀況，或者不斷張貼錯誤的英文拼字或者拼音問題，或是揶揄台灣男朋友對待女朋友的方式：這些都不會改變他們在這裡默默無聞的事實。

說起來我也是個什麼都不是的傢伙，但我很高興我有個可愛的老婆，一份不錯的工作還有很多朋友。我不需要去批評我所看到在我身邊不好的每件事情，我也沒時間去搞這些，而且台灣人也沒時間去管這些。我們同樣要工作、要吃飯，要搭捷運上下班，我跟台灣人幾乎沒有兩樣。那就是為什麼我看不到這些抱持負面想法的人所看到的地方。他們雖然住在台灣，但他們沒有真的過著台灣人的生活，只是在一旁冷眼瞧著台灣人，當他們的旁觀者而已。通常我不會在意這些人，但是因為他們批評我的新家台灣，所以我不能沉默。

Related: My life in Taiwan>>

Top 5 strangest characters in Taipei Metro

If you're like me, someone who's taking the Taipei Metro almost every day, I'm sure you must have noticed quite a few characters in your daily routine. During the work week, I spend almost 2 hours a day in and around the trains. And what else is there to do than observing people. Now I have to say that Taipei Metro is probably one of the best in the world and people here are just too polite and too normal for me to write a very funny posts about them. I've seen real weirdos in the Seoul Metro and by that I mean people who really crept me out. However, Taipei also has a bunch of strange characters roaming around the subway. But they're not strange in the sense that they are weird people per se, it's rather that they stand out by not behaving according to the subway etiquette or to put it bluntly: They seem to be so caught up in their own world that they forget others around them.

I have made a top 5 of these strange characters, listed from bad to worse and worst:

1. The Sleeper

This type of commuter is sitting on the priority seat and sleeping or pretending to sleep. By that they blend out everything around them such as elders or pregnant women, who are in desperate need of that seat. Sadly I see this type quite often lately. But for every bad seed, there's like 5 people who do the right thing and pass the priority seat to the right person. I need to praise my wife here. She's the type who would sometimes block an empty seat and pet an old person or a pregnant woman on the shoulder and redirect them to the seat. She's really a very kind person.

2. The Blocker

This type of commuter is also quite common. They are either blocking the main door or one of the seats. No idea, why some, who need to travel like 10 stations, have to stand near the door and then always block others, who want to go out. It's really a crazy crowd every morning, especially from the Main Station to the City Hall Station. I think, if you have space to leave the door, go inside. And then there's the type who stands in front of an empty seat, but doesn't want to seat down. I see others are eying the empty seat, but are too polite or shy to ask him to move aside, so that they can seat. If I intend to stand (for some reason), I usually move away from an empty seat. If I can't, I rather sit down. I know many would like to seat, they're tired, so blocking an empty seat is a little rude, if you ask me.

3. The Screamer

This type is not so common, but I heard them few times: For some reason they scream in one of the station and I have no idea what has happened. All I see is people at the station are looking in the same direction and the ones in the train (when the door opens) are trying hard to hear what's going on. Usually it's not enough time for them, the door closes and just like me, they keep wondering. I guess I'm the most clueless one. And I guess sometimes it's not so bad to not know what's going on. But the screaming is definitely not pleasant to hear.

4. The Jumper

This type is sadly also very common. Every morning, when I change the train at the Main Station, it's really crazy. The crowds are unbelievably huge and there are officers (officers?) trying to get people in order by whistling and fumbling, no, just by whistling, but they remind me of Taiwan's famous traffic policemen, where I always wonder, how much effect they really have on the traffic. Anyway, there are always long queues every morning. People sometimes wait 10 minutes for boarding the train and 99% of the people will wait patiently until it's their turn to get in, but there will always be someone, who will appear out of nowhere at the last second before the door closes and place him/herself in the tiniest spot available. That for me is of course understandable human behavior, people are late and use this way as the last resort. However, I don't condone it, it's still wrong, because the rest of us are still waiting.

