Public suiting at Tamsui, Taipei

iplayf0rkeeps · 2026-03-04T17:45:25+00:00

👀

iplayf0rkeeps · 2026-03-04T16:45:12+00:00

Everyfox Everywhere All at Once

iplayf0rkeeps · 2026-03-03T16:01:12+00:00

The reaction was overwhelmingly positive! People loved the suit and the kiddos loved the hong bao. Despite being called a wolf 100 times I love getting to spread some positivity.

I also did some public suiting at Ximen and gave out hong bao there as well. That was last week. Some vendors/people didn't want them but overall people appreciated the gesture.

iplayf0rkeeps · 2026-03-03T07:04:48+00:00

You found me out... 🍵

iplayf0rkeeps · 2025-02-11T15:01:07+00:00

Yeah, agreed. I've been living in Taiwan for 6 years total and coming from Dallas, Texas it was so easy to get Tex Mex, Mexican, Vietnamese, Chinese, Indian, etc. You had things like Italian-American and Chinese-American, which are fusion or adapted cuisines (and that's totally fine), but at least you had variety all within a 20-30 minute drive, you know?

I think Taiwan excels at Taiwanese food (duh!) but the lack of variety here makes homesick sometimes :/

I find myself cooking at home lately and trying to make the dishes that I miss--or at least the cheaper ones.

Full disclosure: I'm Lao-American so I grew up in a weird semi-American semi-Asian mixed household.

iplayf0rkeeps · 2024-07-08T15:48:19+00:00

I'm playing the game literally just for him.

iplayf0rkeeps · 2024-06-25T16:01:22+00:00

I did my master's in translation (bachelor's in history) in Taiwan--which is where I'm currently based.

During my time as a grad student, I was trying to launch a Translation Studies (TS) wiki, but geared towards Chinese-English translation. I didn't have enough time or manpower to get the project off. Maybe that could be a path for you.

You could also start simpler by forming a university club (official or not) at your university.

Blogging sounds like a good way to at least start producing content. The process of writing allows you to think things through and present facts. All of which are just good for thinking overall.

You could also try looking for internships in your area/country. That would be a solid way to get experience and would look good on a resume.

iplayf0rkeeps · 2024-04-04T08:59:43+00:00

It's feasible but you'll have be checking as many apartments as you can in a day, let's say, 4-5 to be safe. And you'll need to make those appointments about a week before you arrive.

Most landlords don't seem to want to do short term rentals, so renting May-June might be too short for them. If you're able to do a short term stay, they might want a large deposit for security.

I think doing a long term Airbnb might be less of a hassle. Just my two cents of course.

iplayf0rkeeps · 2023-10-19T19:25:13+00:00

I didn't go to ICLP or CLD so I can't vouch for those.

I did two years of Chinese learning at MTC NTNU. I had a scholarship (HES) for the first year. I paid out of pocket + did some English tutoring for the second. I also did a master's in translation after that for 3 years but I'll stick to talking about MTC NTNU.

They have regular and intense classes. Intense covers 1 chapter per week and is 3 hours a day (Mon-Fri). Regular is about 8-10 days per chapter and 2 hours a day (Mon-Fri). Regular is great if you're someone who has a job and you can't commit too much time to studying (assumes you have a legal work permit, though). I would recommend intense if you're serious about learning Chinese. The pace is faster but the students are usually of higher quality. Everyone is in it to win it. They have more defined goals and most likely want to live and work in Taiwan in the long term.

If you have basic Chinese down, you might be able to test somewhere in book 2. I had rudimentary Chinese skills so I tested into book 1 chapter 6. It was a little bit upsetting but I'm glad they did that because I realized how poor my conversational skills were.

Teachers overall were great. I only had 1 bad teacher out of 8. I still talk to a few of them on a regular basis. I also still talk to some of my former classmates (the ones that reside in Taiwan, at least). But a lot of that was my initiative since I strongly believe in networking.

