OK, first of all let me introduce myself. I was born in Taiwan, but I lived
in Canada/USA for about 13 years. I rarely came back to Taiwan until now.
In fact, I did not come back to Taiwan for the first five years when I was
aboard. This is the first time I stay in Taiwan for so long after 13 years.
Well, I am currently preparing GRE (yes, this is tough even for native
speakers) for my PhD application.
Anyway, my problem is that it is quite difficult for me to find opportunities
to speak English in Taiwan. I have been using Mandarin way too often (well,
it’s Taiwan). I tried to go to pubs that foreigners like to hang out, like
Carnegie and Brass Monkey. However, most foreigners are male and they are
primarily interested in talking to girls, except some with different sexual
orientation. Most Taiwanese girls are interested in foreigners only, too.
Yes, sometimes I did meet some nice people and chat about sports and stuff,
but most of the times, I found myself at the bar alone.
This problem became more obvious when I phoned service representatives in the
states for personal matters. I found that my English is not as fluent as
before; I know what I want to say, but I cannot enunciate some words as I
used to be.
Practicing English with Taiwanese students who want to practice oral
communication actually benefits them more than me. One major problem is that
they speak slowly and I talk too fast for them. I have to constantly try to
understand what they really mean by forcing me to think in Mandarin and
translate back to English. (Usually, I think in English when talking).
I am not blaming them; what I want to say is that: imagine if you are teaching
a foreigner Mandarin, you cannot really improve your Mandarin skill by
having a conversation with him.
Personally, I enjoy stand up comedy a lot, but I rarely find people who enjoy
those comedy shows (e.g. Chappelle's show, Mind of Mencia, Daily Show With Jon
Stewart..etc.) in Taiwan. Anyway, this almost sounds like complaining than
really asking a question. Does anyone have any suggestion?
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