上班族必備軟實力

When I was young and easy and living in the USA, I was literate. I was proud of my literacy. People used to ask me to read things for them. I understood what signs said and what most people were talking about. But then I moved to Taiwan and I am no longer literate.

                                                         What does it all mean?

I have studied Chinese a lot. I have studied in college, at language schools, with exchange partners, and at one-to-one classes. Nothing worked for me, probably because I have always been very introverted and don’t speak enough. Being in a place where everyone speaks a different language from me gives me an excuse to remain as quiet as possible.

When you don’t understand what people are talking about, you don’t always know what is going on. When I am out with a group of people from Taiwan, as the only one who didn’t speak Chinese, then when people get up to go somewhere, I never know where or why. I always have to ask what is going on.

Now I walk around not knowing what signs say, or where I am. I can order at McDonald’s, but McDonald’s is easy because you can order meals by number. I always forget how to ask for ketchup, though. But eating at McDonald’s is not so good for the healthy lifestyle and waistline.

Trying to get by in Taiwan without knowing Chinese is like trying to use a program without a user’s guide. You have to try things out before you know what their function is, like tasting things. Once I drank soap because I thought it was mouthwash.

You cannot use pantomime for everything, and convey your meaning though gestures. I bought a soldering iron once by holding an imaginary iron and going, “Psssssst.” It is embarrassing to ask for the hemorrhoid cream that way.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you read my next article, too.

【作者介紹】

Richard 是一位台灣女婿，在台灣生活15年，喜愛台灣文化，以風趣幽默的文筆，細膩獨特的觀點，介紹在台灣生活的趣事，一起跟著Richard探訪外國人的台灣世界吧！