5. The Pusher

This is for me the strangest Taipei subway character. Just like before, I see this every morning at the Main Station. It's basically "the Jumper", but with the difference, that he (usually it's a she) pushes everybody inside to get the last free spot and then gets in. Luckily I've only observed this from the outside the train, I wasn't jet pushed by the pusher. I hope one day I can make a short clip of that, I think it would definitely be a YouTube hit. Dear Pusher, I know you are late, frustrated and hyperactive, but pushing people so directly is a bit over the top. I've seen the shocked faces on many pushed commuters, it's definitely not a pleasant experience for them.

There are of course many other strange characters, but not occurring as often and not so significant as these 5 and hence don't really add any value to my post's topic. I need to say I really think Taipei Metro is for me personally the best in the world. Not only the service is top, the Taiwanese people are really a pleasant bunch to commute with, I truly have a great experience. But I have to say that taking a subway train every day is really tiring. But for me, I still prefer it over a car and scooter.

How about you? Do you have any interesting stories to share from the Taipei Metro or from any other one? What are the strangest characters in your subway? Please share, I'm curious.

[My LIFE IN TAIWAN page][Photo by MKL, 2011]

Unique Taiwanese traits? My observations

My latest observations about my Taiwanese friends

After getting my recent job and meeting more Taiwanese friends, I noticed some interesting things about Taiwanese people and their patterns of behavior. Some of the things mentioned below were noticed a long while ago, while some of them are fairly new observations. Those of you, who also live here, might have come to similar conclusions, but who knows, maybe not. Keep in mind, that I compare these things with the ones from my home country Slovenia. And keep in mind that I am specifically talking about Taiwanese who live and work in Taipei, as that's where I live and where I notice all these things every day.

1 Taiwanese always plan plan plan

The first thing I noticed about my wife (then girlfriend) is that she likes to plan her daily routine. Now most of the workweek, she would spend at work (she's Taiwanese!), but usually right after knocking off, she would go to the gym. And she has a very strict routine. Missing an appointment would make her feel stressed and disappointed. As for the weekends, she will carefully plan what to do and who to meet and at white time. In Slovenia, our working hours are shorter and we have more free time. We usually have a routine during the workweek, but on weekends we're much more spontaneous. If someone unexpectedly calls us to meet, it's usually no problem for us to do so right away. But I've noticed that for many Taiwanese doing something like that is a little stressful. Many like to know about meetings few days in advance and carefully plan every little thing for that day. I'm not sure why that is and maybe that's typical for Taipei or bigger cities, but it's definitely something I noticed very quickly here. Are Taiwanese insecure people or are they just so busy, that they treasure every minute of their free time?

2 Taiwanese always rush rush rush

Taiwanese always hurry! But let me emphasize again, that I mean those in Taipei (but that still seems to be half of Taiwan's working population). I can completely understand, why they do so during the workweek, because I do the same. There's always a traffic jam making you late, a full bus to catch or a small spot in the MRT to contend for. Every morning, especially on Monday, is a real struggle to come to work (based on my own experience). But then I wonder: Why do Taiwanese rush on weekends? Every time my wife and I go out on Saturday, she would suddenly start to walk fast, but we have no deadline to catch, nobody to meet. I usually let her walk away from me until she realizes that I'm few meters behind her and then she stops. When I catch up, I usually ask her: "Are you going to work? Do you have a train to catch?" Then it makes click and she walks slower... for like 5 minutes, haha. I think I need to find the spot, where she hides her Duracells. My Taiwanese friends, I give you a tip: Slow down on weekends and enjoy yourselves, waste time, indulge. If not, I might need to send you to Southern Dalmatia, Sicily or Greece for training.

