When I first arrived to Taipei, an embittered, pessimistic Australian told me (in a disparaging way) not to bother with men here, foreign or Chinese, and to erase the notions of dating and love permanently from my being. I was a bit taken aback by her attitude, and it crossed my mind that she may be a suicidal depressive. After two months here I had become her number one convert. It’s been bad for the soul in this way; and need I even say what I have become after my scathing attacks on Taipei’s community of Dwarfs and Niges. So quickly I fell to the ranks of Taipei’s BITTER WOMEN, and we are an army. The only difference between Taiwanese and foreign women being that we foreigners are also desperate; somewhere deep-down we retain the vague memories of worlds where respect, love and sex were real possibilities. We can only pray these are parts of us that will stay in Taipei after we are long gone, and not scars we will carry forward like Agent Orange … there have been some dark times in this city.
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