Now Ye're Talking - to an Irish man in Taiwan

Boards.ie: Niamh

After a bit of a hiatus, we're back with our first AMA for 2017! If you think people would like to hear from you, please do apply to do one here.

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Our next AMA is with an Irish man living and working in Taiwan, an island state known as the Republic of China.
He is married to a Taiwanese lady and works as a Kindergarten teacher - he tells us that as a foreigner this is technically not legal! He has also lived in both Shanghai in east China and Munich, Germany for a time.

Please welcome Bounty Hunter and ask him a few questions...bear the time difference in mind, he is GMT+8 hours so way ahead of us

irishgeo

does he see state censorship in action everyday?

Bounty Hunter

Not really. It is easier for me to say that too having lived in Shanghai. There I did and when you think of how major sites like Facebook are blocked in China you know without even looking for it that there is a lot of censorship. I think in many ways Taiwan likes to differentiate itself as much from China as possible in things like that even though I am sure there is still some, for example I always laugh watching some channels here like Cos I get some extra English channels I have comedy central and they cut out a load of jokes from shows there or movies (and often as a result the scene doesn't make a lot of sense as a result). This is on the other end of the scale of censorship though and is mostly just done to make the TV cleaner and thus more suitable for TW audience and probably so the channels can repeat popular shows before a later watershed time.

Taiwan is a funny old place because I remember the day after I arrived around 7 years ago (have not been here the full 7 years though) was 10/10 which is essentially Taiwan's independence day but China just kinda ignores it happening every year and says it's part of China.

Balmed Out

In Ireland I haven't come across a male Montessori teacher, I think due to certain ridiculous sexist attitudes. Is there a different culture in Taiwan in this regard or are you just unusual in that regard.

Bounty Hunter

Actually all 3 of the kindergarten teachers in my school are men. I think In Ireland it tends to be mostly women teaching kindie / primary and men gets more prominant with secondary and College. Here though it's very different as I think you get a lot more men than you'd usually get in the industry due to the fact that it also needs to be the type of person willing to live on the other side of the world in a non english speaking country. Also my school I know look for people who have a marrage ARC (alien residence card) instead of just a normal one in part because married teachers are more stable as there is huge turnover with people travelling / working for a year or two. Foreign Men are also far more likely to be married here than Foreign women from my experience.

When I lived in Shanghai I was working in an international kindergarten and remember one parent saying(at a PTA) that he was happy I was his kids teacher as the kid doesn't have much of a male influence at home cos he (The Dad) was never at home. It was weird

Lucena

What language do they (and you) speak over there. A quick look at Wikipedia shows that Min, and not Mandarin, is the language there. So is Mandarin used in business and education and Min in everyday life, or is Mandarin rejected as the language of the enemy?

blackdog2

What is the job market like for non-teaching jobs now? Was there for a year (Christ, that was 6.5 years ago now) and outside of a few high-level postings, wasn't much going on.

Edit - Haven't gotten around to updating the ol' location

BrokenArrows

Whats the standard of life there vs income?

In Ireland I would assume Kindergarten teachers don't earn a lot. Is it possible to support a family on this or does your wife also have to work?

I live in London myself and earn a decent amount of money but any teachers i know find it hard to get by as its a very expensive city.

blackdog2

Lucena wrote: »

What language do they (and you) speak over there. A quick look at Wikipedia shows that Min, and not Mandarin, is the language there. So is Mandarin used in business and education and Min in everyday life, or is Mandarin rejected as the language of the enemy?

Will be very rude and jump in here, Mandarin is the everyday language up north, Taiwanese (a variation of min) is the everyday language from the center of the Island down. In a lot of business Mandarin is the defacto language, although a fair whack of people are bilingual, and again down south it is entirely different.

There are also a ton of aboriginal languages, and some dialects which are really sister languages (a surprising amount of Cantonese amongst older people whose parents came over during the civil war)

Edit again, Seems like I was wrong - the Taiwanese languages are unrelated to Min - left the place 5 years ago, still learning!

beakerjoe

Hi BH. What made you venture to Taiwan to being with?

unkel

Are you and the people around you afraid China could step in any time and annex Taiwan? If that happens, what are the consequences for yourself?

OU812

What do they call Chinese Food over there?

artemis268

As an irish, have you considered applying for Taiwanese citizenship?

Shannon757

What is the train service like in Taiwan?

