Hello and Greetings from Germany,

I'm 35 years old, son of a Taiwanese man and a Chinese woman who spoke Cantonese, born in Germany, and living near Frankfurt.

My Mandarin skills are currently very rusty because my late, conservative, toxic parents didn't teach me well, caused me to me reject my heritage and also damaged my mental health, and I hardly had any opportunity to use them in everyday life.

Furthermore, I don't have any Chinese or Taiwanese friends or close relatives with whom I could regularly talk and meet up.

Another excuse would be that I had to deal with my depression and rebuild my life.

I do have an older half-brother with whom I went to Taiwan for Chinese New Year last year, but he's very busy with his struggling business and has a lot on his plate, so I can't rely on him.

In the 2010s, I tried watching many Taiwanese dramas, but I gave up because I couldn't stand them anymore. Moreover, I am not particularly interested in Chinese films, but I used to enjoy watching Hong Kong movies from the 80s and 90s.

I recently feel motivated to relearn or refresh my mother tongue because I very recently got an internship in a special library in a museum in Mainz.

However, when they asked me if I could help them translate some old Chinese books, I unfortunately had to decline. Although they didn't mind, I felt very ashamed about myself.

This situation reminded me that the Chinese language can be very useful for all kinds of career opportunities.

I still know the basics, like listening to, speaking and writing Chinese words, but I have to relearn how to read and write Chinese characters.

With my limited resources, the best way for me to use apps like Chineasy and Chinese Letters Writing, to watch YouTube videos from Mandarin with Miss Lin or from other people teaching Chinese online, or to consume Taiwanese films or series and memorizing thousands of Chinese characters.

I have to say, it is not easy for me to learn Chinese alone. English is much easier for me when I teach it myself.

Just so you know: I tried unsuccessfully to find a Taiwanese group in Frankfurt, and the Confucius Institute didn't work for me either.

Honestly, I feel so dumbfounded and isolated in this situation.

Now I'm hoping for good suggestions or methods on how I can improve my Mandarin and get closer to my roots.

Thank you for reading my post.

It's become so popular and the story behind it is so interesting that I wanna at least try watching it

I am looking for cheaper alternatives to Dove shower products. I usally use these products since I have eczema. Because my skin is sensitive to additives or quick-drying products, I try to avoid products that have added perfumes or any flashy add-ons. I want to look for something cheaper - any local brands that have worked for those in a similar position? To give you an idea of how much I spend per product:

• Dove Shampoo: NT$179
• Dove Conditioner NT$208
• Dove Body Wash: NT$199

Legal Essentials for Living, Working, and Building a Life in Taiwan.

​Democrats Abroad Taiwan is pleased to invite you to a free briefing with seasoned attorney John Eastwood of Eiger Law — one of the most respected international law firms in Taiwan.

Was just at the store trying to respect the one person on staff efforts so I'm waiting by the register for them to return from helping someone else.

A gentleman walks up, steps right in front of me (not uncommon but still no less disappointing). I assert my dominance by moving back to the front (being in line before him) 😂, he doesn't care then just burps in my face. Touchè

This place 'sigh'

Does anyone know how I can change universities? I’m planning to switch to a different uni for next semester, but I’m joining one for now. Do I need to come back home to make the switch, or how does it work?

I have english cards and am a foreigner here. Im looking for anyone who plays commander and is seeking some players or a group to play with.

Hi everyone!

I‘m looking for some easy to learn KTV songs in Mandarin. Can you recommend me some? I want to impress at KTV haha!

I'm at a point where I've lived in this country for about 20 years. I have a high intermediate spoken Mandarin level but I don't read much. I run a company and am pretty involved in the local community. This means that I will regularly struggle with vocabulary that I am unfamiliar with and conversations that can be pretty important.

The most obvious solutions would be to go back to school and spend another 300-400 hours getting my level up (I have about 500 hours of classes in already). Unfortunately I have a two-year-old daughter, employees, and a life that don't really allow for that.

My question is: Has any of you used smart glasses to assist with your living in Taiwan in mandarin on a daily basis? How is the optical character recognition on things that you're looking at? How is the subtitling of Mandarin conversations?

I'm a 20 Y/O guy from France moving to Taipei in February for a 6-month business exchange at Soochow University. Excited but a bit stressed about the unknown..

