Chat With an Expat - How a Gypsy Girl From Oz Ended Up Living in Taiwan

Have you ever wondered what it's like to leave your home country and live in a foreign land? Do you need some inspiration and motivation to do this yourself?

"Chat With an Expat" takes you around the world and brings you into the homes, huts, tents and yurts of global drifters to give you an inside look at what life is like living abroad. 

In this installment, we speak to an Australian with the heart of a Gypsy living in Asia.

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Kara Hocking

Originally from: Australia
Currently in: Kaohsiung, Taiwan

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It's always interesting to meet someone who grew up unconventionally in a conventional world. Kara is a personal friend of mine who, although she was raised in Australia, moved around a lot when she was younger. She was brought up in a household of gypsies with parents who loved to move and travel, and she never lived longer than 3 years in one house. Last year, she moved to the East Asian country of Taiwan. Here is her story of what life is like there:

How did you end up living in Taiwan?

I didn't really have any desire to go to Asia, I always had Spain or Greece in mind. To be honest when Taiwan was first mentioned to me I thought it was Thailand, but I guess that’s what everyone first thinks.

Any first impressions?

When I got to Taiwan my first impression of my new home for the next year was...there are so many Asians everywhere!

Have you learned the local language?

The language? Oh, that language. 

The language barrier was something that was hard to get over and a little unexpected. I was not interested in learning it at all.

But since I've been here I've realized that was very close minded and I have started learning it. It's incredibly satisfying to be able to walk down the street and order a meal now.

Do you have any funny stories about learning the language?

It's a lot of fun playing charades with a waitress trying to act out a chicken, pig or cow. Pictures help a lot. But you feel like a child again, having to get people to order for you or answer your phone. It's so funny, but the Taiwanese are very patient and understanding. They always try to help you out. 

Where exactly do you live in Taiwan, and what is it like?

My new home is the city of Kaohsiung; buildings, sky rises...a concrete jungle. Natural beauty is out of the question within the city. That was hard, coming from a pretty beautiful place to living in a city like this.

It can feel a little confined sometimes, but you just suppress it. Every once in awhile, when I finally get time to go to the coast, it isn’t as good as I'm used to. But because I'm so starved of natural beauty, I end up being like, “Oh MY GOODNESS, this is beautiful!!!”

Cool, so do you get to travel around Taiwan?

I just recently visited some pretty nice gems of Taiwan up north, some amazing mountains, the view was breath taking. It's just a matter of taking the time and energy to go looking for these places. It's definitely worth it though.

What is driving in Taiwan traffic like?

I have thoroughly enjoyed my scooter, I couldn't wait to drive one for the first time, it was so exciting and so much fun.

Everybody warns you about the traffic and how hard it is to get used to but, I did pretty well. I blended in quite nicely with weaving in and out of traffic feeling like a local and a sense of invisibility, which sometimes is not a good thing. 

I've had a few near accidents, but nothing to tell yet. My driving has calmed down a lot and I am much more sensible.

Do you have any interesting stories about driving in Taiwan?

It was hard to ride a scooter in the rain. My friend Khia and I went to a town called Luzhu, which is about a 45 minute scooter drive from Kaohsiung, and as we were driving it starts to pour down rain! So Khia and I are sitting at the lights on our scooters while the rain is bucketing down on us, we just look at each other, laugh and get soaked.

We finally reach our destination and the rain stops as we pull in. We are in Luzhu for a couple of hours and it didn’t rain at all. Then, we hop on our bikes to head back home, and low and behold the rain starts up again!

“Of course,” I think. We put on our sunnies so the rain doesn’t hit our eyes and just get over the fact that we will be incredibly wet.

We are driving along and Khia is only a few meters ahead of me when all of a sudden Khia drives through a huge puddle and a wave of dirty mud water hits me right in the face! I am covered head to toe with filthy street water! I didn't realize how someone could be so wet without going swimming. I was feeling pretty great that day.

We got back to Kaohsiung, went to the first coffee shop we could think of, sat inside, had a warm coffee and drenched their nice comfy seats with water. That was a fun experience. The joys of scooters!

What are the locals like in Taiwan?

The locals of Taiwan are truly great people. Like anywhere you have the good and the bad, but over all the people here are pretty nice, always willing to help and very hospitable. 

Even though I can't speak much they still try and talk to me and have chats. I don't really know what they're saying, so I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Maybe they are telling me off or just wanting to chat to a foreigner. 

Anyway, as far as I see, they are pleasant people.

Have you had any friendly connections with the locals?

I was staying at a friend's place in Taipei and there was a lady on the first floor who was very concerned about me having something to eat because she only saw me come back to the house with juice. She invited me for a lunch date to eat some local fruit with her. So sweet.

I have found the locals, the old as well as the young, to be a good natured and lovely type of people, and the friends I have made here are definitely ones for life. So many great times and memories.

What do you think about Taiwanese food?

I love how cheap everything is here, it's so much more sensible than any western country. I really enjoy the food, but not all of it, some can be pretty disgusting. 

For example, stinky tofu or the thousand year egg...yeah that stuff is not tasty at all! Also I don’t get the obsession with putting a ton of sugar in almost every drink.

But I have fallen in love with the variety of local street food and the fresh fruit juices. The fruit here is amazing, I didn’t know how sweet it could be. Before I came to Taiwan I wasn’t big on fruit, like at all, I very rarely ate it. But since I have been here I am addicted to it!

I recently went back to Australia for a visit and thought I’d buy some fruit. I couldn’t believe how different it is, it just isn’t the same. It may look big, fresh and juicy, but the taste is awful!

The fruit in Taiwan is so much better, so incredibly good!

Do they have a selection of international cuisine in Taiwan?

Yes. It's great to find other types of food from different cultures, like Vietnamese, Indian, Filipino and one of my all time favorites at the moment, Thai. Places like these you won't find often in Australia. It's such authentic, tasty food, full of flavor, made from fresh and wholesome ingredients!

How do you manage to stay in the country?

I am on a working holiday visa which lets me be here for a year, but I am hoping I can get an extension, so fingers crossed with that one.

So what do you do for work in Taiwan?

I work here teaching English. I love kids and I have had some great classes. I always had a dream to teach overseas as a volunteer where there was a need, like India or Africa, so I guess this has been a great opportunity for me to see what it's like to be a teacher.

I do enjoy it. The kids can be little grommets sometimes, but they're kids, and they make me laugh a lot. 

Alright, last question: Do you have any advice for those who want to move to another country?

Prepare for the worst and it can only get better from there, and never have too big expectations of things, just go with the flow.

Things are never as bad as they seem, most of the time anyway. I think that has been one of the best qualities I have cultivated.

It's not all about the destination, it's the journey itself that’s worthwhile. I now really do believe that!

Mentally prepare yourself for the ups, and especially the downs, but realize that every experience, if nothing else, will make a great story.

And enjoy the journey because you don't know where it will end up taking you if you are willing to let it.

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"Chat With an Expat" takes you around the world and brings you into the homes, huts, tents and yurts of global drifters to give you an inside look at what life is like living abroad. 

Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to get regular updates on blog posts.

And now we'd like to ask you: Would you consider living in Taiwan? Why or why not?

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