Today, as I was looking for restaurants for Manuel's birthday dinner, I came across a random guy's blog about living in Taiwan. From there, I read on, and found a link to some random girl's blog and her experiences here too. So, I kept reading, and clicking, and felt fascinated by other foreigner's perspectives about Taiwan. I'm sad to admit it, but I spent a good 2-3 hours reading blogs but never once did it feel like it was time wasted.
I was impressed on how open these bloggers were, even discussing Taiwanese issues that I tend to shy away from. I can be a very opinionated person and in order to not offend anyone, I steer away from touchy subjects. Plus, after reading about a Taiwanese blogger who was fined and put in detention for expressing her negative views, it scared me a bit. As an American, I am used to having freedom of speech. Sure, defamation is one thing. But being honest about an experience is another. Sometimes I wish I could speak up more, discuss issues like politics, religion, body-image, inter-cultural dating, foreigners in Asia, stereotypes, discrimination, love, etc. Maybe I'll start. Maybe I won't. Regardless, it was just nice to read other people's opinions and reflect back on my three years here.
I guess it takes a lot of guts to speak out in a country deep rooted in traditional ways.
Posted by: eye surgery costs | December 10, 2011 at 11:51 AM