OT - Career thoughts and Taiwan

[Chang Style Novice]

Okay, so I hope to (finally!) complete my BFA this December. I don't have the grades or portfolio for grad school at this time, and prospects for jobs in the arts are slim to say the least. So I've been giving some thought to making a radical change and trying to get a teaching gig in Taiwan. I understand the workload is fairly light and the wages are fairly high. I don't mind being the odd man out (I always have been, although not racially or linguistically) and I figure it would be a great way to expand my horizons and maybe develop my painting/drawing and martial arts to a point where making a living off one or the other or both would become feasible in the US. There's also the matter of my language deficiency for my art history degree - I've been very slowly working on italian, but I figure an immersion course in mandarin would work too. If I'm lucky, I could come back to the US after a few years, take a placement test with the university and instantly gain the credit needed to finish my BA! Yes, I know mandarin is much harder to learn than any romance language for an english speaker.

I'd like to hear from folks who have experience with this or similar adventures and what kinds of pros and cons I should expect.

[Former castleva]

"Adventure" is not included in my vocabulary but following my fashion I will just show up and add that besides highly beneficial mandarin,Taiwan does also hold their own language/dialect of "taiwanese" which could be considered a dialect of chinese,among more spoken lesser dialects (such as shanghainese beat it)

[FatherDog]

I don't know of anything in specific about Taiwan, so there's little I can say logistically.

One thing you might want to consider, however, is that you'll be putting yourself in a new environment, far away from anyone that you know, where you'll be struggling to understand most people. It can be a great experience to challenge yourself.... but it can also make you feel very, very cut off and lonely, particularly if you have a hard time with the language. Think carefully about whether or not you'll be able to deal with that.

Of course, if you can manage an internet connection there, you'll always have us to fall back on :D

[Chang Style Novice]

One thing I do know about Taiwan is that it's swarming with internet cafes. So I got you guys and the spit groovers. (http://peoplesforum.com/cgi-bin/forum?14@@.ef84bb9)

I think I addressed the rest of that in the first post.

[ctoepker]

I went to university in Taiwan and wound up staying for 8 years. Even after returning to the States, my career keeps me up to date on what's going on...not to mention my in-laws!

I think it is a great idea. Take the 'road less travelled.' Learn Mandarin. Most of the major cities' universities have programs for foreigners and if that fails, there's always plenty of folks looking to exchange language lessons.

There's way to much to discuss for a message board. Why not contact me via email if you're interested in advice?

[Chang Style Novice]

bump - more thoughts, please!

[Marky]

Hi CSN,

Mandarin is harder to learn in some ways, but in others, it is much, MUCH easier. For example, there's no verb conjugation in any way, shape or form. Writing can be tough, but if you focus on the radicals it'll make the learning process much quicker and smoother.

As far as immersion to learn the language.... that's the best way to go, especially for an ideographic language. When you start having dreams where everyone's speaking Mandarin, you'll be in the zone!

[dezhen2001]

a change of pace might be kinda cool buddy - im just shocked at those mullet pics :eek:

if nothing else - learning some rudimentary mandarin before going over there could at least help your taijiquan :D

im sure there are a few people on KFO who have been or are in taiwan... try the npm forum as i know a lot of mantis comes from taiwan so theres bound to be some peeps there who can give you advice :)

dawood

[Tainan Mantis]

Taiwan is a great place to live.
With some hard work you can be conversant in 6 months.
Less if you include pillow talk.
Speaking Mandarin is much easier than English.
Although writing it is much more difficult.

Some people come here with no job, no money and no friends.
Get a job teaching English all year and travel Tibet or some other place for 2-3 months.

[guohuen]

I'd go in a heartbeat.

[Former castleva]

The opportunity to learn a language closes somewhere between the ages of 7-10 years.

Takes some work,but can be done.

[ddh]

Is one of the best kept secrets. Go over and study. I spent year - half in Taipei and half near Ali-san (one hell of a mountain.) I'd go back in a heart beat. Good luck:D

[fa_jing]

I was looking into it about 5 years ago. Remember taxes are high when you come back, so don't expect to bring back money. Also you may need to get a work visa, but some people get a student visa and then teach under the table. Herb is scarce. It probably won't matter, just living there should be enough of an altered state. Street food is reported good. If you had a BA, you could be teaching in a regular school, but since you don't you will probably end up through a private language institute. When you get there, just look for an advert in the English newspaper. I studied Mandarin intensively in college for 1 1/5 semesters, first of all it isn't easy, make sure you practice the characters by writing them 20 times or more each. I think it will be awesome.

[Chang Style Novice]

Remember taxes are high when you come back, so don't expect to bring back money.
Not an issue, really.

Herb is scarce.
SERIOUSLY not an issue. I like the stuff, but haven't touched it for about six months, no problem. Besides, I'm not looking to move to Goa.

If you had a BA, you could be teaching in a regular school, but since you don't you will probably end up through a private language institute.
I don't intend to move before I finish my BFA. Not the same as a BA, I realize, but I think it'll be enough.

When you get there, just look for an advert in the English newspaper.
I hope to move there with a job waiting for me. Isn't that was the usual way to do it?

I studied Mandarin intensively in college for 1 1/5 semesters, first of all it isn't easy, make sure you practice the characters by writing them 20 times or more each.

With some hard work you can be conversant in 6 months.
Less if you include pillow talk.
Speaking Mandarin is much easier than English.
Although writing it is much more difficult.

We seem to be getting a lot of different opinions about the ease of Mandarin!:D

I think it will be awesome.
I sure hope so!

[Chainsmoker]

I have lived in Taiwan for about 8 years. Came for a year and can't seem to leave.
I would not sign a contract or have a school bring you over. You can very easily get a job after you get here. I would just hang out for a couple of weeks and learn the ropes and find a good school. You can get a job the same day you arrive if you are really broke.
Don't worry about Chinese. You really have to speak it to get by. If you want to learn it you will.
This site will tell you just about anything you want to know about Taiwan. forumosa (http://forumosa.com)

Good Luck

[ctoepker]

You've already gotten a lot of great advice. I have to agree with the view that speaking Mandarin is very easy...as soon as you get the tones. Its the writing that takes more time.

As for jobs, everyone is completely correct that you can fall off the banana boat right into one. As for the taxes...that is easy to take care of by staring a US$ account in Taiwan and transferring funds back as you go. You will pay some wire transfer fees, but no taxes.

Here's another web site that is very helpful.
http://www.tealit.com/

Chris

[sticky fingers]

Watch out for earthquakes and the Smelly Tofu yuuuck!!

[SaMantis]

A friend of mine sold his car and flew to Taiwan with no job lined up and just one business suit. Figured he'd go for a year and come back, but that was like ... 5 years ago ... :)

[Chang Style Novice]

Thanks again, y'all. Nothing solid to report, yet, but I've mailed the Taiwan consulate in Houston for more info.

[Chainsmoker]

Info on what? You can download visa application forms from the internet. Don't tell them you plan on working while you are in Taiwan. Tell them you want to study Chinese or better yet that you want to do business or research or something. There are a lot of different kinds of visas you can get. The Taiwan visa office will not have any useful information about anything. Like I said before, if you want to know anything go to www.forumosa.com. You can PM me if you have any specific questions.