The concept of small town or more accurately hick-town is relative to the country it's located in. What I meant by small town/hick town had more to do with mentality of the locals than anything else. Remember when we met that group of western English teachers in Chiayi. When I asked them about whether or not parents there could accept an ABC as a teacher, they said probably not because the place is too backward, traditional, and country. They said even Taichung is a lot more open and cosmopolitan. I tend to agree. People in Chiayi strike me as being very backward and dour. I've never felt comfortable in places like Chiayi, Changhwa, Pingtung, etc. Basically, I consider 3rd tier and below cities in many countries to be very backward and hickish. And in some countries, third tier cities can have very high populations.Winston wrote:I disagree 100 percent. Chiayi is not considered a small town. It is a small city. Chiayi has skyscraper buildings and tons of traffic on its streets. That's no small town.Rock wrote:Yea, small towns are often hickish with people who act very suspicious of outsiders and not friendly at all. Chiayi in Taiwan is a great example of this. Another is my small hometown here in Illinois though it's not as bad as Chiayi. Think about how the locals in "Deliverance" behaved towards the visitors who came to boat. That's not so far off the mark for many small towns and villages around the world.eurobrat wrote:Also Winston, I disagree with what you said about living in a small town everyones friendly. I tried this in Italy and it was the exact opposite.Winston wrote:Eurobrat,We already explained to you why we go back to America. Rock goes back to see his parents. He is close to his parents, not like most white American families are. I go back to the USA to see nature and because I miss the big portions in restaurants and the clean air. The US is unparalleled when it comes to nature and national parks.
For example, Mianyang and Zigong are both third tier Sichuan cities I visited years ago (before the earthquake), each with populations of over 1 mn. Yet, in those towns, I couldn't even find a hotel with non-squatters rights toilets (western style toilets) and the super markets looked like they were stocked with stuff from another planet. There were some bigger buildings and the streets were clean, especially in Mianyang. But it seemed very backward and tradition. I didn't see any other westerners there either.
In some ways, a lot of non-suburban typical USA town of say 20,000 has a lot more consumer choices and a percentage of locals who are more exposed and cosmopolitan than some of these third tier cities in you find in Asia.
No offense meant, but Chiayi to me is a weird place with a lot of people who seem closed and unfriendly.
Rock, it's nice to hear you talk about your past and the reasons for going abroad. Very candid and interesting interview.
