My name is Ceri Lines. I am from Wales (威爾士). I was born
in 1965 but still feel very young!(Actually he is very decent and handsome)

I came to Taiwan in 1981. So I have been living in Taiwan
more than half of my life! I first came with my parents, who
were starting up a school in Hsinchu.

The school is Hsinchu Holland International School. The
school has grown from a very small school of just a few
students to Hsinchu's leading and largest international
school.

It was 'Teacher Liu' who gave me my Chinese name賴澤睿
. Many people seem to think my name is very 'good' and
meaningful.

I don't think Teacher Liu thought I was wise, I think he
chose the name because澤睿has a similar sound to 'Ceri'.
But I thank him for giving me a name that make most
of my new friends  impressive.

I got married in Taiwan to a beautiful 'Hsinchunese' girl
and we now have 2 teenage children.

I have many interests and am very active in Taiwan. I love
mountain biking. As Taiwan is full of mountains, and the
best mountain bikes in the world are made here, it is a
great place to ride bikes!

A few things I love about Taiwan

The people here are incredibly busy and hard-working,but
they are amazingly friendly and will help in so many ways.
I remember once I ran out of gas for my car and a complete
stranger took me to a gas station on his scooter to get gas!

The Taiwanese people are amazingly flexible and can adapt to
all kinds of changing situations. I also like the "can-do"
attitude of people in Taiwan and the way they get things
done quickly without fuss. I feel I have learned a lot from
the people here in this respect.

Shops and restaurants stay open very late and the
availability of almost everything you want at almost any
time is great. I find I really miss this aspect when I go
back to the UK and feel hungry late in the evening!

I know most foreigners hate the traffic over here, but I
find there is a strangely effective flow to it and it really
suits my style of driving!

Also, drivers here are a lot more forgiving on the road if
you do something stupid J I think the drivers here can be
over-aggressive and lacking in courtesy sometimes though,
which can be dangerous and annoying.

Dragon boat, moon festival, Chinese new year…I love the
excitement in the air at these times, even after all these
years, and I love sharing it with family and friends. I also
love the special food that comes with these special
occasions.

Things I dislike about Taiwan

Stupid foreigners Loud, ignorant, obnoxious foreigners who
have no respect for the culture and just love Taiwan beer
and trying to score with Taiwan girls. They think they are
special just because they are different and treated so well
as 'guests' by the Taiwanese people.

Sometimes I see people tossing trash on the street and they
don't seem to feel bad about it. This is wrong. If they
throw something on the street, they should feel as bad as if
they were throwing it on the floor of their own house.

The kids need educating so they don't think it's okay to
damage the environment. Also the streets in Taiwan need more
trash disposal areas.

I feel that sometimes the direct nature of the Taiwanese
people and the emphasis on getting things done in a hurry
can lead to a lack of attention to detail and
professionalism.

These can lead to an amateurish image and can also lead to
dangerous situations. For example when you see mothers
carrying small children on scooters without safety helmets…
or when truck drivers carry massive loads on their vehicles
without securely fastening them.

It's quite ironic really, because this "mei yo guanhsi" "it
will be ok" attitude is also one of the things that I like
most about Taiwanese people. But it can also have a very
negative effect.