TEDx Monga + New friends

Yesterday was the first TED event that I have attended.  For the past 2 months Johan and I have been helping the organizer with the marketing of the event.  I must say that the experience of being part of a TED branded event was something I was really interested in on just a personal level, but I got out of it much more than I thought I would have.  For the past half year that I've been in Taipei I haven't met very many foreigners, but the organizing team for TED was basically comprised of almost all foreigners!  It was quite surprising but I enjoyed meeting all the new people who are living in this foreign place and hearing about their personal experiences.  Some of which I could relate.

On the actual date of the TEDx Monga conference (Dec 9th, 2010) Johan and I arrived only a bit ahead of time because the organizer, Chris, told us that they didn't need the hands to help set up on the day of.  I ended up helping the camera crew out a little bit but it wasn't a very big commitment and it allowed me to sit and listen to the various speakers and meet people during the networking parts of the event.

Some of the speakers were so so, and some of the speakers were great!  While we were watching the second last speaker (Ting Shih with ClickDiagnostics.com) talk about her company that uses cell phones and mobile apps to provide medical assistance to those in remote and poor countries, thus helping out over half a billion people, it was quite inspiring and really felt like we were at a real TED talk like we'd watch on the web.  I hope this one gets published to the TED website.

During the intermission and at the very end were two networking opportunities to mingle in the lobby of the venue.  I wasn't sure what to expect but I ended up meeting a lot of really cool people doing a lot of cool things.  I'd also not seen such a diverse group of multicultural english speakers since leaving Vancouver.  It felt a bit like home!

Johan and I met two ladies from Ontario during one of the TED activities and found out they were doing their masters degrees here while teaching English in Tainan (btw did you know you can get your masters degree here for free???).  One had been here for 4 years and the other, 8 years!  It makes my half year seem like nothing. lol :P  They were really genuinely friendly people and at the end of the event before they headed back to Tainan they invited us out to have dinner with them.  Johan unfortunately had to head to an appointment but I was available so I joined them.  They ended up having a whole crew with them from Tainan including 2 Americans and another guy from Ontario.

We caught a cab from the university to the Taipei 101 area and ate at the Macaroni Grill, a fancy Italian restaurant.  If you are familiar with the one that used to be on Davie in downtown Vancouver then you'll know the food is delicious!  The girls were really psyched about eating here and I secretly think they just came up to Taipei to eat here, and that the TED talks was just an excuse to eat Italian ;)

During diner we ended up sharing a bunch of our dishes which was great.  I don't even do this with my friends but I always wished I could!  It's the best when you can just share stuff and you get to try a bit of everything.  The fact that they shared with me I think was another sign of just how friendly these girls were.  We all got to know each other a bit better and I had a really nice last meal in Taipei for 2010.  I was really the only "stranger" in the group but oddly enough I didn't feel like a stranger even though I'd only known them for an hour.

I think there's something quite unique about meeting foreigners in a foreign country.  It's almost like they're a lot more approachable and you have this "context" of being a foreigner that allows you to be more approachable.  It's like you already have this common ground and you're always looking to meet more potential friends, because you don't have your social network from when you were a kid that you are so tightly integrated with at home.  At home I don't really have "room" in my social circle for meeting whole new groups of people, but in Taiwan I love meeting new people and making friends and I continually seek the opportunity to network.  Perhaps it's being a foreigner, OR perhaps it's just a change in my own way of thinking and this whole "theory" about meeting people in a foreign country being easier is just me trying to understand my change in attitude.  That or the people I've met like the ones from TED are just extremely warm and welcoming.  I think maybe it's a bit of both.

Some of the Tainan crew were heading out for drinks but unfortunately I had to catch the HSR home because it was close to the last one.  We said goodbye and exchanged contact info.  When I'm back in Taiwan I'd love to go party with them "Tainan style" and also I hear many great things about the city so it gives me a good excuse to finally check the place out.

This post has gotten a bit longer than I thought it would so I'll conclude by saying TEDx was a lot of fun, but the unexpectedly great part of it was expanding my social network in Taiwan and meeting some genuinely nice and really cool people!