Bounty Hunter

Lucena wrote: »

What language do they (and you) speak over there. A quick look at Wikipedia shows that Min, and not Mandarin, is the language there. So is Mandarin used in business and education and Min in everyday life, or is Mandarin rejected as the language of the enemy?

to simplify things Min = Taiwanese and it's similar to Irish in terms of more older people and more rural people speak Irish but I would say that is still more commonly spoken than Irish. I just call what is spoken Chinese tbh but most people back home refer to it as Mandarin. The thing is though in Taiwan it's Traditional Chinese while China use simplified which is why you see two chinese options if you ever use google translate.

Personally my Chinese is terrible and I know it should be far better. For the majority of the time here I've had only what I would consider survival Chinese and I consider myself a terrible student... I did actually go to college here to learn Chinese for a good few months (6 iirc and 3 of it was part funded by the Irish / Taiwanese association grant I got (actually would have to check the organizations actual name. but cos my written Chinese was poor I had to enter at complete beginner and eventually wanted to do full time work again and make a good living.

BrokenArrows wrote: »

Whats the standard of life there vs income?

In Ireland I would assume Kindergarten teachers don't earn a lot. Is it possible to support a family on this or does your wife also have to work?

I live in London myself and earn a decent amount of money but any teachers i know find it hard to get by as its a very expensive city.

My wife does also work, In publishing but we don't have a family yet so it's not too bad and now we are saving for such things after moving around a good bit.

The wage and standard of living especially when compared to cost of living is very good for a foreigner here especially when compared to local people doing similar jobs. This is especially the case when you compare local and foreign teachers in the same schools as often the English teacher is a big selling point for the school and a bit of a front for them as they sell the whole taught by a native speaker narrative. they know however that unlike in Ireland they have to offer a decent wage to get people to want to move there to work.

in terms of per hour wage it might not sound like a lot but cost of living here is very low while it is still a developed country.

beakerjoe wrote: »

Hi BH. What made you venture to Taiwan to being with?

Originally it was a mix of things but timing mostly. It was when the economy was getting really bad in Ireland I had had a years experience sub teaching in Ireland but (there were not too many jobs going and I) was the age where I still wanted to travel while earning. I actually applied to a lot of countries after I did the specific Teaching English as a Foreign Language course but the one that replied at the right speed for how ready I was to move was from Taiwan and the cost of living plus interesting location seemed Ideal. I guess in part because I didn't expect it to necessarily be a long term gig but getting married kinda changed that.

unkel wrote: »

Are you and the people around you afraid China could step in any time and annex Taiwan? If that happens, what are the consequences for yourself?

I would say nobody is afraid of that and yet the weird thing is I've heard people still say they would not be shocked if in 10 years China did take over. Instead though it seems Taiwan will just continue to be essentially it's own continue in every way possible apart from being recognized internationally as it's own country. Ireland don't even have an embassy here.

OU812 wrote: »

What do they call Chinese Food over there?

Most English speakers would actually still say Chinese Food

artemis268 wrote: »

As an irish, have you considered applying for Taiwanese citizenship?

I think there would be very little benefits in doing so compared to my current status under my marriage visa and there may be benefits if we have kids, me just being an Irish citizen but inlaws say far too much stuff about when you have kids to you here.

Bounty Hunter

Shannon757 wrote: »

What is the train service like in Taiwan?

Really good. The MRT (metro) covers Tapei brilliantly and you are never far from a station plus there is a train for almost every line within a few minutes. Makes it so I haven't driven while I've been here. Though I do like to Cycle to work too.

dwayneshintzy

Are you playing any GAA? Involved in the Irish community much?

Bounty Hunter

dwayneshintzy wrote: »

Are you playing any GAA? Involved in the Irish community much?

There is a GAA team near enough to where I am living at the moment but I haven't been too involved in the Irish community. I have a few Irish friends here but I mostly spend time either with Taiwanese people or my work people who are Canadian and South African. I thought about getting involved in the Rugby team here but tbh with the amount of hours (all on my feet essentially) I am doing now plus cycling I get about enough exercise and need weekends to relax.

dwayneshintzy

Asian Games is always a class weekend for the GAA, in Shanghai last two years but moving to Bangkok this year.

What's the Taiwan view on mainlanders?

Kerrydude1981

What would be the national sport of Taiwan?

Bounty Hunter

dwayneshintzy wrote: »

Asian Games is always a class weekend for the GAA, in Shanghai last two years but moving to Bangkok this year.

What's the Taiwan view on mainlanders?

