Why My Life is Better in Taiwan than America 🇹🇼 Teaching, Safety, and Learning Chinese
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- čas přidán 30. 07. 2024
- #englishteacher #taiwan #interview
My friend Eamon is an English teacher currently living in Taiwan who has also lived and taught in China, South Korea, and the US. He has been through a really rough past few years, and he just got back on his feet to share his experiences of what it's like being an English teacher in Asia vs. America. He also talks about what it's like to learn Mandarin Chinese, and about the safety differences between Taiwan and America. Enjoy!
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00:00 Eamon Devine, the English Teacher from Kansas, USA
01:09 Living in Yilan, Taiwan
01:49 High School Life, No Dreams
02:50 Learning Mandarin Chinese
04:48 First Time Living Abroad in China
05:29 Moving to South Korea to Teach English
07:01 Finding a New Home in Taiwan and First Impressions
07:55 Teaching English in Korea vs. Taiwan
10:03 Qualifications of Teaching English in Asia
10:55 Stereotypes of English Teachers in Asia
12:08 Teaching English in Asia a Dead End Job?
13:23 Leaving Taiwan back to America For Good
14:23 Reverse Culture Shock and Being an Outsider in America
15:27 Living Abroad Changes You, and Being Divorced
16:00 Teaching at an American Middle School
16:48 Teaching in USA vs. Taiwan/Korea
18:28 Safety in USA vs. Taiwan/Korea, Considering North Korea and China Threats
22:12 Only Surviving 1 Year Back in America Before Leaving Again
23:35 Born Again, Coming Back to Taiwan in 2023
24:03 "Never" Returning to America Again
24:38 Current Eamon vs. Eamon Who Never Came Abroad (Hypothetical)
25:40 Advice to People Who Want to Come Teach English Abroad
26:38 Reflections
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Matt, you did an amazing job. I kind of hate watching myself and it is a hit weird to see my story from the third person perspective, but I bet everybody feels that way when someone makes a video about them 🤣 Bravo. Looking forward to your future videos 😉
You did great man! Haha it's weird watching yourself on camera, but you absolutely nailed it and shared some great insight on living in Asia and teaching. Keep on killing it bud! Can't wait until our paths cross again! 😁
Taiwan is lucky to have you!! Great job!! Very touching interview!
He is a perfect example of a person who does well in Taiwan. Most Teachers in Taiwan are only there temporarily; however, there are some people who truly make Taiwan their home. These are usually the excellent teachers.
@paulwang1508 Eamon is lucky to have found Taiwan that is so in tune with his interests (I love Taiwan too by the way it's amazing!), and I think Taiwan is lucky to have an amazing person like Eamon around as he's so passionate about the culture and teaching. I think he'll inspire a lot of kids to follow their dreams! Thanks for the great comment!
Wow, this was so cool and exactly what I needed. As someone who taught in Korea for three years and came home to the US for a year and is now planning the move to Taiwan, it was eerily like listening to myself from the future. Excellent resource and excellent production value! Thank you so much!
Really enjoyed the interview...thanks a mill! Eamon is a very interesting person, and with good core values...it was great to listen and learn from him. Wish him all the best rebuilding his life in Taiwan.
And yes, further interviews will be very welcome...at least by moi 😊
Thanks so much @herahera7340! Eamon is a gem indeed. He's doing great still, and will keep that into consideration about the interviews in the future too! There are a few people I have that I have in mind, just have to find a time and a place to get them done someday!
This is one of my favorite videos about teaching abroad and also with the most information. Thank you so much for making the video and i look forward to watching other videos like this.
@chaimat.k2319 thanks so much for the nice comment! Really glad to hear that it was interesting, and I still haven't gotten the chance to film more videos like this one, but hoping to someday as it's incredibly fun to do so!
The questions were all well thought. And the answers just as much. Great interview altogether 👏🏽 deep, serious,concise 👌🏽
Thanks so much @rodrigorecalde5234!
thanks for the video
I like his way of thinking
I teach english on line
I taught in Taiwan 2 time for 3 years
If I couldl live my life again.....I would teach english convresation in Taiwan and travel to many places
Thanks a lot @spencermccormick2959! Teaching and living in Taiwan is an amazing lifestyle for sure!
