EDT 04:27 CEST 10:27 KST 17:27

Streams: 76 live
29928 total viewers

Active: 6993
Pizza Meter
Beyond the Summit and TL S…
[WCS KR] Code S Recap/Code…
[WCS AM] Ro16 Group B Prev…
WCS AM - Ro16 Interviews a…
AMD Premier League S1 Gran…
FXOpen acquires Seed from …
Crank, mOOnGLaDe interview…
LGD.cn and RaTtLeSnAkE Adv…
GomTV: about the gamespeed…
Papa John's explores EG, L…
TeamLiquid Map Contest Fin…
Liquid wins the Curse Invi…
New Get 50% off Papa Joh…
TL Advertising Features
[TV] HBO Game of Thrones
Syrian Civil War
New XBOX reveal May 21st
Best way to "move on" af…
Korean Music Discussion
Ask TL Staff Anything
Calgary Barcraft - MLG Spr…
2013 Philadelphia Starcraf…
Barcraft Ludwigshafen
New York, NY | WCS America…
The mOOnGLaDe Fanclub!
The Startale_Life Fanclub
mYinsanity's Weaklink (man…
Crayon ~ High Master
Any fix for Twitch tv lag?
Computer Build Resource Th…
Windows 8...should I upgra…
Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lio…
Mechanical Keyboard Guide
FXOpen acquires Seed fro…
Designated Balance Discu…
Crank, mOOnGLaDe intervi…
Post your Papa John's Es…
Papa John's explores EG,…
[Interview] 2013 WCS KR …
[Code S] Placement Matches…
[SPL] Team 8 vs. KT Rolste…
[Code A] Ro24 Day 2 2013 W…
[WCS AM] RO16 Group B Prem…
[SHOUTcraft AM] Final - Ma…
The HotS Protoss Help Me T…
[H][D] ZvX Timings (HotS)
CatZ CC first counter - a …
[D] Innovation's TvZ (CC f…
[G] NaNiwa's PvZ (vs HyuN)…
TeamLiquid Map Contest Fin…
[M] (4) TPW Strangewood Mire
[D] Favorite Maps that Did…
OneGoal: A better SC2 [Pro…
[M] (4v4) ESV Retribution
Beyond the Summit and TL…
General Discussion
The Great Dota 2 Key Req…
Inhouse Dota
Dota 2 funny pics thread
Dota 2 QQ thread
Perfect World's Dota 2 Su…
[The International] Easter…
Liquid Pasture Community L…
[TPL S5] Demon Edge Cup
Sticky Flames Weekly Dota …
Simple Questions, Simple A…
[H] Night Stalker
[G] Clockwerk, The Offlani…
Learning Dota 2
[G]uide to Lifestealer
Pucca Comeback?
[D] New BW Server
Op TeamLiquid @ iCCup
DES Sonic Interview 5/18…
[Update] itemBay SSL Gra…
SC2 Player looking to le…
D Ranks Teamleague Season 4
[GC S3] Gambit's Cup Semif…
C Ranks Teamleague Season 1
[TLS2] Qualifier #4
Gem League II
Practice Partner Thread
Challenger map on Starcraf…
Simple Questions, Simple A…
Increasing APM/EAPM
Rift: Planes of Telara
RollPlay -- D&D Campaign…
NBA Playoffs 2013
Magic: The Gathering Onl…
Counter-Strike: Global O…
[Patch 3.07: Nerf Everythi…
[HELP] i CAN'T play melee …
The Shikyo Memorial for QQ…
[LCS] All-Star Tournament
[D] Pro Scene Evolution
[OGN] Olympus The Champion…
[Guide] Montegomery's Supe…
[Champion] Fiora
[TL R&D] T.R.O.L.L.S.
D3 Hardcore Community
The: What is my item worth?
Wizard builds /discussions
[T] Bastard "Mini" Mafia!
[M][N] Les Mafia
Doctor Who Mafia Voting th…
TL Health and Fitness Init…
Running Thread
The 2013 Weightlifting Pro…
Leta - Movie
Michael - skyline
Anytime - Beast
By.Hero - Shuttle
Anytime - Pusan

Website Feedback

Closed Threads

IRC Chat
irc.quakenet.org #teamliquid

IRC Web Client

TeamSpeak 3 (48 users)

Taiwan Update 1: An Introduction

Forum Index > Blogs
 
 exalted   United States. May 01 2012 08:16. Posts 3611
Profile Blog # 
I've lived in Taiwan for over six years now. When I first went to Taiwan, I was 17 and was everything a young nerd should be - intelligent enough to feel cocky about it, socially awkward, physically weak, broke...

Of course, most importantly I was eager to break away from my family and become my own entity! Since then, I can confidently say I've seen and experienced the spectrum. I graduated college, had a girlfriend, became financially independent, travelled and lived and experienced both a peniless and baller lifestyle. Like Rekrul in Korea, I've seen both the light and dark sides of the country (although he's only familiar with the path of night).

