Even after all these years, it's hard for me to get used to how unfriendly Taiwanese people are. Or perhaps that's not the right way to put it, rather people just aren't so considerate or caring of strangers and friends. Granted you can't necessarily say this is bad, it's just a cultural difference here. But still it's strange to not say hello to other people on the street or in elevators. And the way people don't put themselves out for friends is rough.
Foreigners in Taiwan usually have several Taiwanese guys/gals interested in them. Yes this mostly has to do with being different, idolization of western culture, the excitement of something new, etc. But one big part of it that nobody mentions is because foreigners are nice. Yes for the most part we are arrogant, self entitled jerks, but we also treat our friends very well.
Granted I would say we don't treat them any differently than we would back home, but here in Taiwan, the western way of treating your friend is considered extreme kindness here. I've mentioned many times that in Taiwan family is the first, second, and third most important thing to people. But even on top of that, at a young age because of school rankings and the value of "face" people are taught to compete against each other. There really is no such thing as organized sports for kids, or working in groups in school. So everybody is essentially your enemy as you try to be better than them.
So that's why foreigners can be so appealing, because they are so nice and really put themselves out for their friends. but this can be also be a problem. Often there can be misunderstandings with people, because the normal way we treat people is viewed was extremely nice here. So it can get people to develop feelings for us, or make them think we interested in them. No foreigner can be here long without some misunderstanding because they were "too nice."
I hate being called this, not that it hurts me personally, but it makes me feel horrible for Taiwanese people. That they don't have friends who would treat them well and put their friends' happiness before their own. It actually really depresses me that friends i care about aren't treated so well by the people they call "friends."
Anyway the picture above is an example of me being "too nice." For about the first six months of the iphone 4's release, it was impossible to get in Taiwan. Only one phone company sold it and in the morning each branch would only have a few to sell. A lot of friends wanted it, but the only way to get it was to line up for a few hours in the morning before it opened up. At that time I lived near one of the branches, so on my way home at night I would check to see how many they would have for sale the next morning. Then in the early morning my dog and I would go for a walk, and I would check if anybody was in line, if nobody was in line, i would line up and call a friend to tell them they can come when the store opens to get one. It really was no big deal, my friends wanted them, and I was nearby and up, and to me the weather isn't cold. Sitting outside watching videos on my iphone or reading a book is a small price to pay for a friend's happiness. But I would never tell other people about this because their reaction would just make me upset. It would always be "i would never do that for a friend" or "maybe my bf/gf" or "maybe my brother/sister. This kind of attitude would always upset me and I would reply "than what is the point of a friend? saying somebody is your friend means you would do this for them." Argh, i'm getting angry just writing this.