3 Taiwanese mostly go Dutch

Taiwanese are very particular when it comes to managing money. The concept we have in Slovenia, where one time one party pays (or treats) the whole bill and then the next time the other party does the same in return, is seen as very strange here. Taiwanese count every single dollar (1 Taiwan dollar is 0.025 Euro btw) and if they had pennies, I'm sure, they would count them, too. Of course we also go Dutch in Slovenia, if we eat out in large groups. If we just drink, we go semi-Dutch, which means we do collect money, but don't go into every penny (some give more, some give less...). In Taiwan, if you go and eat out and your meal costs 99 NTD, but you give the person who collects money 100 NTD and tell them to keep the change, they will still return that 1 dollar to you. I've done that several times, but it's like they don't listen or they don't understand what you mean by that, haha. Now I don't bother anymore and count every penny dollar like they do. I think the reason for this kind of money management is that they don't want to owe anything to anyone, not even a single penny dollar. They don't want someone to badmouth them behind their back in regards to taking or owing money (and lose face). Not sure, if I got that right, but that's my impression.

4 Taiwanese way of saying bye bye is different

I don't know, how people say "bye bye" in your country, but in Taiwan (compared to Slovenia) it's very different. If I meet friends in my home country and we're just about to split up and go home after a drink or meal, we usually say "Keep in touch." or "Talk to you soon." (kinda hard to express the exact Slovenian phrase in English, but you get the point) and that's about it. Young people in Taiwan, when they say bye bye, it's always accompanied with smiles, repeated and extended "bye byeeeeees", waving and small nods. And it always feels like both parties are a bit awkward or embarrassed in that moment. No idea, why that is, but that's how I see the situation. I would be happy, if someone explained that to me better.

Ok, I gotta go, I have to rush out after counting my money again. Bye byeeeee ^_^

Related: [I'm becoming Taiwanese! Help!]
[LIFE IN TAIWAN][Photo by MKL, 2011]

I'm becoming Taiwanese! Help!

If you have read my posts from the past few months about my life in Taiwan (and all the preparations), you're probably just like me completely overwhelmed by the changes I've been through. In the past 6 months I have saved money, acquired documentation, bought air ticket, left my family and home in Slovenia behind and came to Taiwan to be with my then girl friend, whom I married 2 months later. And now I'm working like a mad person every day, usually 10 to 11 hours a day, but today I broke my own record: I worked nearly 13 hours. And the funniest thing is: I really worked. I didn't slack or sleep, I worked.

If someone would've told me to work overtime for no money back in Europe, I would've thought they're crazy. If someone would've told me to work all day 5 days a week back in Europe, I would've thought they are inhumane and a threat to society.

And then I came to Taiwan, got a new job and slowly fell into a Taiwanese work routine. At first I went home "early", which meant I only worked 2 hours overtime, instead of 5 (like most of my colleagues did). Even those 2 hours of unpaid overtime seemed crazy to me, especially because I didn't have much to do in the beginning. Every hour seemed endless and I felt: How the heck will I ever be able to work until 9 pm? (- the time that makes my boss happy). And today I finished at 9.30 pm and still felt I could stay longer.

On the way home I was thinking: WTF is happening to me? Am I slowly turning Taiwanese? I observed people on the bus and subway today, most were so tired. I'm sure most of them worked overtime until very late, until they nearly collapsed. It was a moment where I (for the first time) felt very connected to the Taiwanese people, I felt like I was one of them. But heck, why did it need to happen for the wrong reasons? We all seemed so screwed up. I came home at nearly 11 pm, took a shower, grabbed a bite to eat and decided to write this piece. Now it's midnight and if I don't want to look like a zombie tomorrow, I need to go to bed now, the night will be short anyway. And tomorrow won't be any different: Just like me, millions of Taiwanese will rot in the office with bad air cons trying to get something done. I'm now part of Taiwan's army of workers, who are fighting to keep the GDP high at all costs. Taiwan would not be one of the top economies in the world without our tireless effort to sell our products overseas.