That they are generally a little bit ruder / direct would be the main thing I think. When I lived there examples of big changes from TW was how often people spit on the floor in China or how they will ask you how much you get payed and / or pay in rent the first time they meet you. There is also a much bigger difference between the rich and non rich in China imo and because TW didn't have the same limitations on numbers of kids that China did there is def the image that people from China can be a bit more self entitled having been single children who maybe are used to getting things their own way etc.

Kerrydude1981 wrote: »

What would be the national sport of Taiwan?

Baseball would be the biggest sport here. The NBA is pretty big and Jeremy Lin is a pretty big star cos he's Taiwanese American. Actually running is pretty big which is how I ended up doing a lot of half Marathons while living here.

super_furry

How's the food? Similar to China or do the have a distinct cuisine?

Bounty Hunter

I would say it's similar to China, although eating foreign food is probably more common here in general because there is less of a wage gap in TW imo and there is a good lot of fried stuff here despite people generally eating healthily. It's rare enough you get overweight Taiwanese people. The most famous TWese food is probably not a great example for foreign people as it's stinky tofu but despite that I generally like the food.

Thing is people eat out a lot more here in TW than say in Ireland as it is so cheap and it can actually cost almost as much to cook for yourself at home anyway.

blackdog2

How easy is online shopping these days? I remember that everyone had stuff delivered to 7-11, but there was no Amazon or the like, I couldn't for the life of me figure out where it was all coming from

If you are in Taipei, are rents still on an upward trajectory? have wages kept up over the last 4 years or so?

Bounty Hunter

I think wages have kept at the same kinda level, rent is dependent on the areas but Taipei is always expanding and people are going to the now more built up outskirts to get good rent. Places like Nangang or Xike have great transport to them and are built up but the rent is much less for example. Rent is obviously cheaper outside or Taipei / down south.

It's still the same with 7/11 and Amazon. I find it kinda weird but I guess there is a convenience store on every block of every street essentially so it kinda makes sense its so central and I think there are just a lot more smaller sites instead of Amazon but im sure it'll eventually buy into this market.

artanevilla

How much is a pint?

And are there many Villa fans over there?

Bounty Hunter

artanevilla wrote: »

How much is a pint?

And are there many Villa fans over there?

It's cheaper here if you'd convert the cost to euros but Drinking is one of the few things where you could spend a lot cos unlike eating out and other things it isn't as cheap as they are in comparison.

Let's just say There aren't huge amounts of people staying up to watch Villa play in the championship on a stream here with me. :pac:

Kerrydude1981

Bounty Hunter wrote: »

It's cheaper here if you'd convert the cost to euros but Drinking is one of the few things where you could spend a lot cos unlike eating out and other things it isn't as cheap as they are in comparison.

Let's just say There aren't huge amounts of people staying up to watch Villa play in the championship on a stream here with me. :pac:

What kind of internet speeds do you get?

J Mysterio

Do people know anything about Ireland? Where it is, its history and culture?

How did you meet your wife?

Are you super attractive as a Westerner?

Is there the ratio of like 4 men to a woman there or is that different due to the aabsence of the one child rule?

Is there a dole, minimum wage?

jaykhunter

Hey BH! Are there any day to day things we'd take for granted in Ireland but you can't in TW, or otherwise? Eg drinking tap water, plumbing?

Also can u explain internet shopping re: amazon/7-11? Is it just you collect it from 7-11s and everything else is the same? Are there crazy import charges?

As a Westerner are you treated differently when you're shopping/going out to eat (with/without the missus)?

the_syco

Has there been any tension since Trumps phone call to Taiwans president? Or how was that taken by Taiwans people? Do they think he's using them as a pawn?

Bounty Hunter

Kerrydude1981 wrote: »

What kind of internet speeds do you get?

Just as fast as home or faster usually but imo the difference is always based on where your located and where I am in Taipei is so densly populated I expect good internet but it can be slower down the country for example my inlaws always have a crap connection but aren't exactly the most tech savy.

J Mysterio wrote: »

Do people know anything about Ireland? Where it is, its history and culture?

How did you meet your wife?

Are you super attractive as a Westerner?

Is there the ratio of like 4 men to a woman there or is that different due to the aabsence of the one child rule?

Is there a dole, minimum wage?

I would say on average most people in Taiwan probably know a similar amount to what most people in Ireland would know about Taiwan if say they had never been to Asia. That said I have gotten questions like is that in Europe ? Is that part of England / America ? or if Irish people are native speakers of English?

