Monday, July 31, 2006

About us




What does "Wasai" mean???

“Wasai” is the exclamatory expression that Taiwanese would utter when they feel surprised, amazed, or even shocked. “Wasai” serves the same function as “wow” in English. “Wasai” is used rather restricted to teenagers or youngsters in Taiwan. Originally, Wasai was mainly used in Taiwan, rarely heard in other parts of Chinese-speaking areas. However, with the wide spread of broadcasts such as TV, radio, Internet and other media, “Wasai” might also be heard in Mainland China or Singapore occasionally.

We chose the name “Wasai Taiwan” for two major reasons.

First of all, for the foreign residents, whatever cultural backgrounds, must discover that parts of Taiwan’s culture is different from their native one, which may lead to foreign residents’ surprises, either positive or negative, and thus they may say“Wow” (To be more localized, they may say “Wasai” instead.)



Second, for local Taiwanese who read the articles written by foreign residents, they may also feel surprised about things that are taken for granted are now observed and felt quite differently by the foreign residents. Therefore, “Wasai” might be heard constantly by the local Taiwanese readers.


Our intent for creating such a weblog is not just to magnify differences between the two cultures, but we hope that both sides of the readers can be aware of the disparities and therefore have a better understanding of their own culture and their counterparts'. Put differently, the aim of this website is to enhance cross-cultural understanding and competency between Western and Taiwanese Cultures. Below, you will find a collection of personal anecdotes written by individual ex-pats who live or have lived in Taiwan that compare and contrast their everyday life experiences in Taiwan with that of their own native culture.

Please enjoy!!


If you would like to know more about this website, or would like to make a contribution, please contact Louis, Karen, or Ryan via email at

wasaitaiwan@gmail.com






This project is sponsored by National Chiao Tung University.



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