But we're a tired army. Those of you, who enjoy life here, like teachers and journalists, if you see us, tap us on the back and shake our hands, we're also fighting for you. We have no life but work, lunch is our highlight of the day, we drink that coffee from 7/11 so we don't doze off...

My fellow Taiwanese, how long can we do this? How long will we keep saying it's only temporary?

Related: [Taipei Blues from 2010][Photo by MKL, 2011]

Taiwanese little green man

They walk and walk and walk...

The Taiwanese little green man is famous, because he is tirelessly walking and walking, sometimes for nearly 100 seconds at once. I am truly impressed by how much strength and perseverance they show every day. But when I see these little green men every day when I cross the road, I see myself and other Taiwanese reflected in them. They are like a symbol of Taiwan, they keep walking and working, they never complain about anything, they're just doing their job every day over and over again. I'm now a little green man, too. It's scary how fast you become one.

[more TAIWAN related]

Btw, do you also think that the photo is sexually explicit? :-P

Living in a condo in Taipei

What happened to my privacy?

A condominium like many others.

Last year I used to live in this area in a cheap apartment on ground level with a very small window, a bed, a desk, a TV and a bathroom. It was cheap, small and usually very dark. We went to check the apartment out in the evening and signed the contract right away, because we were in desperate need to get something reasonably priced as soon as possible. We had no idea that it will be so dark inside during the day and that was for me very hard to bear in the beginning. I used to live there alone and my wife (girlfriend at that time) used to visit me every evening. And even though the area was noisy, smelly and not very clean, the people were friendly (sometimes the convenience store clerks would chit chat with me) and everything we needed was available nearby for a good price (we even had a night market nearby, within 5 minutes of walk). The only thing that used to be a little troublesome sometimes was waiting for the garbage truck. But I felt free.

This year I'm living in a condo, similar to the one you see on the photo above. I live in one of the upper floors and have a good view of the surrounding area. I can even see the top of the Shin Kong Life Tower on a clear day. The apartment is not that much bigger, it's just one room with a small kitchen and a bathroom, but we pay almost double than for the one I rented last year. We have security guys, a lobby, elevators, a gym, a playground for kids and even a swimming pool (these are of course all common facilities). I like more space and I like the big windows, basically everything's fine so far, my wife chose a great place to live as a couple. But just the other day I was thinking: Where did my privacy go?

As you can imagine, I'm very obvious here. I'm a blonde white man and I'm always very interesting to the local population. The thing is, I can't lose myself in the pool of people like everybody else here. I will always be very easily remembered, people will wonder about me, probably saying things like: "Who's that young white guy every day passing by? What's he doing here?" "I saw him with a local girl, maybe he's married with her." "Oh, I see..." - That's a new situation for me. In Europe I'm "normal" and just one of many, here I'm "different" and one of the few. And not only that, I'm one of those few that are always sparking interest among the majority of people. That's of course very human and I can totally understand the locals, when they see me and become curious about me. I can live with that.

What bothers me more are the security guys. Every day when I leave my apartment, I need to pass through the lobby and greet one or more of them. And when I'm outside, another one will be there managing the traffic in front of our building and I need to say another hello or just throw a nod of recognition, when I pass by. And that basically means they know when I'm going out (to work) and when I'm returning home: I feel so monitored. It's like staying in a hotel with just a reception and no room service (How long could you take something like this?). Sometimes I feel like finding a way to sneak out without anyone seeing me just to get that feeling back, the one where I feel completely free.

Are you willing to trade security for less privacy? It's really hard sometimes, because where I grew up, we had nothing like that. Security personnel would be something you only see at factories, warehouses or government buildings. Growing up in a house surrounded by a forest marked me for life. In my heart I'm not a city person, but I know that living in Taipei is the best thing that ever happened to me. I want to enjoy it to the fullest, but at the same time I should not forget where I came from and where my heart really feels at home.

