strange but true

This is the place where average looking guys can come and marry stunning girls, have beautiful (very well behaved) kids, and get fat and hairy. Seriously, 95% of all westerners I've seen here, fit into that category. (Look like the guy, and marry the girl in the photo.) It's a little scary.

Today, I went to church in Taipei with some Korean friends. I can't believe what a difference there has been in our relationships since we cleared the air. They still keep trying to protect me, but it's nowhere near as frequent or obtrusive, and is always followed by a look of, 'but only if it's okay.' We've come to a good compromise and as a result are a lot less formal. Apart from anything else, I can just be myself without fear of insulting anyone (although I think they struggle with how to take me sometimes.)

I think it might be Taiwan rubbing off on us a little. The place where extremes meet and coexist relatively peacefully. Old and new, chaos and serenity, organisation and creativity, etc, etc. Oxymorons everywhere.

The power plays are fascinating. (this is all just from my perspective, filled with generalisations, so don't take it as fact) Women are the lesser sex here. It's not blatantly obvious, but it is an inherent part of the culture. However, the women are by far the more educated and perfectly capable of getting on on their own, but they don't want to, or think that they can. This feeds back into the males thinking themselves as gifts to they're partners. But they are not the ones in charge (whether they realise it or not.) The women here in general have this deep set distrust of their men, stemming from the historical infidelity of men in Taiwan (including the founder himself.) So they must know when, where, why, who and what they are up to, all the time. It's fascinating to see. On the train to Taipei yesterday (an experience I tend to try and avoid due to large amounts of people apparently set on having a staring contest with me) there were couples everywhere. Guys holding onto the poles, or roof dangly things, and the girls holding onto the guys. But the it was the funniest thing. Girls don't carry handbags. Their boyfriends carry them for them. One girl seemed particularly displeased with how her bag and man looked together so kept repositioning the angle till she was happy. I'm just going on personal experience here, but if I had ever done that to any of the guys I've dated, I think I could have guaranteed the relationship would have ended about two seconds after a look of serious disgust.

It's such a complex culture, but at the same time, not. I love it.