Met my wife through a friend. She actually tutored English at the time (but we never worked together) which was good as she obviously had a high level of English and tbh I couldn't do what I've seen many foreigners do and sate a girl when you can't be fully sure she actually gets all of what your saying.

It is weird here in terms of attractiveness as there is some ingrained racism here where people do consider white people more attractive and the more tanned (going all the way back to farmers / construction workers etc being tanned while the rich folk weren't) being considered somewhat more attractive, and yes black people get the negative end of that too. They like white folk also I guess are different to the norm and that can be considered more attractive too. Plus they are also expected to be wealthy enough (you generally don't see a poor white non backpacker in Taiwan) so despite what girls might say that will make someone hotter. So I guess white guys can have it pretty good.

I don't think there is much of a ratio difference here because there weren't restrictions but the first born child can often still be a little prince in wealthy families.

There is a minimum wage and it is really low imo but they don't pay foreigners anywhere near that (i'd say the avg foreigner makes at least 4 times minimum wage).

jaykhunter wrote: »

Hey BH! Are there any day to day things we'd take for granted in Ireland but you can't in TW, or otherwise? Eg drinking tap water, plumbing?

Also can u explain internet shopping re: amazon/7-11? Is it just you collect it from 7-11s and everything else is the same? Are there crazy import charges?

As a Westerner are you treated differently when you're shopping/going out to eat (with/without the missus)?

Hey Brah, Water is a good example actually, I just bought a big box of water bottles from Carrefour cos thats exactly what we do. That said from my travels I've noticed that isn't really all that uncommon and Ireland is actually one of the only places where tap water is generally always considered all good. I guess most things from Ireland you can still get here but maybe you'd have to go to specialty stores or foreign supermarkets. There are actually a good lot of benefits too though like how when we moved back here after living in Germany we realized that stores and restaurants are always open late in Taipei, and when we I moved here initially it was nice to be in a place where Crime essentially is not a thing you see.

Yeah essentially everyone gets everything shipped through 7/11, Family Mart, Hi Life etc instead of from their home and yep there is no Taiwanese Amazon but if you did use actual amazon you would get screwed on charges. My wife for example bough and sold a load of books a few days ago on a taiwanese site and popped into Hi Life to have then sent off / to collect them when they were delivered. those shops are on every block of every street and always open 24/7 and really surve a lot of purposes for example I actually just payed my internet bill at the same store my wife sent her books from.

With regards being treated differently, people are really nice here so maybe if the missus wasn't around they would make an effort and try to speak whatever English they could to you etc but depending on where you go you might have little kids staring at you because well your not normal to them and they are innocently curious.

the_syco wrote: »

Has there been any tension since Trumps phone call to Taiwans president? Or how was that taken by Taiwans people? Do they think he's using them as a pawn?

People talked about the Trump call and obviously it was big news but I dunno it seems more like it was a side attraction not being taken too seriously much like I would imagine the common persons opinion of Trump in general here. Obviously the politicians would take it more seriously as they are playing that game of being stuck between China and their own issues there and China / Trump but Taiwan isn't going to rock them boats.

dwayneshintzy

Are you a qualified teacher? If so, have you considered the international school route? If not, have you looked into any PGDEs?

Bounty Hunter

I am a qualified teacher to Teach English as a Foreign language but that cert is the only one I have (outside of the Media related degree I have from another life) because I actually left a PGCE course before as I had appendicitis (but didn't know what it was at first) and missed too much placement time. That said I am perfectly qualified for what I am doing at the moment and it is a 9-5 type, monday to friday which isn't normal for hourly paid English teachers here who normally only do around 20 hours a week teaching kids after they have gone to school in a 2nd school.

dwayneshintzy

Ah sorry I meant for qualified teacher status, not that I thought you were teaching without any qualifications at all. I'm in Asia myself (in another "China but not really" country) and teaching in a primary school. I've only got a CELTA, but have applied to join a part-time PGDE.

Have you had to do interviews for prospective kindergartent students? I've done some (interviewing 2 year olds), and it's interesting to say the least......

Bounty Hunter

I remember doing a few of those for new kids joining up when I taught in an International Kindergarten in Shanghai, I remember one where I think the kid was 4 and he was smart but the dad was sitting in too and kept telling me things like how the kid wants to be an architecht when he played with some blocks and that he would go to America to study when he's older when he read a book. Whatever you say rich dude your kid can handle listening to teacher talk about animals, the weather and how to wash his hands so he's all good to me.