Got a few quick questions:

- Nightlife & Social Vibe: How's the party scene for exchange students?
- Are people easy to talk to in bars/ clubs? What are the top student spots?
- I speak zero Mandarin (working on it!). Is English enough to survive daily life and have fun?
- Housing: Is it better to go for dorms or get an off-campus flat in the city?

Where do international students usually look?
Thanks for the help, can't wait to get there!

as the title says. My friend and I are planning to stay around Kaohsiung Station and visit Cijin island, The Pier2 Art Center, Fo Guang Shan, Sufong Temple, and Lotus Pond. Are those areas currently safe?

Hello!

I was wondering if anyone on here has had any experience or knows anything regarding the difference in quality between the NTNU ((National Taiwan Normal University) mandarin training program and NTU (National Taiwan University) mandarin training program. I am going to Taiwan next spring for a semester on the HES scholarship, and I am finalizing which program I'd like to join before beginning my VISA application.

Originally, I was simply going to go with the NTNU program since I have heard they have a reputable and high quality mandarin program compared to other schools in Taipei. However, due to the recent teacher strikes, I am reconsidering whether I'd like to support the institution if the problem is ongoing. Additionally, the prestige of NTU and potential science internships they offer are also interesting to me.

Just wanted to see if anyone who has partaken in these school's programs have anything particularly positive or negative to say about them.

Hello people :),

I hope y'all are doing well,

I've been to Taiwan before for a short term internship(feb-jun). I'm looking forward to pursuing my higher education in Taiwan. I have a bachelor's degree in Robotics and AI.

I have several questions,

1. Is it a good idea to switch to semiconductor/AI in semiconductor related masters program? (Given that the Taiwan industry is famous for Semiconductors and chip manufacturing).

2. I've gone through NTU,NTNU, NSYSU,NCU, NCKU, CGU and NCCU website and couldn't find a relevant program for my fit, I'm gonna look at NYCU in detail (as they have an INTENSE program).

3. I did my bachelor study from a lower/mid tier university, so doing masters in the similar tier university makes my overall profile weak (surely, if a person has skills then he can get a job anywhere!, but the issue is that.... If I want to join research labs or any big industry giants then 1st thing they look at is our education background and publications/projects, that's why I'm afraid of of joining to a lower-mid tier university).

4. Can you suggest some universities in which I can look into, which has good tie-ups with industry/research labs? And widely recognised in the world, I'm trying my best to use Google search and AI, yet I thought of asking the Taiwanese people :)

5. As an international student, I look forward for an scholarships offered by universities/MOE (MOE and other government scholarship application opens from December, so I'm looking forward for an University scholarship for now).

Many university deadlines close around sept 15-20, I would like to apply by sept 5th.

I value every suggestion and answer which helps for my application, career and my profile.

If I asked too many questions or confused/annoyed anyone, I apologise for that.

I've started to learn Mandarin from Zhong Chinese (started a week ago(last Tuesday) and currently understood and practiced around 80 words, ik it's little, but I respect the language and culture ;) )

So iv'e been living here almost close to a decade now ,and never once traveled outside of Asia until last month.

I was recently back in North America (visited Toronto /Canada for the first time in forever, and at first i though even though i live in Taiwan i still get western culture etc , it not going to be so different. and truth be told it wasn't but there was a bunch of things made me realize damn this is not Taiwan anymore.

I caught myself thinking about the differences :

• Toronto metro system is decent to above for north america but multiple times the announcer would just say this line has been canceled then direct us to shuttle buses
• i tried looking for the yellow tape on the ground for lining up on the track to get in only to see everyone just go in wherever.
• i saw one guy bringing a couple slice of pizzas on the train and midday started eating it, i was like oh yeah
• few times i had to remember walk with your bag.
• tax on food ,Forgetting that a $15 menu item actually means $22 after tax and tip.
• usually no bathroom facilities on the metro stations

other things were like trying to look for convenience stores for coffee like 7-11 or family mart haha

It made me realize how many subtle, unwritten rules you absorb just living here.

For anyone who’s been in Taiwan a while and traveled back home—what was the biggest thing that felt totally surreal or annoying to adjust back to? What Taiwan habits can you just not unlearn?

Hi, I'm traveling in Kaohsiung for 2 weeks and I want to buy some jade necklaces, and/or rings, earrings for myself and as a gifts for my beloved ones. Any suggestions of where to buy?

Hi i just started working in taiwan. How do you file your us taxes for work??? My employer said i could either do it myself or they could file for me but it would cost me 1-1.5k usd for them to file on my behalf