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Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall in Taipei When I told my mother that I was going to Taiwan, she asked me: "Where is Taiwan?" I was surprised by her question, but on second thought I should have expected it. Many people in the West don't know much about Taiwan, some of them even think that Taiwan is Thailand. So I think that if I write a blog about my life in Taiwan I should at least give you some background information about this place.  First of all, a state called Taiwan doesn't exist. In fact, the official name of Taiwan is Republic of China . Taiwan is just a geographical term that defines the island of Taiwan. That the official name of a country is not the same as its colloquial name, is nothing unusual. We know that Germany's official name is "Federal Republic of Germany", but we never say: Hey, I'm going to fly to the Federal Republic of Germany tomorrow. We just call it Germany. The same with the United States of America. We usually sa

View of Taipei 101, the symbol of Taipei, on a wonderful spring day. Hello everyone and welcome to my blog, "My New Life in Asia." One year ago, on the 4th of November 2011, I arrived in Taiwan for the first time. It was an exciting moment. I'd been dreaming to go to Asia for years, and finally my dream had come true.  A lot of things happened ever since that day, I've had many new experiences and learnt a lot of things. Some of them shocked me, others made me happy. I had a great time, but also many disappointments. Though I studied Chinese for two years when I was in Europe, I'd never thought about moving to this small island which, although it is a very interesting place to explore, is somehow overshadowed by its big neighbours, the People's Republic of China and Japan. The reason why I chose Taiwan was that I fell in love with a Taiwanese girl. "A romantic story with a happy ending", you might think. Well, not really.  Two wee