Having the courage to attempt the things that scare you, and persist with them when faced with obstacles, will separate you from the vast majority of people. Good stuff 👍
Thanks a lot @ONCEbittenTWICEshyshyshy! 😊 Eamon has certainly done well to face his problems and live a great life in Taiwan!
really interesting! thank you 🙂
Thanks so much @mayasherwin7098!
Wonderful interview. Both of you gents seem like really good human beings, and happy to see you two in the world...
Matt, you're pretty good at doing interviews, and I personally would love to see you interview more people, especially local Koreans, doesn't matter what they do, who they are, would just enjoy getting their life story and learning from them... eg. a local restaurant owner, other expats, salary men/women...
Thank you... ♥
Thanks so much for the kind words @SavanaT! I would love to interview more people too, and will definitely jump on the opportunity when it arises someday!
I stumbled upon this video and I must say that I really enjoyed your interview. It was very informative and interesting. Keep up the good work!
Thank you so much! Eamon has such a good view on things and made it super easy to interview!
Great interview!!! Excellent content and concise! I'm considering moving to Taiwan in a few months. My daughter is attending University there this fall 😊
Thank you so much for watching @patriotic_servicewoman! Taiwan is an amazing place if you haven't been before. I think your daughter will like it a lot!
Hi, is there a university in Taiwan that teaches in English? My daughter is interested.
I don't know much about Taiwan to be honest @sukislo, but I found this link that might have some useful info: globalscholarships.com/best-english-taught-universities-taiwan/
More interviews, please!
Thanks for the interest @RenMVlogs! Definitely open to more content like this in the future someday!
Good stuff! -- he speaks a lot of truths...
Thank you for making the video Matt, quality content.
A lot has changed since I taught English in Korea and some has remained the same. The financial/political situation and my experiences back then made every day life quite challenging at times. I chose to return to Canada and make a career here but we always look forward to making the pilgrimage to visit family and friends back "home" in Korea.
Thanks a lot Alex! When did you live and teach in Korea? I don't think the ESL teacher lifestyle here is one of abundance, but it's definitely do-able if you don't care too much about owning a nice house someday. I'm sure you made a great choice to return home! Korea will always be here to come back and visit, as I'm sure there are so many parts you miss about it too!
I lived there during the Asian Financial Crisis. It was an interesting time. I learned a lot, had a lot of fun, made friends I still have today. @@lostthenfound
Man. Great topic. Great focus. Stellar video editing. It's only a matter of time before you blow up. Please remember us when you do! You have so much you can share the world with your expertise on video creation - I am jealous of your abilities! I'm here in Thailand now working on my masters. I've decided to settle down here for a few years. Glad to have your video as a nice little study break.
Wow Elias what nice words! Really appreciate it man! 😊 That's so great you have decided to settle down in Thailand and work on your masters! I'm so curious how it is over there especially after living in Korea. Any chance you will get back to making videos again in the future? Would love to tune in if you do especially after your time in Korea!
Taiwanese government practices reciprocity with foreign nationals. In the case of US citizens, there is no restriction on setting up businesses or owning land, etc. In fact one of the largest English schools is American owned. The majority of TSMC board of governors are also Americans. The incoming vice-president is half-American. Most of the social elite are US educated. You really can't find a more western friendly country in Asia.
Oh wow I didn't know that @robertos4876 thanks a lot for sharing! Taiwan seems like an incredibly open country, and if I wasn't tied to Korea I think I would spend a lot of years living there as well.
Very interesting life story and good content.
As a Taiwanese, I have heard countless threat before world recognize geographical risk in recent year. I'm not saying the war is not going to happen forever, but life goes, just treasure every moment you have.
