another lazy post

I haven't gotten any feedback on the last post, but I'm hoping I'll get at least one comment on this one...yet another article from my book as I'm feeling too lazy to write about anything else at the moment.

Thriving & Surviving - Guanxi
One of the most elusive concepts while I have been living in Taiwanese culture is guanxi 關係. Guanxi literally translates into “relationship” and is applied to both personal and professional situations. It refers to the benefits gained from social networks, whether they are family, school, work friends, clubs, or organizations.


From a western perspective, guanxi can be easily misconstrued as the you-scratch-my-back-I’ll-scratch-yours mentality, but guanxi is much more than just who you know and what they can do for you. It’s a way to behave in every personal encounter you have which can be mystifying at first, but later make a strange sort of sense. Let’s take tipping as an example. In western cultures, it’s a given that you should tip to say thank-you for the service you receive. In Taiwan, tipping is not only unexpected, it’s frowned upon and sometimes even downright insulting. If you got into the wrong cab and told the taxi driver to keep the change, they might refuse or get angry about it. Due to guanxi, the taxi driver might consider your tip as an act of charity, and when unasked for, this can be a major loss of face. They also might think you’re vying for special treatment by giving them money, putting them in your debt. While it might seem innocuous, traditionally minded Taiwanese take it very seriously.


Probably the fastest way to lose face is to get angry and start shouting in public. Taiwanese people almost never do this, even if they have just cause. Someone could run over their foot, steal their wallet, or cut them off in line and no one says a thing. The thinking is that the person who caused the offense is the one who has already lost face. Basically, you let people away with stuff that would never fly back home because they are embarrassing themselves already. I’ve had to stop myself a couple of times and even had a very uncomfortable experience where I snapped on a mentally challenged high school kid. Nothing says loss of face when you see a sweaty, angry foreigner taking out his bad day on a disable teen in front of about 75 people. Still, guanxi’s a tough pill to swallow and there are a few occasions where I’ve seen Taiwanese people lose their shit. This will literally stop people on the street. (watching someone explode is apparently not part of guanxi)


From a professional perspective, guanxi exists everywhere. In Taiwan, teaching English to any student before Grade 1 is illegal, yet every buxiban offers immersion programs that employ foreign teachers. To keep the Labor and Immigration police away, schools use their guanxi to protect their school. This can either be through who you know, or how much you pay. Schools with little to no guanxi are usually the one’s that are targeted frequently.


Love it or hate it, guanxi is part of life in Taiwan and other Chinese cultures. If get a grasp of the basics, you’ll soon just smile at the moron who just cut the line in 7-11.

i'v mentioned in a couple of posts that i've been working a book that is part memoir and part travel guide of my time in asia. i'm desperate for some feedback so i'm going to take a break from the norm and post a rough draft of something i've been working on. as part of the book, i'm going to put in several short essays entitled "thriving & surviving" which are observations and musings on cultural differences that exist only in asia. i would greatly appreciate some comments on this....the material isn't exactly sensitive, but i'm mostly afraid of the tone being misinterpreted. i want to tweak foibles here, not create hate literature (although i think i'm pretty far off the mark)

anyway, here goes...

Thriving + Surviving – The Squat Toilet

Spend any amount of time in Asia and you’re sure to come across the squat toilet. It’s a trough-shaped fixture, seated in the middle of the floor in a bathroom stall. The water tank is in the top corner and features a pull chain to flush. There isn’t a seat and you need to position yourself over top of the trough, with your pants pulled away from your bum, while trying to maintain your balance. I like to push my hand against one wall for support, while using my other to ensure I don’t poop all over my pants.

While most homes and businesses have converted to the western-style toilet, the squatter remains in many public bathrooms throughout. If you’re like me, you only encounter the squatter when the situation is dire. It will likely be shortly after you’ve made a questionable food choice that will result in a mad dash to the nearest public toilet. It’s a 50/50 chance of it being a squat toilet. Of course, in a blind panic to use the toilet lest you unload in your pants, you take whatever comes your way.

I still prefer to use a western-style toilet whenever I can. This is due to a couple of reasons. A) Sanitation and B) Less-stress. I know that some would disagree about it western-style toilets being more sanitary (various bums touching the toilet seat, fear of crabs, herpes, etc) but squatters don’t seem that clean to me. There can be (and often is) leftovers that haven’t been washed away, not to mention a garbage pail full of used toilet paper about a foot away. I tend to feel stressed out whenever I have to use a squatter. I’m afraid that I’ll crap on my clothes, or that I’ll slip and fall into the trough. Worst of all, the fact is that there isn’t a water dampening effect from the usual bowl, so the smell is unholy. I’m always worried that the smell might cling to my clothing for the rest of the day. All in all, I poop so I can relieve my body of undue stress, not to create more.

There are a few advantages to the squat toilet that I would be failing in my duty if I didn’t report on them. It is good for your digestive system because there is no grunting or pushing involved. You just simply let go and boom! A nice quick crap. I suppose it can be considered more sanitary because you aren’t touching anything (once you’ve mastering the balancing act). But, isn’t it nice to just sit down and take a break sometimes? To have a little “me” time?

I think I’ve gotten somewhat used to the squat toilet over time, although I will still wait in line for the western-style toilet as long as it’s not go time.

thoughts? comments? concerns? i'd love to hear 'em.