tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321329750397667796.post5484897040933572478..comments2024-03-26T19:47:09.310+08:00Comments on Lao Ren Cha - 老人茶: Why are there so few expat women in Asia?Jenna Lynn Codyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04032277820150000198noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321329750397667796.post-50467688951165789072017-08-08T19:18:17.575+08:002017-08-08T19:18:17.575+08:00I have no idea why or how it's taken me this m...I have no idea why or how it's taken me this many years living in Taiwan to discover your blog but I have and now I'm a huge fan. I've been here 7 years (okay, almost 8) and this resonated with me, especially the part about dating. I was actually about to leave Taiwan because I'm 30 and want to date but I ended up staying because I met someone. Being single here isn't so greatjoliejuliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12392260920064097839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321329750397667796.post-91085981865328795682014-03-12T00:55:36.059+08:002014-03-12T00:55:36.059+08:00It's not like I haven't heard the "me...It's not like I haven't heard the "men like Asian women, women like Latin lovers" line of reasoning before. And yes, I am sure some people go abroad to certain places because they are attracted to the people there (regardless of their gender or orientation).<br /><br />But...you know, it's more common than you might think for Western women to be open to dating Asian men. If Jenna Lynn Codyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04032277820150000198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321329750397667796.post-34261655810991079452014-03-11T22:58:03.453+08:002014-03-11T22:58:03.453+08:00You might add something to your list of anecdotes ...You might add something to your list of anecdotes if you ever saw just how many women travel in places like Jamaica and many Latin countries. Men travel to Asia often cause they have a thing for asian women. Women travel to Latin America or Jamaica cause they have a thing for Latinos or Black guys.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01977529181344860243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321329750397667796.post-24891021276069590652012-10-22T21:24:13.832+08:002012-10-22T21:24:13.832+08:00Eep! I am the lone female expat here (for many, ma...Eep! I am the lone female expat here (for many, many years) and single. The exception that proves the rule :(<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321329750397667796.post-58356549084902442552012-06-04T18:24:23.476+08:002012-06-04T18:24:23.476+08:00taiwanplusmack.blogspot.com/
here's my blog a...taiwanplusmack.blogspot.com/<br /><br />here's my blog about living in Kaohsiung! I really like your's.Diegohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02543463180027976631noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321329750397667796.post-85126629515039773422011-10-30T13:43:58.806+08:002011-10-30T13:43:58.806+08:00It was interesting to read your article. I think ...It was interesting to read your article. I think the female friendship aspect was interesting. I lived in Tokyo for 8 years and met a lot of great women there. I think Tokyo might be the exception in Asia. However, I know from my friends and other women there that the dating issue was there. The women weren't necessarily against dating Japanese men, but it was difficult. When you have a Corinnenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321329750397667796.post-82260731391457186512011-08-04T04:30:08.764+08:002011-08-04T04:30:08.764+08:00Great post! For me, it was the unending sexism: bo...Great post! For me, it was the unending sexism: both from the Chinese and the expats. Those in relationships have the support to handle it; those of us who are single simply don't.