And the only ones, who monitored me there, were the chirping birds, that woke me up every morning. I hope I will see them again one day.

[My LIFE IN TAIWAN page][Photo by MKL, 2011]

New life, 2011

Greetings readers,

how have you been so far? I'm fine, but very tired recently. I started a new job, which is very demanding, but definitely the best one I ever had. I'm learning so much each day, but I'm at work almost all the time and have no time to do anything else during the week. That's something very new for someone like me, who used to be a freelancer. I'm adapting and learning fast, even though it's a completely new field for me. I have very friendly and supportive colleagues and the company is really top. Not sure, how often I will update my blog, but it will probably be less in the upcoming weeks, because I have a lot to learn and really need to pay attention to everything around me. Once I become "the master of my domain", I'll return to regular updating and reading other blogs. I seriously have no time now. I hope you understand.

I'm also trying to change my blog's layout. I'm currently tweaking this template, but the code is very complicated and making things the way I want proves to be very tedious and time consuming. I'm not sure, if I'll pick this one in the end, even though I love some features like the automatic read more function and the header with two link bars, that doesn't have a border on the left and right. Actually that's something I really want to have on my next layout, but I also want a template, where it's easy to add new widgets in Blogger's Page Elements (the one I mentioned before doesn't support that). If any of you geeks have some tips for me, I'm very eager to hear them. If you have links to great Blogger templates, share with me, but keep in mind, that I want a header like the one I linked to above.

Wishing you a great Sunday.

Your MKL

Cheap and fast haircut in Taipei

How I got my hair cut in no time for almost no money

Few days ago it was time to get a new haircut, because I was starting to grow a mop up there. My girlfriend and I went out to have a look around our neighborhood in order to find a good and affordable hairdresser. I'm actually very particular, when it comes to these things. Being a loyal customer, I usually choose one parlor and visit it regularly. In Taiwan's big cities, there are three things you will see almost on every corner: Food stalls, convenience stores and hair salons. It's amazing how many of the latter are close to where I live. One of them stood out immediately, because there was a big signboard that said: Extremely fast hair cut for 100 NDT (that's only 2.5 eur!). I was a little skeptical at first, I thought the price was too low and was afraid that the final result may not meet my expectations. After some time of hesitation and pondering, I finally gave green light to my girlfriend and we entered the shop.

That's how F100 looks from the outside. It's small and cozy.

And this is something I haven't seen before: A hair cut vending machine?

They ask you to insert 100 NTD into the machine and you get a number. After that you'd have to wait, but since there was nobody waiting before me, it was my turn right away. I sat down and my girlfriend explained to the girl, how I want my hair cut (which is always the same: short and thin). And then she put on her mask and started to snip snip like crazy.

She was very fast and skilled, I was impressed.

In the end, she vacuumed my head and I felt I was like a carpet.

You would not believe it, but in a little more than 10 minutes she was finished! How good was that? I can't stand hairdressers that need too long or those who talk to much. Especially in the small town near my home in Slovenia, where I usually went to cut my hair, they would constantly ask me personal stuff and gossip about other people, which made the whole session a long and unbearable torture (you can read more here).

But not here in Taipei: 極速剪髮 or F100 is a new concept, that came over here from Japan. Their philosophy is to cut hair for the cheapest price and as fast as possible. And they only cut and trim. No dying, no perming, no crazy hairdos... And what's best: They don't talk, they don't waste time. They are the McDonald's of hairdressers and I have to say I really like the concept. Currently they have 85 salons in various cities around Taiwan. There are also some other hair salons with a similar concept and pricing. One of them is QB cut, oftentimes found around Taipei's MRT stations.

I do have to add, that the cut wasn't perfect, but I don't want to nit pick, It's still good enough to make me return in the future and get my hair cut for a bowl of beef noodles. Who can beat that? So far, I haven't seen anybody else. Have you?