Expat Corporate Executives in Taipei Eventually Become Homesick Too

Working too long as a corporate executive in Taipei brings a homesick feeling to me and fellow expats. The feeling is natural, no matter what foreign country or state you are sent to. There are so many factors in contributing to this urge to finally return home.

Having experienced being an expat in Taipei, I can say that it’s not easy to adjust moving into this place. It’s not Taipei, in general, that is hard to adapt to but the way of living here. For example, a person like me who grew up in a place where everywhere is within walking distance found it extremely difficult to get around in Taipei. Without a good sense of direction you could get lost in the stream of stores, vendors and passersby in the urban corners of the city. It might be impossible for some to adapt to the number of people flooding neighbourhood streets, but it’s possible to manage by assigning your own landmarks to arrive where you need to go.

The people are actually easy to work with, once you have found a way to interpret their language. I have to admit, it was excruciating at first. As a corporate executive there is a need to assign work forces to a certain area of the project and give them tasks to accomplish. This responsibility is challenging because it is done on a daily basis and monitoring the production needs to be done every hour. It is difficult to explain the tasks to workers with no knowledge of their language.

Some expat corporate executives shared their experience in Taipei. A friend and co-worker said that a Taiwanese interpreter had to accompany him almost all the time to assist in decoding some workers’ concerns. Another corporate executive had to write down and learn the repeating Taiwanese words in his work place. Some had the privilege though of learning with the help of their hosting company.

At the end of the day, what most expat corporate executives miss most is being able to act, decide and talk like their normal selves. Being in any foreign place, especially Taipei, requires expats to change and adapt. It means learning new languages and acting more politely than they normally do. Hearing someone speak your mother tongue is like music to the ears and is very uplifting.

In Taipei, the monsoons and humid tropical seasons can make any American or European citizen miss the predictable summer and winter seasons. It’s almost uncomfortable to go to work every day when the weather is dry and even more inconvenient when the heavy rains start pouring. The climate is easy to adapt to, after a time, as well as people. It is being far from loved ones that is extremely difficult to accept and get permanently used to.

Conversations are valuable to expats, but the physical comfort and presence of loved ones are priceless. Nothing compares to being close to those you love and care for, which is the only but best benefit in coming home.