Contradictory Emotional Struggles of Being Taiwanese Women

Last Sunday, two cousins from my mom's side visited us in Yun-lin, where my parents-in-law live. (I am always close to my cousins from mom's side. )
They wanted to take the kids to have some fun at the beach! Actually, their main purpose was the clams on the beach. But, to dig up the wild clams takes patience to wait for the ebb.

While we were waiting for the tide to ebb, the men were making Chinese tea and chatting casually. We, women, on the other hand, sat aside in the corner talking busily about our marriages.

Eversince, I became a married woman, I was included into a differnt zone of social circle. Before, none of the married cousins had ever mentioned any sex-related subjects to me.

Sex is an interesting topic among friends, but not among coworkers, a forbidden one in the family. However, the sex taboo exists only in certain families, not all though . In my hubby's, they enjoy teasing each other for their sex lives.

Anway, they were showing their concerns on our plans for the babies and they were also telling me how I should care for my hubby's well-being. The responsibilities that a wife should take!
Buying deodorant socks for him to avoid the embarrasement in social events. Think carefully of your baby plan because once you get the kids you plan for, contraception will be your job to stick to.

WHAT the h-e-l-l ???
I love my hubby and love to help decide what's best for him to wear. But, to take what he should wear as my responsibility? Isn't this too much? I would be happy to give him my suggestion, but to do or not is his call to make. Isn't it so?

And~~~~~~Why am I the one to watch out for the accidental pregnancy? If we want to stop having more babies, why can't it be my hubby's responsiblity to get the vasectomy? (of course, it is way too early to think about it, since we are childless.)

My cousin and cousin-in-law were sharing their experience on "abortion" with me, saying how dreadful it was to feel the pain and the after-effect it caused to their bodies. How they have felt the invisible black holes in them that suck out their enegergy from them. I was so shocked because I didn't know getting "A-s" was so common among married women. They are still sexual active after getting the # of kids they wanted, but being fertile becomes great worriment for them when they are in beds with their men.

What they'd shared with me saying that " We, women were caretaker for the family even the protectors of our own." Where are men in this situation? Are they exist in the marriages????

Liberal and liberative as Taiwanese women are, there are limitations they confine themselve to.
Men are half in the marriages, too. Right? Leave them half the responsibility of everything in the household, shall we? Let them not just, being pleased with whatever they're pleased with!!!
Be responsible, married men !!! Women bring home the bacon as much as you do, too.~~

Many of us, Taiwanese Women, desire to be better by receiving higher education, work harder for tasteful, even desirable lives. The colorful single lives of 4 characters in Sex and the City; Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda are perfect models to look up to.


How to live to the fullest at the present is the course Taiwanese women are interested in learning. Single or not, they're eager to attend various workshops, seminars, speeches and career-driven training ect. Such as: learning a second language.


Look around, you will see more females than males in Taiwan trying to make the better selves out of them.

My cousin and cousin-in-law as well, are taking higher education to nourish themselves for the possible chances that may improve their lives. They care about their appearances, preventing the ugliness that will age their looks quicker. Paying great attentions on their families and kids, hoping their kids will, one day, be more outstanding than what they've worked hard to maintain.

Even though females are devoting in forming new images for themselves; their behaviors change automatically after getting married. I don't know if those changes just jump up on them unconsciously or are them forced to transform by any external factors?

Or are we, women, the natural-born control freaks? We, are to be blamed for the consequences??

Why do we need to work so hard to be better women while men thought they were perect enough for the situations?

Keep on like this, playing a traditional Taiwanese woman will kill me one day~~~

Energy-saving Life

The routine we have every day is to watch political talk shows. There are many though, we only favor one. It becomes indispensable because there is no outlet to express the anger toward the tough life we have here in Taiwan. Only by watching the political discussion can we find the comforts being taken care of. Although, it is understandable that the inflation problem is invading all over the globe. We feel very much powerless over the weak government we have right now.

The media who is on the ruling party's side is using its every chance to help cover the flaw. They try to justify the unreasonable policies of the government, brainwash the audience to let them think it is inevitable that all prices should be elevated. Even more, they are promoting all energy-saving methods to teach you to be prepared for the worst to come.

I have to say, to save energy and make every energetic resource more efficient is the duty of every citizen on earth. We should love our this globe and try hard to last its longevity, since we are co-existing in symbiosis.