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321329750397667796.post-74791565310307073352011-05-15T11:05:32.994+08:002011-05-15T11:05:32.994+08:00Of course women from across the US are encouraged ...Of course women from across the US are encouraged to travel, and you will find families that do this across the country and even world. <br /><br />That said, one can't speak of a trend without generalizing (and I feel that's fair as long as you acknowledge that this is what you are doing), and I have in fact found that most women I meet on my travels from the USA are either from the Jenna Lynn Codyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04032277820150000198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321329750397667796.post-58915217221703469892011-05-15T09:30:07.454+08:002011-05-15T09:30:07.454+08:00I am surprised by your comment that you are from t...I am surprised by your comment that you are from the "liberal northeast" and were therefore encouraged while growing up to travel as much as boys. Do you imagine that in other areas of the US, girls are not encouraged to travel? I don't understand this attitude of superiority one often finds in people from the northeast. I grew up in the south, have lived in several countries and Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321329750397667796.post-51839520789209369272011-03-09T13:00:33.811+08:002011-03-09T13:00:33.811+08:00I agree...as I said on Michael's blog, she is ...I agree...as I said on Michael's blog, she is entitled to her views and it's really no big deal if life in Taiwan wasn't for her, nor is it a big deal if she wants to write about it.<br /><br />But.<br /><br />In this defense she tried to make it sound as though she talked mostly about culture shock and her inability to fit in, without acknowledging that most of her original article Jenna Lynn Codyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04032277820150000198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321329750397667796.post-51922776204610632852011-03-09T11:59:38.752+08:002011-03-09T11:59:38.752+08:00A defensive rebuttal from Lindsay Craig to her cri...A defensive rebuttal from Lindsay Craig to her critics. I think she makes her journalistic effort worse by trying to defend her writing:<br /><br />http://www.montrealgazette.com/Note+readers+from+writer+Lindsey+Craig/4404946/story.htmlMarcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321329750397667796.post-68463796610810324162011-03-09T06:26:03.588+08:002011-03-09T06:26:03.588+08:00Dear Jenna,
Thank you for this post. As a former e...Dear Jenna,<br />Thank you for this post. As a former ex-pat single woman in both China and Taiwan, I dated locals and ex-pats during my years there. I would cite those experiences, and the difficulty of meeting local women who I felt shared my goals and perspectives, among the reasons I chose not to stay in Asia, despite being fluent in Mandarin and otherwise deeply interested in the culture. <Maenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321329750397667796.post-19047516913148869542011-03-09T00:06:44.366+08:002011-03-09T00:06:44.366+08:00I wanted to add that that initial trip to India wa...I wanted to add that that initial trip to India was probably the best thing to have happened to me, right up there with learning Chinese and meeting and eventually marrying my husband. It was a shock, to be sure, but a good one.<br /><br />I do have little patience for the Lindsey Craigs of the world...I don't begrudge them their inability to settle in and build a good life in a country like Jenna Lynn Codyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04032277820150000198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321329750397667796.post-250919721458560372011-03-08T23:57:18.720+08:002011-03-08T23:57:18.720+08:00@Marc -
Post the link wherever you like! I might...@Marc - <br /><br />Post the link wherever you like! I might be blocked in China, though, considering how supportive of Taiwanese sovereignty I am and how unabashedly I say it on this blog, and how many times I've posted criticizing China...<br /><br />Anyway, again, while I was aware of value clashes between my home region and China when living there (and, to a milder extent, Taiwan now), I Jenna Lynn Codyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04032277820150000198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321329750397667796.post-89221248075613609542011-03-08T23:16:50.143+08:002011-03-08T23:16:50.143+08:00Yes, Jenna - I think that's got something to d...Yes, Jenna - I think that's got something to do with it, the value systems. Also fixed thinking. There's something to be said for personalities, too. <br /><br />Anyway, in spite of my feminist sympathies, my mind is not a woman's mind, so I'm merely theorizing! I do believe that women and men have quite different feelings about many things.<br /><br />Wish more expat women Marcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321329750397667796.post-64319643555923425942011-03-08T16:44:40.326+08:002011-03-08T16:44:40.326+08:00Too funny....