I find it weird when parents or schools ask you to name (just their English name obviously) their kids.

dwayneshintzy

What are some of the best "English" names you've had?

Blogman is the best I've come across. Also had an o2, Krell, Kennex and assorted other ridiculous ones.

Bounty Hunter

I always remember when I taught 3 brothers called Handsome, Dragon & Frank... Frank has never sounded like a lamer name.

pilly

Bounty Hunter wrote:

I find it weird when parents or schools ask you to name (just their English name obviously) their kids.

How do you mean name them? Pick a random English name or translate their own name?

Bounty Hunter

just pick a name for them although if im asked I usually do something like the later anyway and ask their chinese name and then find a similar sounding English name.

John_D80

If you and your wife decide to have a family, would you rather raise your children in Taiwan or Ireland?

Have you ever been the victim of Racism/xenophobia in Taiwan?

Are there any items of food that would usually appear on the menu of a chinese restaurant in Ireland that are actually chinese cuisine, or resemble it?

Bounty Hunter

John_D80 wrote: »

If you and your wife decide to have a family, would you rather raise your children in Taiwan or Ireland?

Have you ever been the victim of Racism/xenophobia in Taiwan?

Are there any items of food that would usually appear on the menu of a chinese restaurant in Ireland that are actually chinese cuisine, or resemble it?

I wrote a really long answer to this then my internet crapped out on me... so let's so how it goes this time...

We probably will have a family and although we both like the idea of raising a kid in Ireland for many reasons inc the good environment and education it might make more sense for us to be in Taiwan. Probably more job opportunities for the two of us (and tbh money is important when raising a kid) plus I'd imagine the kid would have a better chance of being bi-lingual growing up in a mostly English speaking home in a Chinese speaking country than the alternative and that is already a massive leg up for a kid when they grow up.

In Taiwan it is often the other way round with people being really nice and going out of their way to help you but thats not to say there isn't racism there is just it's less prevalent perhaps and often it's not against white males (although it does happen, usually by middle aged Taiwanese men who are jealous of the foreigner).

In China it can be odd with them making the assumption that every white dude is Rich. I remember cycling in Shanghai with the missus and stopping to get our tires pumped and some random guy just walking up to her and saying "why doesen't he buy you a car?" (in chinese I could understand) umm thank you random stranger who doesn't even know what her relationship is to me

I went into more detail on the food thing before (the internet crapped out on me) but I guess youd get the same things but under different names here and they might only be parts of a whole dish at home but you order more individual dishes than whole meals here and then share.

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

Is there a lot of exposure to Chinese media in Taiwan, in the same way that we in Ireland get a lot of English media - or is it more homogenous (given Taiwan's much larger population than ours)?

Bounty Hunter

There is both but i'd say in general the latter wins out with it being Taiwanese media at it's core but you get some Chinese and some western channels too.

Actually just with the comparisons it's worth pointing out that Taiwan is half the size of Ireland, a huge percentage of it is covered with big mountains but still there is 23.5m people here. Lots of nature, hiking, lakes, seaside etc but still very built up cities.

irish_goat

Bounty Hunter wrote: »

just pick a name for them although if im asked I usually do something like the later anyway and ask their chinese name and then find a similar sounding English name.

Start a thread in After Hours and we'll help name the next batch.

Lucena

I taught some Chinese students a long time ago, they chose very strange English-language names sometimes. The only two I can remember now are 'Washington' and 'Green'!

Bounty Hunter

irish_goat wrote: »

Start a thread in After Hours and we'll help name the next batch.

Tbh they are generally named before they get to me. Sounds bad but I always remember back to seeing Chinese staff in places like McDonalds as a kid, seeing them with name tags like Pat or Tom and thinking, that's not your name and now im giving them those names.

Lucena wrote: »

I taught some Chinese students a long time ago, they chose very strange English-language names sometimes. The only two I can remember now are 'Washington' and 'Green'!

they sound about right. some go through several names however

Gloomtastic!

What's wrong with a Taiwanese Christmas?

Bounty Hunter

Well there are no days off from work for one thing so it essentially just serves to make me crave the Chinese New Year break even more and feel like I need a holiday for an extra month.

Mr Whom

Is it true you can buy machetes made from the shells the Chinese fired at the islands in the 1950s?

Bounty Hunter

Mr Whom wrote: »

Is it true you can buy machetes made from the shells the Chinese fired at the islands in the 1950s?

I've never seen nor heard of that... but that doesn't mean it's not true now.