Tuesday, April 28, 2009

How many Taiwanese does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

Here's the story behind the punchline.

I bumped into a female Taiwanese colleague in the elevator at work the other day. It seemed early and she looked like she was leaving so I asked her where she was going. She said home.

"Oh, to do what?," I asked.

"To change a lightbulb," she said.

"Why not later after work?," I decided to ask.

"Because a plumber is coming over to change it for me," she said matter-of-factly.

"Ok, can't you change the bulb yourself? I mean it's easy," I questioned.

"(Oh you silly foreigner) I'm a Taiwanese girl," she replied.

Yes, you certainly are, I thought.

Turns out that she didn't know anything about switching off breakers or electricity I guess and was willing to pay to have someone do a simple thing like this. This can happen in Taiwan where the girls often really play the part.

So to repeat from the beginning:
How many Taiwanese does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
Evidently, in a Taiwanese girl's case, it might mean at least two...

Thursday, April 16, 2009

NIN makes a date with Taipei

NIN is coming to Taipei.
This will be a big concert for alternate music lovers out there.

Date: August 12, 2009 (Wednesday)
Time: 20:00 (18:00 Admission)
Venue: South 101 (Nankang)
Fare Zoning: A / B / C (all standing)

On-line ticket sales start April 13
Contact's ticket sales http://www.ticket.com.tw/dm.asp?P1=0000009580

PRICING:
Before April 30 special: A zone 2600 / B zone 1800 / C zone 1200
Before May 30 special: A zone 2700 / B zone 1900 / C zone 1300
Regular A zone︰ 3000 / B zone 2200 / C zone 1600

See you there!

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Don't call me Laowai, bitch!

Are you a little tired at being called Laowai? Don't like to be lumped in that category? It seems to be a tad too negative for my liking. Kind of like lumping foreigners in a 'can't be like us Chinese category'.

But what else can we be called? WaiGuoRen (foreign person) is ok although still implies outsider (not like us). YangGuiZi (foreign ghost or devil) is a bit much.

[More about those terms here]

Or should we really be thinking about what to call ourselves? I think it's about time we had an endonym to call ourselves, the foreigners living in Taiwan. Enough of these antiquated and loaded names (exonyms) that locals have for us. Anyone have any ideas?

Foreign friend? Foreign guest? Foreign slave? Something else?

Alternatively we could just start calling each other LaoWai and make the word our own much like some Taiwanese have twisted the term TaiKe.

When I see you on the street and you hear me say, "What's up LaoWai?" you could reply "Laowai, long time no see". It might worth the trouble to say how locals react.

On a final note, a friend of mine once drunkenly blurted out, "Caucasian is just Asian with a 'Cauc' ". He was a 'Cauc' alright for saying that. But at least he took a shot at claiming a stake to the name.

Take your best shot whether it be serious or idiotic. What name should we, the foreigners of Taiwan, lay claim to?

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