Readers of ex-pat blogs notice that we tend to complain about a lot of things. I certainly have my share of gripe posts on our blog. Heck, I’ve even based an entire series around complaining, called Sound Off! But, it’s very important for our readers to understand just how much I love Taiwan, and admire the Taiwanese people. So much so, that I’m making a list:
I’m pissed. No, I’m effing pissed…..
Us: “Do you have the quotation for us?”
Boss: “No.”
Us: “What is the problem?”
Boss: “The quantity is not high enough for us to bother with. Besides, we can’t read the drawings.”
Us: “Why didn’t you call us sooner and let us know?”
Boss: “Sorry.”
I have written volumes about how people here refuse to communicate. I’m not the only one either. Much has been written about the Westerner’s need for explanations. The above situation is our fault because we weren’t able to successfully deduce the machine shop Boss’ intent on our own. He isn’t required to tell us anything. Why should he? He’s a rich, successful business owner and we can kiss his ass.
I’ve said over and over: “Taiwanese communicate about everything, except important things.” The sheer volume of innocuous communication is staggering. But when it comes to important pieces of information, people are reluctant to give that information out? It doesn’t make sense, but that machine shop boss thought it was “impolite” to tell us that he wasn’t going to produce those parts for us. He knew from the very beginning too, because the quantity of parts we needed him to machine was clearly stated in the email, in Chinese.
I have even had Taiwanese businessmen tell me “I don’t like to talk about money” when trying to get an estimate for their services! You’re laughing. I’m not.
Of course I’m never going to give him another job to quote. Of course he won’t even notice.
Q: Why do speakers of Chinese feel the need to yell everything?
A: “There is no why….”
I cannot tell you how many times I have been sitting at a table with my wife where I couldn’t carry on a conversation with her sitting right beside me, because of people shouting in Chinese at the next table. This isn’t an isolated situation. Several times a week we will be in some place where the noise level is just unbearable. And the noise is coming from people’s mouths. The issue with me is the fact that it is completely unnecessary.
Another thing that I’ve noticed is that often, people will try to hold conversations when the surrounding noise level is clearly too high to sustain an intelligible conversation – but they try anyway. I’m always amazed when the karaoke machine is blasting and some drunken idiot is screaming into the microphone, yet someone will insist on talking over this already too-loud noise. When I am confronted by that, I never answer. I just point to my ears and shrug my shoulders. My reasoning is lost however, and that person will just find someone else to yell at. And its totally innocuous conversation too. Nothing that can’t wait. Nothing that actually needs to be said either.
I have also noticed a direct correlation to the sound pressure level and the number of empty bottles on the table, most noticably Taiwan Beer. The SPL goes up by at least 3dB per bottle.
Just a few days ago, Hui-chen and I had the displeasure of sitting next to some little red-faced know-nothing who yelled every single utterance from his mouth, even though he was the only one talking and the people were at the same table. There was no reason for him to be shouting. Every time he got up out of his chair and went to the beverage cooler, he came back with 5 bottles of Taiwan Beer (the smaller they are, the louder they sound, seems like). HC and I were there for about 30 minutes and he just kept getting louder and louder. Finally we had to leave! Besides the co-workers at his table, we were the only ones there.
In the US and other Western countries, people will ask others to pipe down. Once I did see a guy ask someone at his table to speak quieter because he was embarrassed (must have been in the US before). The drunken yeller just said “mei guan chee” and kept right on making an ass of himself, even saying that no one could stop him from talking. Wanna bet?
I’ve been told that Taiwanese people don’t notice that anything (including themselves) is loud. I believe this to be true. Ever been woken up late at night by people coming home, and talking in full voice? That is one of my personal dislikes! It seems that no one ever taught those people to think about others – but only about themselves. I’ve been in Taiwan hotels numerous times, and have had to step out into the hall to ask people to talk quieter after being woken up. Of course I’m met with blank stares. How could I possibly be disturbed by just talking?
Recently Hui-chen and I went to eat shabbu-shabbu and a couple with a kid came in. This kid was about 4 years old and the minute he got to their table he started on a loud diatribe. He stood on the seat beside his mother so he could command the attention of the whole restaurant, and began a gibberish monologue, which lasted until Hui-chen asked his mother to quiet him down. Of course, the mother gave Hui-chen a “what’s your problem?” look. Of course, he went quiet for 30 seconds and then started right back up with his parents eyes glazed over, obviously oblivious to just how annoying hearing their kid really is. No, we don’t all think your kid is cute. Not when he is disrupting the tranquility of the dining room
That really is the issue. For me, I enjoy peace and quiet when I’m dining. If I am dining alone, the most common question I’m asked is “Are you eating alone?” People here hate to sit or eat alone, and they are genuinely concerned about me being bored while sitting alone. They want the noise and confusion, and the bigger the group, the better. I am used to being on my own and I think this all comes down to the “individual vs: group” cultural difference.
Readers, what are your thoughts? Have you found a polite way to ask people to stop shouting?
Photos by MJ Klein & Hui-chen – Video by Hui-chen
This past Sunday, Hui-chen and I attended a SE Asian music festival called “Thai Rock ‘n’ Roll Festival and Philippine Karaoke Competition.”
MJ with the band “Fong” moments before starting up the first song
Actually I did more than just attend, as I was invited to perform with one of the Thai bands. The reason that I did not tell anyone in advance about it was mainly because I did not want to detract from the Blues Bash that went on during the same weekend. Plus I didn’t know much about the festival until I got there, so I didn’t feel comfortable saying anything about it beforehand.
So, read on about Thai rock bands, Philippine traditional dancing, drinking, karaoke, bad weather, boats on the river, etc.! There are a ton of photos in this article!
Photos by MJ Klein
Don’t you just love the restrooms in Taiwan, with the saloon doors (if there are any doors at all), and the open windows? Welcome to the world of Taiwan’s Public View Restrooms!
This is the view from inside the Men’s restroom at the Hukou train station. At night the restroom is lit up with fluorescent lights, so you can see in as clearly as one sees out during the daytime.
But, this is far from the worst example of a restroom lacking in privacy. I’ll do my best to relate these experiences in a un-offensive way. (more…)
Photos by MJ Klein
Well, it’s Ghost Month in the Chinese speaking world. I’m not going to explain it, I’m just going to show you what people do for it. Usually at this time of year people are in a very generous mood, and this year was no exception.
I started the evening off (Sunday, August 26) by going to one of the Thai places that I don’t ordinarily frequent. I was hoping to find throngs of happy people partying. But, the place was dead.
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