I am now at a turning point in my life and will be leaving Taiwan to start a more "standard" career. So, it is only fitting I commit my wealth of experiences to writing in the hopes that it entertains you!

===
Noticeable Differences about Taiwan (compared to East Coast, USA)

The first things that come to mind are:
- You do not have to tip (restaurants, delivery, haircut), and even better, a lot of those places have student discounts. I still take advantage of this to this day.

- There is national health insurance, and its coverage is good. Clinics always have a lot of people because getting a check-up is ~$5-10. I had a wisdom tooth pulled for $20. Unfortunately, I am no longer covered as I am not a student or working here. Even then, medical costs are very affordable compared to the obscene amounts charged in the US. For that reason a lot of people come to Asia for health-tourism (dental work, plastic surgery, etc.).

- Unlike say, Korea and Japan, Taiwan is very foreigner friendly (perhaps especially towards Americans). Baseball and basketball are both very popular here - Linsanity was the worst; my entire Facebook feed was spammed by both Asian-Americans and my Taiwanese homies. While I have not yet met a white girl serious about learning Chinese, it is pretty common to get female numbers because they want to be your "language exchange partner".

- The average person doesn't make a lot of money. The college graduates I know make ~$1300-1600 a month, and a lot of them work ~50 hour weeks. For that reason, they are forced to live a pretty nitty lifestyle. For my first two years of college, my Dad gave me $300 a month for expenses. Back then (2006) I was obssesed with Starcraft 1 and my birthday wants were "Logitech MX300", "Func 1030 Surface" [which I still have to this day] and "mouse glider stickers". Ah, those were simpler times.

There's a wide variety of things I can talk about, so please comment and give me suggestions for future entries. Gogo!
Last edit: 2012-05-01 08:17:35


***
too easy
Old Post

 
 drsnuggles   Korea (South). May 01 2012 08:51. Posts 307
Profile Blog # 
Sounds good
How good is your mandarin?
What did you study and at which university?
Whats your plan after graduating (or w/e your planning to do next now etc.)?
Old Post

 
 leo23   United States. May 01 2012 08:57. Posts 2842
Profile Blog # 

On May 01 2012 08:16 exalted wrote:
... While I have not yet met a white girl serious about learning Chinese, it is pretty common to get female numbers because they want to be your "language exchange partner".
...



better exchange some tongues with them...

anyways how is the gaming scene there? they have a taiwanese esports league or something i remember from sen's gama bears
banelings
Old Post

  Game   May 01 2012 09:26. Posts 3026Profile Blog # 
I remember you... it's very hard to imagine that the exalted from 2006 actually became a functioning human being. Good to know about the tourism in Taiwan, and I was just discussing medical care internationally (specifically Taiwan, Thailand, Japan) today with my father. I think I'll have to show him this since he argued that healthcare was immediate and free basically everywhere in Asia, and good for the rest of the world, while America's is the devil.
Last edit: 2012-05-01 09:27:08
SC is like sex. You should play often, but never too hard. And you should only try hard when it matters.
Old Post

 
 Azera   Singapore. May 01 2012 09:59. Posts 3367
Profile Blog # 
FINALLY!
Trudge comfortably | Check out some glorious music made by TLers - http://bit.ly/QXYhdb , by intrigue. http://bit.ly/RTjpOR , by ohsea.toc.
Old Post

 
 haduken   Australia. May 01 2012 10:49. Posts 6895
Profile Blog # 
Good work bro, still remember your old posts and its being a while.

So what are you going to do in US?
Rillanon.au
Old Post

 
 Carson   Canada. May 01 2012 11:33. Posts 820
Profile # 
That is awesome, I am moving to Qingdao soon.

I am also wondering how well you picked up the language as far as speaking/reading/writing.

What do you miss most about home?
"You have to remember something: Everybody pities the weak; jealousy you have to earn." Arnold Schwarzenegger
Old Post

 
 Ack1027   United States. May 01 2012 12:16. Posts 7023
Profile Blog # 
More interested in a series of posts about
+ Show Spoiler +

With Taiwan as a backdrop!

[ TL's #1 Boxer fan since '04 ]
Old Post

Please log in or register to reply.
 
Refresh
StarCraft: Brood War
StarCraft 2
League of Legends
Other Notable Streams
[ Show 71 non-featured ]

» Recent SC2 Results
» Premier SC2 Tournaments
Sidebar Settings...

The Little App Factory



The opinions expressed by our users do not reflect the official position of TeamLiquid.net or its staff.

Advertising | Jobs | Privacy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren. Ad tag: TF_US.
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2002-2013 Teamliquid.net. All Rights Reserved