week 26_A regular old expat

Cafe Bastille - Happy Hour

I'm still learning what it means to be an expat - but I think I've earned a few stripes so far... and this week I decided to attend a get-together with some other expats like myself. Good idea! It is always challenging to meet new people in a new city (whether you live in Dallas, or Taipei!), but I figure meeting other people going through the same challenges as I am is a good place to start...

Last weekend, while browsing online for meet up groups in Taipei (I'd really like to find an English book club...), I stumbled upon a group called InterNations. It sort or reminds me of a custom LinkedIn or Facebook for expats. You become a member and set up a profile online where you can see other expat profiles, post questions in the online forums, etcetera. Nowadays, it seems like online communities are endless - I am also a member of a larger community called Forumosa; a site all about Taiwan with lots of members (local and foreign), forums, questions and answers - but I decided to join this group as well...

InterNations meets up once per month and this week was the monthly get together.
Let's be honest: I was sort of dreading going to a big gathering with a bunch of people I didn't know who may or may not have anything in common with me... but I was pleasantly surprised by the event. :) It turned out to be a nice opportunity to meet other foreigners living in Taiwan (not necessarily Americans) who were very friendly, approachable, and also happen to have business cards. At the same time, there was no heavy emphasis on the business networking/business card exchange - the atmosphere was relaxed, comfortable. Not to mention, there seemed to be people from all walks of life there, and everyone I met seemed to be friendly and interested in meeting new people. Not surprisingly, I met some other Americans who have lived in Texas just recently, and we seemed to hit it off right away, y'all! Might even get together for a rowdy game of dominoes sometime in the near future...

It was definitely nice to meet some new people that seemed like they could become friends... I think I will be attending next month's event too :) Ever lived in another country? Like meeting others with the same background? You can check them out at: www.internations.org Cheesy, I know - but I was grateful to join up with this group.

Someone needs a red-eye function on their camera...
But I was there, you get the point :)