I don’t know which is more demeanin...Too funny....<br /><br />I don’t know which is more demeaning, racist and dehumanizing (and ridiculous)— the caricature of the submissive and self-loathing Asian female (who loves a western man because she obviously hates herself and her culture), or the “dorky white guy” who studies Chinese out of a craving for submissive Asian females. Is this some kind of primitive “you should stick with yourjohn scottnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321329750397667796.post-58011072274008260502011-03-08T14:36:50.222+08:002011-03-08T14:36:50.222+08:00@MVMA - I would not say that women in Asia are eas...@MVMA - I would not say that women in Asia are easier than in the West (but I'm not an Asian woman nor someone who dates Asian women), and I wouldn't say that self-loathing is really an issue - and even if it were, it wouldn't have much to do with why there are so few expat women. I'd be careful with statements like these ("the women are easy" and "there is a lot ofJenna Lynn Codyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04032277820150000198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321329750397667796.post-74303939716800148412011-03-08T14:30:17.638+08:002011-03-08T14:30:17.638+08:00@Marc - interesting. In which case the issue is th...@Marc - interesting. In which case the issue is the culture of the place they are going: no matter how well-read they are on the topic, it's always more of a shock to a foreign woman than foreign man when they get there, because the men can often carry on as before (if not do better) but the women have a traditional culture to contend with that probably has values regarding women that they Jenna Lynn Codyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04032277820150000198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321329750397667796.post-14330607348546624932011-03-08T09:19:36.068+08:002011-03-08T09:19:36.068+08:00I admit it is an interesting topic in many respect...I admit it is an interesting topic in many respects, and I can see that many aspects of the situation might well look different from different perspectives (e.g. from the viewpoint of the “Asian Female”, the “Western Male” or the “North-eastern Western Female”, etc.). <br /><br />It makes a discussion so much more worthwhile to avoid the over over-generalizing, don’t you think? And it is nice to john scottnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321329750397667796.post-21109740944408428682011-03-08T07:44:13.675+08:002011-03-08T07:44:13.675+08:00i came across your blog and found it very refreshi...i came across your blog and found it very refreshing :) <br /><br />In my humble opinion, I think there are more male expats in Asia as compared to female expats because of 1) Easy women 2) Asian's self-loathing mentality. <br /><br />1) Easy Women: <br /><br /> Let's face it, there are many self-loathing Asians out there. As Ms. Craig stated, "the bigger the nose, the more Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00423975824126385756noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321329750397667796.post-89348723088141968462011-03-07T23:18:53.165+08:002011-03-07T23:18:53.165+08:00Yes the women I trained were "read up" t...Yes the women I trained were "read up" too - but that reading was often Lonely Planet and sources like the "ESL Cafe", which is filled with lots of Lindsey and Lindsay Craigs. There was nothing for these young women to read about being a foreign woman in these destinations.<br /><br />I think there is something in the value system - maybe not exactly "comfort" as Marcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321329750397667796.post-82488201373249879202011-03-07T22:41:56.074+08:002011-03-07T22:41:56.074+08:00@Marc - so you think the women had expectations ab...@Marc - so you think the women had expectations about comfort or romantic notions about the Exotic East (ugh), and the men didn't?<br /><br />My own experience has been that the women (definitely NOT Lindsey Craigs) read up before going and knew what they were getting into, grit and all...and the men, while not high on notions of Mystical Eastern Essences, had this idea that it would be fun Jenna Lynn Codyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04032277820150000198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321329750397667796.post-57275282964807632632011-03-07T22:25:48.106+08:002011-03-07T22:25:48.106+08:00Thanks, Jenna. I'll just send the link and tel...Thanks, Jenna. I'll just send the link and tell them if they share it, to include your blog address and byline. You may get a lot of hits from curious people.<br /><br />I directed for years an English teaching training course and saw a lot of people come and go (abroad). I trained a lot of Lindsey Craigs. Comparatively few women in our school were headed for Asia, unless it was Japan. Most Marcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321329750397667796.post-67041710012307660032011-03-07T22:10:14.223+08:002011-03-07T22:10:14.223+08:00Great, well-written, meaty post! I don't have ...Great, well-written, meaty post! I don't have enough brain power to add to the great things you've already said, but I did want to thank you for the shout-out and let you know that you've given me much to chew on.<br /><br />I pretty much agree with what you've said about the dating situation for Western women here, but at the same time, sometimes I think it's not as difficultCahleen @ The Alt Storyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14704918285007073873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321329750397667796.post-54826355866287136382011-03-07T21:16:08.867+08:002011-03-07T21:16:08.867+08:00There is this, but it is a rather basic article: h...There is this, but it is a rather basic article: http://www.being-a-broad.org/?p=1405<br /><br />From this site: http://www.being-a-broad.org/ which seems to focus on Japan. We women in China, Taiwan, S. Korea, India and SE Asia have precious little else in terms of online presence.Jenna Lynn Codyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04032277820150000198noreply@blogger.com