Dear MeiGui; I think my co-worker is falling in love with me, and I don’t know how to let her down gently. It’s not that she’s coyote ugly; in fact she’s a wicked natural blonde fox. The problem is I’m just not into her. I came to Taiwan to find
Read moreDear Meigui
Our own agony-aunt dispenses advice for newbies and the terminally naive.
Dear MeiGui: My girlfriend is insanely superstitious
Dear MeiGui; My girlfriend is insanely superstitious, and I don’t know what to do about it. I have been working as an English teacher for the last few months, but my actual education is in finance. I came to Taiwan looking for a break, and financial crisis and all –
Read moreDear MeiGui: Am I wasting time teaching in Taiwan?
Dear MeiGui; Working as an English teacher for me isn’t that bad. The kids are all really cute, and so are my co-teachers. Plus, I work in a private elementary school, which offers an awesome salary along with three months of paid vacation every year. Between the students, the chicks,
Read moreMinnesota teacher encounters bad case of ‘hello-kittyness'
Dear MeiGui: That old movie “In Praise of Older Women” is forever a hit with me. Back in Minnesota, I had my fair share of fiercesome romps with the cougar-set; but after landing in Taiwan to teach English; and being besieged by so many local young hotties; I put the
Read moreI get no respect from my wife, or Taiwan law for that matter
Dear MeiGui; Let me tell you; family law in Taiwan is chaotic. I am a 48-year-old, married to a mainland China wife man from PingTung, and not only do I get no respect from my wife, but I also get no respect from the law. Every night, my wife scolds
Read moreWhat's with the holiday hypocrisy?
Dear MeiGui, What’s with all this Christmas holiday hypocrisy? I’m really fed up! I work in a kindergarten in Tienmu, and we spent the six weeks leading up to Christmas endlessly rehearsing for our school’s giant Christmas Eve performance. The owner even pressured me to come into to work on
Read moreMeiGui, what's a 'chicken man'?
Dear MeiGui; I want to sound a warning bell for all those mid-level students of Chinese: Be careful of what you don’t understand. I’ve been here studying Chinese for two years, and as most students know getting the language does not happen in a steady upward curve. But lately, I’ve
Read moreDear MeiGui: What's Up With Nudie Photo Albums?
Dear MeiGui; Not only are my local colleagues making my experience as an English school teacher a misery, but so are the other foreign teachers. I’ve only been here for three months, and already want to go back to Vancouver. It all started at a “getting-to-know-you” party in October. I
Read moreDear MeiGui: My Taiwanese girlfriend is bankrupting me
Dear MeiGui; My girlfriend continuously insists on me buying her presents. We work at the same company in HsinChu and started dating last January. Since then, she has found every excuse in the book to demand I buy her gifts. She has expected that I give her gifts on Western
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