Taiwan

The majority of travellers who work in Taiwan pick up temporary jobs teaching English. Jobs teaching other languages mainly European or Japanese do exist but have a much smaller proportion of the market.

Job requirements - in finding employment with a language school, experience, teaching qualifications and references are not required but obviously help. On paper, a big issue is also made about accents, with the North American English accent being heavily favored over British, Australian and South African accents in many language schools' sales marketing. However, in practice, many schools that advertise 'American English' and claim that their teachers are all from Canada or the USA, actually employ teachers from anywhere. Age is a factor, with applicants in their 20s seemingly being preferred. More than anything, appearance is probably the major factor in finding employment with most schools - Do you 'look Western'? - and reliability and turning up on time for work is then the major factor for keeping your job. Therefore, if you look the part, it is very easy to find a school willing to take you on for at least a few days.

This 'look Western' point has quite a bearing. Unfortunately, Taiwan is hardly a great promoter of equal opportunities. In many schools there is a prejudice against teachers applying for jobs who are not of white Caucasian appearance, seen as the typical Western appearance in Asian countries. This is independent of whether or not the teacher has relevant teaching ability and citizenship of one of the permitted ARC countries. Many parents who send their children to schools to be taught English expect the teacher to look like they are from the U.S., Canada, the UK, Australia, and so on, and so the decision on the part of the school managers is mainly about economics. For those affected by this, it's a sad fact of Taiwan that is unlikely to change in the near future. Good employers without such prejudiced requirements do exist, but greater perseverance is needed when looking for them.

It is illegal to work without a work permit and an ARC or Alien Residency Permit, and legal work officially requires a university degree and usually a long two month+ application process. However, illegal employment is easy to find with many school managers being willing to pay under the table for short durations. Be aware that if caught or reported, you risk criminal charges and could be deported. The government tends to waver from being very lax on this issue under one administration to suddenly taking action under the next; but remember that it only takes one disgruntled student to report you and have you fined and deported. Consider your options carefully!

The rules for getting an ARC do change often and each administrative part of Taiwan has its own ways of handling them, so it is best to check the pages of the website Forumosa (http://www.forumosa.com/t...) and find out what the experiences of others are in your area. Keep in mind, that you can only get an ARC for English teaching if you are a 'citizen of a native English speaking country'. Taiwan's government defines these countries to be only the U.S., Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and South Africa. Almost all teachers apply for an ARC through their employers only after starting work and it is tied to their ongoing employment with that school. Therefore, if the teacher wishes to leave their employment, they will have to quickly find an alternative employer or lose their ARC and hence be required to leave Taiwan. Also, very few schools will arrange an ARC without at least a year-long contract being signed. Frankly, with all this inflexibility, it's no wonder so many teachers opt for the non-legal route. That and tax evasion.

British and German citizens aged 18-30 can apply for a working holiday visa. For more information, visit the Bureau of Consular Affairs website.

A lot of the illegal teaching work that the majority of English teachers partake in is simply through private student tuition with payment being cash-in-hand. You can find a lot of private students around universities that have a Chinese-teaching department - look for the areas where all the foreign students will be and check the noticeboards. Because the majority of adult private students want to practise English conversation, you won't need to have any Chinese ability. However, it is definitely a selling point and, if you do have Chinese-speaking ability, it's worthwhile mentioning that in any advertising of your services. Also, once you have some regular students, remember that in Taiwan, as in most Asian countries, 'connections' or 'guanxi' are very important - if your students like you, they will in all likelihood recommend you to their family and friends.

Teaching English in Taiwan can be lucrative, as the salaries are very high compared to the cost of living, typically ranging $500-650 per hour before deductions in most language schools, with anything between $500-1000 per hour being negotiable for private students. In the past few years, the flow of would-be teachers into Taiwan has increased dramatically, resulting in stiffer competition for jobs as well as a general drop in wages and this trend may continue. On top of this, the Taiwanese dollar has been sliding in value over the past five years, meaning you get less and less for your dollar in foreign currency at the end of the month.

Aside from English-teaching, other common kinds of employment available for mainly native English-speaking travellers include such tid-bits as small acting parts for TV and film, voice talent video games, dubbing tracks, etc, editing and even writing educational materials. Many of these will be advertised on billboards in Chinese language-teaching institutes and universities, where there are likely to be many foreign students.

If after travelling and living there, you find you are serious about working in Taiwan, the most lucrative employment to be had is if you are employed by a multinational company, perhaps in a high-paying country like the UK, U.S. or Australia, and you are sent across to their office in Taiwan. Many foreigners end up doing the same job as their colleagues who were employed in the Taiwan office, but for perhaps 3 or 4 times their pay.

Taiwan is home to several good universities, many of which have exchange agreements with various foreign universities, and these are a good way to experience life in Taiwan. The most prestigious university in Taiwan is the National Taiwan University.

Spring Scream

春天吶喊 - a three day outdoor rock concert in kenting, held every year. in 2011, it will take place on 1-4 april. tickets are $1,400 for all days, all venues; $650 for one day, one venue. kenting's entire area gets swarmed by young people coming to party for 3 days, and taiwanese tv heavily reports on the latest bikini fashions seen on the spot. (http://www.springscream.com/)

Dragon Boat Festival

龍舟賽 - a festival to commemorate the death of the chinese patriotic poet qu yuan born 340 bc, who drowned himself in a river out of despair that his beloved country, chu, was being plundered by a neighboring country as a result of betrayal by his own people. the festival falls on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month 19 june 2008, and is marked by races of colorful dragon boats at various locations throughout the island.

gambling

While gambling is technically illegal in Taiwan, mahjong Mandarin: 麻将 má jiàng; Taiwanese: 麻雀 moâ-chhiok remains popular. The Taiwanese version of the game differs significantly from the better known Cantonese and Japanese versions, most notably because a hand consists of 16 tiles instead of the 13 used in other version. However, it remains mostly a family and friends affair and there are no publicly advertised mahjong parlours.

martial arts

There are many styles of kung fu 功夫 taught in Taiwan, largely by masters who came here with the Kuomintang in the late 1940's.

Styles include Ba Gua 八卦, Tai Chi 太極, Wing Chun 詠春, Praying Mantis 螳螂, Shway 水 Shiao and various weapons systems. Many of the students are westerners in these classes, which has led to the rise of several NHB Allegra (http://www.theallegra.com/) schools, as well as Ju Jitsu and Aikido from Japan.

Some of the more famous teachers will provide you with the paperwork needed to extend a student visa twice.

Taekwondo is also extremely popular and is often a mandatory part of school children's physical education.