School-age girl wouldn't speak Chinese to me...

[touduke]

Im half white and i grew up in Taiwan. I came out ok (I think)

Tommy haha - with all due respect mmm when I read your stuff I often think you are a half-fruitcake and I don't think you are an authority on anything in Taiwan just cause you have lived here for a while some decades ago

I can see on a daily basis how my older son (4 years) is affected by being singled out in almost all situations in his day, including the kindergarten, including close friends and families. It is 7/24 everywhere & everyone.
The majority of Taiwanese seem unable to understand how much he just wants to be a normal person. He is a Chinese native speaker, but people talk to him in bad English (which he doesn't speak) - he is told so many times that he is a foreigner that he comes crying to me. He would be the only foreign looking (blond) kid in the huge elementary school in our neighborhood and coincidentally it's the campus he doesn't want to go anymore cause he was pushed, teased and approached in a awfully stupid way too many times when playing on the playground.

[tommy525]

Trust me, the more things change the more they stay the same. I went thru exactly that. He will be fine. He will find his own way soon enough.

And eurasians are way more accepted now and way more common , then when I was a kid.

[touduke]

thanks Tommy for that friendly reply

[shengou]

I can see on a daily basis how my older son (4 years) is affected by being singled out in almost all situations in his day, including the kindergarten, including close friends and families. It is 7/24 everywhere & everyone.
The majority of Taiwanese seem unable to understand how much he just wants to be a normal person. He is a Chinese native speaker, but people talk to him in bad English (which he doesn't speak) - he is told so many times that he is a foreigner that he comes crying to me. He would be the only foreign looking (blond) kid in the huge elementary school in our neighborhood and coincidentally it's the campus he doesn't want to go anymore cause he was pushed, teased and approached in a awfully stupid way too many times when playing on the playground.

What part of Taiwan do you live in? I lived in a small town in northern Taiwan at that age and I also went to a Taiwanese school. Like your son, I had blond hair but I was never teased. My neighbors also treated me great. That was 20 years ago though. I do know that pregnant women used to pat my hair because they wanted their babies hair to be lighter (dumbasses), but that was the worst of it. If anything I had it easier, because none of the teachers got pissed that I didn't go to school on Saturdays and all the girls wanted to sit next to me. I was such a pimp at that age.

[sandman]

I can see on a daily basis how my older son (4 years) is affected by being singled out in almost all situations in his day, including the kindergarten, including close friends and families. It is 7/24 everywhere & everyone.
The majority of Taiwanese seem unable to understand how much he just wants to be a normal person. He is a Chinese native speaker, but people talk to him in bad English (which he doesn't speak) - he is told so many times that he is a foreigner that he comes crying to me. He would be the only foreign looking (blond) kid in the huge elementary school in our neighborhood and coincidentally it's the campus he doesn't want to go anymore cause he was pushed, teased and approached in a awfully stupid way too many times when playing on the playground.

What part of Taiwan do you live in? I lived in a small town in northern Taiwan at that age and I also went to a Taiwanese school. Like your son, I had blond hair but I was never teased. My neighbors also treated me great. That was 20 years ago though. I do know that pregnant women used to pat my hair because they wanted their babies hair to be lighter (dumbasses), but that was the worst of it. If anything I had it easier, because none of the teachers got pissed that I didn't go to school on Saturdays and all the girls wanted to sit next to me. I was such a pimp at that age.

Thanks for that. And for Tommy's post. I get a bit choked up when I read about what a horrible time Touduke's kid is having, knowing that mine will be in the same situation very soon. Granted, his experience at kindergarten so far seems MUCH closer to yours and Tommy's experiences that what Touduke's wee boy is suffering right now, but you never know. Just glad to read that the positives seems to outweigh the negatives, on here at least, and certainly in my own personal experience. I take mine to a community table tennis/badminton/playpark in the hills behind my house every weekend. Loads of kids there, and parents. I haven't seen him getting special treatment more than a tiny handful of times. Long may it continue.

[touduke]

shengou - yours seems to be the standard reply on this board when this topic comes up.
We live in Taichung.
Just curious what does

My neighbors also treated me great

mean?

I get a bit choked up when I read about what a horrible time Touduke's kid is having, knowing that mine will be in the same situation very soon.

sandman - good parenting can help!

[tommy525]

Eurasian kids soon become school celebs and are very popular. Theres no reason to worry in Taiwan. Sure he may have to flatten a few noses and get into a few other skirmishes but he will soon turn every asshole into a friend. OF that im certain.

[sandman]

but he will soon turn every asshole into a friend. OF that im certain.

OK, I'm all for live and let live. But that kind of promiscuity? I dunno.

[touduke]

Eurasian kids soon become school celebs and are very popular. Theres no reason to worry in Taiwan. Sure he may have to flatten a few noses and get into a few other skirmishes but he will soon turn every asshole into a friend. OF that im certain.

Tommy that sounds terrible. Each of these above sentences confirm my feeling that it is really bad for my kids to grow up here. Unless you were tongue in cheek all the time - I think we both agree on what it means to be a blond Taiwanese - we just draw the complete opposite conclusions.

[tommy525]

Dudes! How often have I been serious? Well not often. So do NOT take my words LITERALLY ok (about the assholes) ??

That said , I had no real problems being eurasian growing up. And there should be way more acceptance today. Eurasian kids are very well liked in Taiwan. Its not the same as in Philippines or Thailand where people assume the mommy is a whore ok?

Taiwanese people consider Eurasians to be TAiwanese for the most part. While they consider them to be partially foreign they are accepted as Taiwanese much more so then not.

Like I said, my problem was I was a STAR 24/7 in Taiwan growing up. I would walk in Ximending and nearly EVERYONE would watch me . It was all very friendly, very POSITIVE.

So stop worrying already ! Sssh.

They will be MORE then FINE.

P.S. the only time I had to actually punch anyone, the kid was WHITE and one of my best friends !

I broke my little finger and his nose was fine (damn well made those long noses).
And we both nearly got expelled from school.