Thanks so much @yijuchen2099! 😊 Totally agree with you that there will always be threats in this world, but they are out of our control so it's best to live life to the fullest! 😁
Yooo so good to finally see a video from you guys, looking forward to getting stuck into this one, Eamon's story really seems fascinating.
Thanks so much Stuart! 😁 He's a really interesting character for sure and he's been through a lot!
Eamon seems like the kind of guy who would love Esperanto.
Maybe he needs a night out with you telling him all about it! 🤣
I know a little about it, but have never studied any of it. I'll never say never!
Really enjoy your interviews. Stumbled on your channel doing some research on Korea.
Thanks so much @darrenjacobs4832! 😊 Will try and interview some others in the future too!
Beginning salary for a teacher in San Antonio Texas is $65.000 a year. The median income for San Antonio is $32.000 a year.
That's pretty decent! I guess it depends on the state eh? Is 65k/year enough to make a decent living?
Hey, thanks for the video. I have a question for you, Eamon or anyone else reading this: how do you cope with the little amount of vacation days in Asian countries?
Personally I find myself being dependent on the forecast of having a lot of vacation (as a teacher in the Netherlands you get around 11 weeks spread throughout the year).
What experiences or routines can prevent you from feeling stuck when working at the same place for such a huge portion of the year?
Thanks a lot for watching @user-fe1hb7ud9k and great question! I don't understand how people deal with having such little holidays either. I would way rather make less money and have more free time than make a lot of money and little time to spend it on. I think some people just get used to the daily routine, and they are so used to working that it doesn't feel as bad anymore. When I worked as a teacher, I made sure to take full advantage of my weekends and travel around the country, and then every Wednesday night I would go out with friends late at night and deal with the consequences on Thursday. Holidays in the Netherlands sound amazing by the way!
What gets me is how in places like China, Japan, and Korea is that you will always be an outsider no matter how long you stay. No matter how well you learn the language and culture you will never truly belong. Discrimination. You get into a conflict with a local. Even if it's not your fault others side against you. Landlords discriminate against you. If you do something mildly wrong you become a nationwide scandal in every newspaper. How is Taiwan any different?
Hello @Alias1983 I know that there are definitely a lot of times where foreigners have a hard time when being involved in a conflict with locals like you said, but I wouldn't say that the entire society in these countries buys into the whole "us vs. them" mentality against foreigners. I've also seen plenty of times where foreigners have been helped out from locals instead of ridiculed in very similar situations, but these situations don't tend to get as much publicity.
How is that different than the US, Great Britain, France or Germany to name a few?
@@jimbob2861yeah, you're right, it's not much different. Discrimination is everywhere and it sucks 😂
But it might arguably still be better in Taiwan! Lol
@jimbob2861 In western countries there are hate crime laws. And you got all the left wing news media that will publicize stories in a way that elicits sympathy for minorities. You got all these SJW's, heart bleeding white liberals, BLM activists and such. You got liberal colleges that force whites to acknowledge their "white privilege". Government jobs that require sensitivity training for white employees. If two people walk into a college, one wearing a BLM shirt the other wearing a white pride shirt. Which of the two is likely to face trouble? I'd rather be a foreigner in America.
@@jimbob2861 one example. In japan. Landlords will say we don't rent out to foreigners and face no consequences. Imagine if a landlord in America said we rent to whites only. He'd face trouble.
in the US, people will cut your bike lock to steel your bike.
Haha same with Canada!
USA, land of the homeless, home of the hillybilly riffraff. Of course, unless you belong to the 1% of the population that owns over 60% of the wealth, the U.S. offers little but disgust. Being an unemployed, homeless or drug addict on Skid Row is more and more the norm of what the American Dream can offer nowadays. Given that, almost any country is better. But Taiwan does offer a social environment of mutual consideration and goodwill that is rare in other places.
Thanks so much @robertblue3795! Wow, you were here when Korea was a very different country than what it is today. I really wish I could have seen it back then!
Life in any emerging country is better than in America 😅😢😢😢😢😂😂😂😂
I have the same opinion as you @brayanpalacio5416. Really happy with my life here in Korea as well!