By Trista di Genova, The Wild East Rock Starkey, owner of Tin Pan Alley, talks with The Wild East about his entrepreneurial experiences after setting out with a mobile pizza truck in southern Taiwan. He urges expats to pool their efforts and start their own businesses THE WILD EAST: What brought you here to Taiwan,…
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Foreigners Get It Going On For Chinese New Year
By Trista di Genova Originally published 2/9/08 in The China Post TAIPEI, Taiwan – There are a number of foreigners in Taiwan who suffer from “hipititis” – they’re terminally cool. When asked about their plans for Chinese New Year, this is what they had to say. WHAT ABOUT YOU? What adventures are you up for?…
Read moreExclusive interview with Lisa Furtado
By Trista di Genova The Wild East So how did Nelly Furtado’s sister end up teaching in Kaohsiung, Taiwan? I was tired of the routine of living in Victoria, BC and being in university. I finally graduated and was looking for a big change. The year before I graduated I met my husband, Charlie and…
Read moreExpat Chat: Being Black in Taiwan
Andre Mangongo is a priest with the Catholic Church from the Democratic Republic of Congo, and has been in Taiwan four years. If you don’t speak Chinese, don’t know anything about the culture or language, it’s a shock, isn’t it? I’m sharing from the experience of 4 years. When you get here in beginning, it…
Read moreWhat a Taiwanese taxi driver thinks of foreigners
Name: Huang Zhen-yuan Job: Taxi driver Age: 48 Where do the foreigners in Taiwan come from? They come from everywhere. I consider my wife a foreigner. She came from mainland China. To me anyone who is not born in Taiwan is a foreigner. However, I should tell you that my wife now has a Taiwan…
Read moreExpat Chat: 'Having Kids in Taiwan'
Eryk Smith, 32, is an American writer who’s been in Taiwan over 10 years. ERYK: We had our child at Tai An, the Seven Day Adventist Hospital, only four months ago. The doctors and nurses all spoke English fluently, and overall the service was excellent. We paid just over NT$10,OOO (about US$300) for the whole…
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 told some of the other…
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