Letter to Lisa part 4

Letter to Lisa Part 4
Chinese Teacher, “The Other Woman” and Chinese Culture
Dateline: March

Dear Lisa,

I don’t have a Chinese Teacher anymore. My teacher is a graduate student in Astronomy. Studying astro-physics isn’t easy on a simple day, but her workload has increase as she is getting close to graduating this summer and she has to finish her thesis. I’m kinda bummed about this. I wasn’t always the best student, but knowing I had a lesson on Saturday did keep me a little honest.

Mei-Ling is a very good teacher and friend. I’ll miss meeting with her very much.

You remember back in February I told you there was a Taiwanese woman I liked. At this point, I give up. She is what people would say is very beautiful in a Chinese way. Meaning she looks very Chinese, not Taiwanese. Yeah, I know it difficult to understand, but living here I sort of get. I think it is part of what I can only say is Taiwan’s schizophrenic relationship to Mainland China. Anyway, the nut has been too difficult to crack. She is in her 40’s like me, never married and very very nice, but also very shy. I just don’t know what to do or say more. I can’t tell if she likes me or not. People give me advice but I never know what to do. You see, the advice of others also changes with different people and sometimes even with the same people.

It is always a moving target. I’m sure it makes some sense to Chinese people, but to me the women here are a complete mystery. Understanding American women was no walk in the park for me, but at least I understood the cultural boundaries. In Taiwan, all bets are off. Man/Woman “friendship” and dating is beyond me. But I know there’s hope. There just has to be. This is another case, sadly, where white is definitely a preference. Goofy looking, loser white guys can get a “girlfriend” here with seemingly little effort.

Again, I can only say that it seems to be something embedded in Taiwan culture that I haven’t unlocked yet. But, in time, I’ll figure it out.

Time is my friend.

Darryl