So today I was wondering...how come in movies, TV shows, media itself, I come to see that people who take public transport like a bus can start a conversation with a complete stranger, but ever since I came to Taiwan it hasn't happened to me? No wait, it did...It happened like 2 times. Thing is, it happened with foreigners. Never has a Taiwanese approached me and started a conversation with me on a bus unless it's the bus driver him or herself (Cause in Taiwan you can get both). I remember two years ago taking a bus back home, and I hear a couple of guys speaking Spanish at the back of the bus. After a while, I just asked where they were from (cause that's the first thing people ask foreigner's in Taiwan). Turns out they were from Mexico, and a nice conversation followed. The second time was not so long ago. I got on a bus, which I was not sure where it was going so asked the driver if it went to the "so and so" stop. To my surprise, he just stares back at me with no expression on his face...so ask once again assuming he didn't hear me. Same reaction...or lack of reaction? Just as I was about to call this driver out, a woman sitting right near the entrance said "Yes, it passes by your stop. I'm going there too." So I thought to myself, "Finally, somebody had some decency to answer me." It so happens that this woman is a foreigner around her 40's. It is also worth mentioning that the bus was not empty, it was actually half full yet nobody else answered. Now I know what you must be thinking, that probably they didn't understand what I was saying...they do speak Chinese after all. For the record, I asked in Chinese, and the woman answered me in Chinese as well. And just then, it felt nice that somebody actually spoke to me on the bus.
I just can't help but wonder, why? Why in Taiwan people are just not going to talk to you on the bus? It is kind of ironic that in the buses here made to transport 2,620,000 people in just Taipei and get crammed like a can of sardines during rush hour I feel alone and at times alienated. I bump into people while trying to get out, or slightly push when fighting to get in and still it feels kinda lonely in the bus. I know they notice me, cause they stare at times and its something most foreigners learn to ignore.
I can also point out a few situations that can happen while taking a bus in Taiwan:
*If you happen to sit somewhere that has two seats, and the one beside you is free...its yours too so stretch and relax. Taiwanese don't sit beside foreigners unless necessary. They get on the bus, look at an empty seat, go for it, see a foreigner beside it, and suddenly realize they just wanna stand during this trip (They figure they had been sitting all day anyway). Of course, its not always the case, but I can assure you that foreigners that take the bus have had this happen to them at least 60% of the time.
*If you start talking to somebody else, it is almost 100% sure heads will turn. Probably because of your accent, or the language your using...but sometimes even when you speak Chinese, heads will turn to stare at the speaker for a while...I have also observed that most of them are elderly Taiwanese that like to do the staring game.
*If you start talking with somebody else in a language other than Chinese or English and sometimes French, those stares start having a different meaning to them...a more like, "Would you shut the hell up?". Oh I forgot to mention that the few times Taiwanese ever speak to us foreigners on a bus is to shut us up. Now why, did I mention those 3 languages? Well, because I've heard and seen groups of Taiwanese school students (elementary, middle, highs schools, university) being loud as a construction site, and they get away with it. Why English? Because Taiwanese love foreigners that speak English. Their first thought is that they are from "America", a country they look up with great esteem. Too much if you ask me. Why French? Because there are those who like France as well, sorta like they do with "America". Any other language is just noise and gibberish to them.
*You will be stared at
*The driver, for a lack of a better word, drives like a madman.
*The driver, again for a lack of a better word, drives extremely slow.
*The driver talks to the bus driver that's beside our lane.
*The driver might start fighting with a taxi in front of him.
*The driver will ask you where you're from.
*You will be pointed out by the children
*The driver might ask you where you want to go before you get on, just in case you don't know which bus you're taking.
*Often will you find some elder Taiwanese sitting near the driver, having a very loud conversation that sounds like a heated argument. But they are just talking about the weather! :D
And on and on, but I think this is enough buses and drivers for today.
I must admit tho, that I have felt like a fly on the wall sometimes...just observing all the interesting characters that might get on the bus, or interesting things that happen on the bus.
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