Dan Chapman was the co-winner of the peer-judged award for best general blog in the 2009 Taiwan Best Blog Awards. His blog has some interesting stories about cross-cultural communication and mis-communication. Read what he had to say to Taiwanderful about blogging and life in Taiwan.
Blogger - Dan Chapman
Blogs - Betelnut Equation
Years in Taiwan - 15
Years blogging - 1
Blogging platform - blogger.com
Country of Origin - UK
Age - Middle-aged
Could you please tell us little about your background? What brought you to Taiwan?
I was doing the usual travel around Asia thing before planning to work in Hong Kong. When I got to Hong Kong I was kind of talked into giving Taiwan a try by someone I have since hardly seen. The rest is history.
What do you like about living in Taiwan?
You go through stages and, like most, I had my love it in Taiwan because of the girls, then the study, the food, the lawlessness, and the fact that it was hot all the time. Now, as I have a family, I appreciate just how damn safe and easy to live it is here. People are polite, friendly, you never have to worry about your personality safety at night; and, your recreational activities are pretty cheap. Last time, I was back in the UK it was 20 pounds each to go to a farm, here it is the equivalent of 3 pounds or something – and yes, we do earn less but not 10 times less.
How long have you had a blog and why did you start blogging?
I have had the blog for about a year. I started because, as I have said on my site, many of my younger friends actually said they had learnt more about dealing with Taiwanese from the old hands stories than you would ever do from a guide book.
This is only part of the reason - I have actually long been interested in the ups and downs of cultural communication. If I read a book or watch a movie I am impressed if it gives me insights in social phenomenon – even better if it can be delivered through satire. I hadn't seen anything that did this for Taiwan so I hoped I could go some way to do it.
What are the main topics you blog about?
Cultural mis-communication; how our stereotypes of each other influence our decision-making; and how a foreigners' own personality can go a long way to affect his experience. We too often see it a cultural clash when often it is a personality versus culture issue.
Are all the stories on you blog true or is there some poetic licence taken?
Yes, some poetic license is taken in perhaps editing the story, but everything is based on situations that have happened or I have heard of. I am very careful about making sure I am covering a social and cultural phenomenon that is relevant to foreigners living in Taiwan.
Have you had any special or unusual things that have happened as a result of writing your blog?
When you write something you hope that it is appreciated and useful to others. I still really enjoy getting comments good or bad, and winning this is nice as it shows I must be going in the right direction.
Do you have any advice for new bloggers?
Not really...Sorry. Apart from the obvious that you shouldn't do it to make money. You won't. Do it because it is interesting to you.
What are some of your favorite Taiwan blogs?
To be honest I don't read the kind of blogs that are about getting up in the morning and telling me if they are in a good mood or not. I read the factual ones and based on that I have been most impressed by the Hungry Girl's blog. Obviously, she has put a tremendous amount of work into this and it really has been helpful to me on many occasions. Otherwise, yes, of course, Michael Turton's blog is a fantastic insight into Taiwan's politics. I like the hiking blog that won here. And I will spend a lot of time to visit Taiwanderful and The Real Taiwan .
