Here's one interesting example. I know a decent looking white Canadian guy in Taipei named Shawn. He has been living in Taiwan for 10 years, with a career there working in the banking industry and now for a law firm. The thing is, he told me that getting dates for him was easy there, especially since he is a white single eligible professional in Taipei, and that every weekend, several women offer to come over to his place to be with him. He portrayed his life to me there - as a single professional male dating high quality professional Taiwanese women. (It reminded me of the image of the high rolling exciting singles life in NYC portrayed in Hollywood movies.)
However, there are a number of things about his life that don't make sense, given the above:
- He often hangs out with Filipinas in Taiwan and takes them on outings. Now, if he is dating high quality professional women in Taiwan, why would he be with low class Filipinas who work in factories and as maids? Isn't that a huge step down?
- But what's even more bizarre is this: When I first met him a few years ago, he was in Angeles City, Philippines, working 15 hours a day in the sweaty environment of a bubble tea stand with his Filipina girlfriend, selling Taiwanese bubble tea! He told me that he was tired of working for someone else and trying to establish his own business. But isn't that the worst way of going about it?
Moreover, why would a professional living in a first world country that is clean, safe and modern, go to the Philippines to start a business that involved long sweaty hours of standing with little profit potential? It seemed irrational and insane, but Shawn seemed like a highly intelligent refined white guy. I could never understand this.
Furthermore, why would he have a Filipina girlfriend that was lower in quality, class and intelligence than the Taiwanese women available to him in Taiwan? I mean, she was nice and decent looking and all, but still.
If I probed him about any of this, he kept it vague or became evasive, as he was a private person who did not like to divulge much about his life or feelings.
After a few months, his Filipina girlfriend and her family betrayed him and screwed him over (though he never told me any details about it). He ended up losing a lot of money he invested into that bubble tea shop, as well as time and effort, and returned to Taiwan.
More recently, Shawn told me that during the Christmas holidays, he could not reply back to my sms because he had his cell phone stolen when he went back to Angeles City. So I asked him, "Why did you go back there? Everything is so low class and low quality. You know that." He replied that he went there to see this black guy that used to hang out at the bubble tea shop there, whom I met before. Then I said, "You mean you went all the way there during Christmas, just to hang out with some black dude? Come on now. There's got to be more to it than that. Did you run out of options in Taiwan? haha" But he never replied to that.
What do you all make of that? How do you explain it? Why would a white guy who has high quality, white skinned, refined, professional, intelligent Taiwanese women available to him want to even both with the Philippines, Angeles City or Filipinas?
Rock, are you going to play devil's advocate on this one again? Or give an objective analysis of it? lol
- Besides Shawn, there's this other young tall white guy from Chicago I met, who came to Taiwan last year to teach English. Last month, he wrote me this:
Again, he should have no problem in Taiwan getting quality girls. So why would he be interested in going to the Philippines or other countries?"Hey bud. I was just reading comments to an article your wrote. http://www.orientexpat.com/forum/16952- ... se-people/
We should talk again and I can give you some stories about my experience thus far. There are certainly times that I felt like an outsider at the school i worked at. The culture here can be very kind to some and cruel to others for reasons that seem bizarre to me.
I think I remember you saying you were in Philippines at some point? I might be going there soon. Anyways holla back."
"I haven't been to Europe but I'm curious. I wonder if Europeans will be uninterested because I'm just a boring white American. Not like here where I'm "unique". I will say you are wrong about Taiwanese girls approaching white guys. That never happens to me unless you mean online. Out in public they are generally shy. But if I approach they are receptive. The thing is I've found that if they are foreigner crazy then that means they will go after any foreigner so they probably juggle many foreigners on the side. I don't want a girl like that.
I just want to check out Philippines because I heard the girls are warmer there and easy to approach and speak decent English. I've done Thailand. Some good women there and the food is awesome. I'm heading to Manila but I don't know where I might go from there. I'm a little curious about Angeles City but then it might be too scandalous."
None of this makes any sense. Can anyone explain?