More and more people start living in energy-efficient ways. Buying the food in the supermakets before they close because, usually, the prices will go down to 50% to sell out the slow-selling goods. Group-shoppings online is so popular 'cause people can get good discounts. Restaurants are sitting there with empty seats since people try not to spend extra expense on unnecessary occasions. Office workers take turns to prepare lunch for others because,buying food materials in larger quantity saves more money.

Toilet papers are being stored every time they are on sales, it becomes every housewife's duty to watch carefully of their toilet-paper storage at homes. Housework experts are teaching housewives how to use the best of every piece of paper, toilet paper, napkin and tissue. For instance, cut the size of facial tissue in half. So, one box becomes two.

Water is one important item in resource management as well, people keep the waste water from shower because they can use the waste water to flush the toilets or to mop the floor. Using the water that rinse the rice to water the flowers or to do the dishes. The water that rinse the rice can be used to wash out the greasy from the dishes, the ancient method before the dish detergent was invented.

Energy-efficient lightbulbs are highly recommended to be replaced at homes, however, some reports show the efficiency is quite limited but still families are using them in the hope to fight against the sky-high power rate. One pratical way is to keep everyone in the same room at one time.

There are fashion designers publish books to teach people how to amend the old clothes in closet into trendy styles. Make your own accessories, compose the new makeups that you kept in the corner of the drawer.

I totally agree with the methods listed above, I am attracted to learn all those energy-saving methods. I think, it is better that those methods are put into practice in our lives. We should all be eco-friendly!

But, my point is that people here in Taiwan are living in desperation. It may be helpful to live our lives more energy-efficient, still the income is devaluated into an unrecoverable state.

Our president gave his smart-ass opinion when a farmer complained to him about the frequent theft that took away his living tools saying, " why not install the theft-proof lamppost?"
He is also remodeling himself into the images of our late president, one that once was renowned of his austerity and frugality. He imitates every move of this late one, wearing the old watch, reparing the shoes that had been worn out times before it couldn't be restored anymore. Taking the high-speed rails to attend his inauguration, saying that the Air force 1 shouldn't have been taken because the fuel for the plane would have costed greater than the rail, he made believe that the money was saved, while the national security crew were guarding every stop the high-speed rail passed and the cost was greater than what it appeared on media.

Out of the pressure of the criticism, he was forced to take his first flight a few days ago after the inauguration. This time, he did take the plane, but he took the plane that was assigned to carry the vice-president. Again, he jeopardised his safety as a president to act like a president who tried hard to save the tax money that people paid.

He was going to southern Taiwan for a meeting and taking other 19 officials with him in a 20-seat plane that might have saved the 60 grand NT for the tax-payers but costed even more because there were more than 20 officials who were required to attend the meeting with him down south. So, the other officials took the high-speed rails down south that the ticket fare for the round trip was 4000 NT. Of course, the expense would be reimbursed.

I didn't know the reason for those who voted him, but I know, I have never liked this one.
Long before he is a president. A great actor he is, but fools no one like me.
Being good-looking is not his fault, but being a father of an American is definately his fault that he should amend but he dares not to. His daughter was using her American passport when she was back for her father's inauguration. His two daughters are not living in Taiwan to experience the difficult lives that his father is ruling. They are living in America as American.

Ironically, our former president's daughter-in-law was forced to return to give the birth because many Blue-party politicians accused this former president's daughter-in-law for her treason.

Taiwan is no longer the Formosa, the paradise that once broke the record of foreign exchange reserves in Asia.

The president in Korea was inaugurated a few months earlier than ours. He policies that helped fight the inflation were teased by many experts because those policies seemed so absurd at first.

He restrained the prices of some grocery items. For examples, eggs, tops, kimtche etc.
At first, I thought that was ridiculous, thinking how could this work? What would it benefit the people whose money was thin to spend. Although, people in Korea are disatisfied with their president and have already held several protests requesting for a better solution.

I think, at least, people can buy the daily life neccessity in lower prices and are able to keep their lives going. Their president is braver than ours and has gut.

Ours steps back from the front line and tells his people that " what a president should be is staying behind the prime minister to make decisions, that is the image of how a president should be. If he has to stand in front to answer the questions all the time, then what is the function of his cabinet for anyway? "

So, this is what he did. He attended an occasion the other day feeding a cow and naming him.~~~
This was what a president should do, I suppose. Neglecting the desperate needs of his people, instead playing with a cow to show that he is a kind-hearted president that loves the animals.

If we can't be satisfied, where will your future be, president ??
Yap, right! You will be joining your daughters in America, being the direct family of American citizens.