Travel to Taiwan

Culture Shock! Taiwan: A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette (Culture Shock! Guides)

Format: Paperback
Author: Chris Bates
ReleaseDate: 30 November, 2005
Publisher: Graphic Arts Center Publishing Company
Rating:

Taiwan Culture Shock
Since our son will soon be marrying a lady from Taiwan, we thought we should learn a little more about her cultural background. This book provides an excellent introduction to the different culture in Taiwan.

Exagerates things a bit
It tends to give the worst case scenarios regarding how Taiwanese treat foreigners, which I think gives people the wrong impression. I just want to throw my vote in with several others who have commented on how this book gives an impression that is more harsh than the reality. In my experience the Taiwanese are mostly curious but friendly, except in Taipei where foreigners aren't a novelty and are pretty much treated like anyone else. Yes, a white person will be stared at quite a bit, and may get some blunt questions that would be considered rude elsewhere, but the types of really blatant disrespect this book describes is pretty unlikely.

Other than that, it is useful and informative as to customs, etc, though I don't think one has to be quite as picky about issues of "face" as the book suggests, especially with the younger generation. .

Disapointing
Taiwan, as exotic a place as you can imagine, must be full of specific cultural behaviors. I was disapointed by this edition of the Culture Shock series. And the entire book only said to be alert and aware of them. There were no specifics. For those of us who are looking for specific do's and don'ts when traveling, this book was largely useless.

Related products:
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