I just got back from Taiwan, celebrated my grandfather’s 93rd birthday. Sigh, I would really love to live in Taipei (minus the Mandarin part)! I’m jealous of all my relatives who are pros in speaking Mandarin and grew up in Taiwan culture. I feel so embarrassed when I talk to them because talking to them in Mandarin feels like a Karate-noob trying to do karate in front of a Master, like those Karate Kid movies. They think SG is a weird place because it’s predominantly Chinese, yet Mandarin is not spoken too often (then again I’m afraid they’ve gotten the wrong idea about the standard of Mandarin in SG from me since I’m below the national average). The weather was fantastic too, the minute I went out into the open air in SG when I touched down, I thought, “ARGH IT’S SO HOT HERE LIFE SUCKS.” Taipei really is a good option to consider if one plans to migrate, provided you’re proficient in Mandarin.
I’ll update properly tomorrow, super sleepy from the flight home.