The schedule that most foreign teachers have (mornings and early afternoons off, working in the late afternoon until around 10:30 at night), affects the friends we have. Meaning our friends are usually people who have a lot of free time during the daylight hours. So college/grad students, retired people, doctors, salesmen, and flight attendants.
Most of these jobs are pretty self explanatory, but i don't think I've ever talked about flight attendants in Taiwan. Remember the 1960s and 70s in America when being a flight attendant was considered a great job for women and that they should aspire to be flight attendants. And at that time only the most attractive of ladies could become a flight attendant. Well fear not my friends, sexism is alive and well in Taiwan, as that is how things still are here.
For women in Taiwan (there are not many male flight attendants) it may be the highest status job you can get. It is because flight attendants are regarded as being the the prettiest women in Taiwan, and also quite smart, since they have to be well spoken in a variety of languages.
It's also a job very few people have. There are two major airlines and each year they only accept anywhere from zero to ten new flight attendants (out of thousands of applicants). Meaning it's easier for a woman in Taiwan to become a doctor than it is to become a flight attendant.
Surprisingly, in Taiwan it's actually a pretty good job. While being a flight attendant in America seems like a punishment, in Taiwan it's pretty great. Yes the work is hard on your body, but the opportunities for travel are immense. While American flight attendants deal with mainly domestic flights, Taiwanese ones are always traveling abroad. Almost once a week they are spending a day or more in another country. It really is a great way to essentially get paid to see the world.
And when they are in Taiwan they will get a few days off, which is why they are good friends for foreign teachers to have. Although I always feel a bit embarrassed when I tell people my friends are flight attendants. This is because they will assume that it's because they are pretty. In fact in Taiwan flight attendants are always being pursued by a swarm of Taiwanese guys, as it's a symbol of status to date a flight attendant. The truth is however, that honestly flight attendants aren't attractive to most foreigners, as their style of "pretty" is more appealing to Taiwanese than to foreigners.
Actually we usually get teased for all the above mentioned friends we have. College/grad students = "oh you like young girls." Retirees/doctors/sales = "you are chasing money." They can't really get that it's all about scheduling. And it really goes with the stereotype that while taiwanese men and women can be friends, if any lady is even standing next to a foreigner than people assume they must be dating. Also the very interesting situation where Taiwanese men aren't very interested in making friends with foreigners (neither men or women), so most friends that foreigners have are female. I'll have to go more into why this is, in future posts.
The picture appears to be a bowl of Lucky Charms, but it is actually yet another reason why having flight attendant friends is so great. A friend recently got some for me on her trip to LA. What did I get her in return? Uh....this public thank you on this blog that she doesn't read. That seems fair right?
