(no subject)
for some reason older taiwanese women seem to love me. ellen's mom is totally enamored with me even if there are myriad reasons that she shouldn't be. she insists i give her a hug every time i see her, which is more than she hugs her own daughter. granted, this might be due to the fact that i'm totally clueless when it comes to politely refusing or disagreeing in chinese, so i have to go along with whatever people want.
which leads me to today. i stood on the mrt almost all the way home from work. when i got to taipei main station where i need to transfer, an older 'auntie' stood up and tapped me vigorously on the back, so i looked behind me and she indicated to me i should take her seat. "uhh, 不用...我這裡要去...出去" i stammered. ("uh, that's ok...here is where i go...go out" is a rough translation of my awkward and caught off-guard chinese). so then she tells me my chinese is really good/awesome, and i politely insist it isn't. so she keeps chatting with me as we get off and it seems rude to just stop talking to her to walk up the left side of the escalators like i usually do, so i talk with her up the escalators. turns out we're getting off at the same place once we switch lines.
she kept telling me that america is better than taiwan, there's more money, better jobs, better people. and i'm flattered she thinks well of the u.s., but i never know how to deal with overzealous taiwanese people who think that in order to make me like them they have to talk smack about taiwan. i mean, i'm here, aren't i? so i politely insist that it's just that the u.s. and taiwan are different. and that i like taiwan.
on the next train, she talks to me about money and boyfriends and do i like americans or taiwanese better (this is related to the bf question) and to watch out because taiwanese people are bad and only care about money. and asks me how much i make and if i'm going home and do i give my parents money when i go home. so i'm like, 'no i don't have a boyfriend and i have no preference for nationality or race (actually, i said 都可以 which doesn't translate except to mean 'whatever' or 'i can do whatever'...). i make enough money but i'm not rich and college in the u.s. is expensive so i use my money to pay for that, and my parents don't want me to worry about money and so i don't have to pay them money if i don't have very much. and that taiwanese people aren't the only people who love money, that everywhere in the whole world there are people who only care about money'
and all of this is so awkward because i can't lie to people or even be rude to them. and there was definitely a crowd of teenagers gawking at me the foreigner talking to this crazy taiwanese lady who happened to be badmouthing taiwan as i awkwardly used chinese to try to refute her while still agreeing and being polite.
she told me to call her auntie and that she really likes american girls. it was cute but i have to wonder, what is it about me? how can i learn to fend people off without being rude? it gave me a laugh at least, but i hope the people listening in to my awkward chinese weren't offended by the fact that i was even talking to this lady about such things.
which leads me to today. i stood on the mrt almost all the way home from work. when i got to taipei main station where i need to transfer, an older 'auntie' stood up and tapped me vigorously on the back, so i looked behind me and she indicated to me i should take her seat. "uhh, 不用...我這裡要去...出去" i stammered. ("uh, that's ok...here is where i go...go out" is a rough translation of my awkward and caught off-guard chinese). so then she tells me my chinese is really good/awesome, and i politely insist it isn't. so she keeps chatting with me as we get off and it seems rude to just stop talking to her to walk up the left side of the escalators like i usually do, so i talk with her up the escalators. turns out we're getting off at the same place once we switch lines.
she kept telling me that america is better than taiwan, there's more money, better jobs, better people. and i'm flattered she thinks well of the u.s., but i never know how to deal with overzealous taiwanese people who think that in order to make me like them they have to talk smack about taiwan. i mean, i'm here, aren't i? so i politely insist that it's just that the u.s. and taiwan are different. and that i like taiwan.
on the next train, she talks to me about money and boyfriends and do i like americans or taiwanese better (this is related to the bf question) and to watch out because taiwanese people are bad and only care about money. and asks me how much i make and if i'm going home and do i give my parents money when i go home. so i'm like, 'no i don't have a boyfriend and i have no preference for nationality or race (actually, i said 都可以 which doesn't translate except to mean 'whatever' or 'i can do whatever'...). i make enough money but i'm not rich and college in the u.s. is expensive so i use my money to pay for that, and my parents don't want me to worry about money and so i don't have to pay them money if i don't have very much. and that taiwanese people aren't the only people who love money, that everywhere in the whole world there are people who only care about money'
and all of this is so awkward because i can't lie to people or even be rude to them. and there was definitely a crowd of teenagers gawking at me the foreigner talking to this crazy taiwanese lady who happened to be badmouthing taiwan as i awkwardly used chinese to try to refute her while still agreeing and being polite.
she told me to call her auntie and that she really likes american girls. it was cute but i have to wonder, what is it about me? how can i learn to fend people off without being rude? it gave me a laugh at least, but i hope the people listening in to my awkward chinese weren't offended by the fact that i was even talking to this lady about such things.