Wow, it's hard to believe that it has been over a year and a half since my first foray into the blogging world, but here I am, two months short of two years and already on my third blog!
What does one need so many blogs for? you might ask (someone did ask), in which I would tell you that I like to blog. More than that though, I thought it would be nice to document my experiences abroad in Taiwan (which unfortunately, I never did when I was in South Korea). But even more than that, when I was doing research, there just did not seem to be as much resources pertaining to study abroad in Taiwan as there were for study abroad in South Korea (then again, I've never really been good at the whole internet research thing). So I decided, why not create such a resource? As American novelist Toni Morrison once said, "If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it." This is my book.
But why the ABC guide? Well besides being a guide that will (hopefully) offer you everything you need to know about studying in Taiwan, this blog is also written from the point-of-view of an ABC--American-Born Chinese. Lots of blogs I have read about studying abroad (or traveling) in East Asia (whether that be Korea, China, Japan, what have you) tell you about their experiences as an "obvious foreigner," but when you're an Asian-American (or Asian-Australian, or Asian-British) in Asia, it may not be as obvious that you're a foreigner. After having spent a semester in South Korea, I can tell you that my experience was different from that of my non-Asian friends', whether it be in the way I was treated, the interactions I had, or the expectations locals had of me. Hence, studying abroad in Taiwan from the viewpoint of the (not-so-obvious) foreigner.
As much as I do enjoy blogging however, sometimes (oftentimes) I'm lazy and busy so I won't update as often as I'd like. However, my goal is to blog at least twice a month (or at the very least, more than once in a blue moon), but I make no promises!
That's all for now, but before I leave, I'd like to impart with you all some useful
Everyday Chinese
- 歡迎光臨 (Huānyíng guānglín) - Welcome
Used by store personnel as a greeting for customers - 部落格 (Bùluògé) - Blog
Loanword from English; used in Taiwan - 竹升 (zuk1 sing1) - Overseas-born Chinese
This is actually a Cantonese phrase and quite an interesting one at that. It is used to refer to an Overseas-born Chinese (such as your ABCs, CBCs, BCCs, etc...), but in its most literal translation it means, "bamboo pole." The connection was that someone referred to as a 竹升 lacks knowledge on Chinese culture thus hollow on the inside--just like a bamboo pole. Ouch.
As you can tell, the phrase has a negative connotation, but it does not necessarily have to be used so scathingly. In my family, it was the reason we were bad Chinese sons and daughters: not respecting our elders? It's because we're 竹升. Answering in English when spoken to in Chinese? These 竹升 will be like that. This was said in the same exasperated/resigned tone one might say what can you do? Kids will be kids. But in this case, 竹升 will be 竹升.
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