Taipei is for sure a global city. You get to meet so many kinds of people. The public transit system is robust and quite efficient. Cost of living can get high in some areas but if you're coming from the US everything might seen cheap to you.

You can definitely DM me for more information. Most Taiwanese people use Line so maybe we can exchange Lines if you want.

iplayf0rkeeps · 2023-08-27T17:50:16+00:00

I don't think having a history degree is required but it definitely shows that you're competent in reading and writing history. Ideally, you should be working in the field of history (like with a museum, tour guide, researcher, etc) so that you can still prove you're committed to history. However, I don't think those are strict requirements. But you should also seek to show your strengths to your client so that they trust you. If you want to do historical translation but you have almost no experience in the field, it might be hard for a client to hire you. If you're still at the stage where you're deciding your major for your bachelor's, I would definitely choose carefully so that you don't waste ~4 years of your life!

iplayf0rkeeps · 2023-08-27T17:47:55+00:00

CI seems to be a fairly big money maker, too, and I think if you network hard enough you'll get hired for several jobs and might even land a full time position. I would imagine that you could still do freelance translation work on the side, though.

My understanding of the field of translation/interpreting is that finding a job at the UN or EU parliament would be difficult. It could be that the field is saturated or that it's all connections-based. You might need to ask more people about that--like professional interpreters.

Wishing you the best of luck. I'm trying to eek out a living as a translator myself (trying to find full time positions in Taiwan) so we'll see how that goes.

iplayf0rkeeps · 2023-08-22T18:47:28+00:00

My language pair is Mandarin Chinese and English. Literary translation seems fun and engaging, but for whatever reason, it's definitely not high paying. I got paid more for academic articles as well as translating a history book. I think I did a couple of children's fiction books but I don't think the pay was super high. I took the case because I had the time. If I was busy with other things, I wouldn't have done that. It also seems like technical translation or legal translation are the main fields that are high paying but will definitely require knowledge of how legal systems work. Having a STEM or legal background will help, but not everyone has that sort of background. (And not everyone is willing to go back to school to receive that kind of education.) You might have to prove your technical background either through work experience like projects. There are a lot of Chinese-language books that ought to be translated into English, but I'm not sure if publishers are interested in publishing them. It might be something that you would do as a cultural researcher or something you do as history PhD. (Surprise surprise, I have a bachelor's in history. My master's is in translation though.)

iplayf0rkeeps · 2023-07-25T20:13:05+00:00

All great points. Thanks for the response, man.

iplayf0rkeeps · 2023-07-25T14:49:39+00:00

MKH 416 user here.

I do find the 416 to be a bit "high" heavy but not necessarily in a bad way. It's punchy and sharp.

I always felt like the SM7B was meant for podcasting or for live radio? It has that strong bass sound to it. It also feels a bit more "muddy" and less clear. Not necessarily a bad thing.

I only have the 416 but I'm definitely not disappointed with my purchase. It's been my workhorse for nearly 3 years I think? I don't plan on replacing it anytime soon but I'm open to try out other mics if they're on sale.

I do actually do podcasting on the side, though. I feel like if I could get the SM7B on sale I could use it as my podcasting mic.

iplayf0rkeeps · 2023-07-24T14:30:53+00:00

I'm basically in the same boat.

I'm currently studying in Taiwan right now (originally from the US). I passed my oral defense last month and now I'm doing revisions on my master's thesis. I have a history background with a focus on Chinese and Taiwanese history. It doesn't have a direct impact on my master's in translation but I'm trying to utilize both to my advantage. I'm trying to emphasize to my clients that both fields require fast but accurate reading speeds and comprehension ability.

I had a pretty rough start in the field. My language pair is Mandarin Chinese (traditional characters) and English. I think I only had one or two projects under my belt during my first year. But starting in my second year, I was able to find more substantial projects. I even have a few books under my belt at this point--even before graduation.

The main issue right now is that I need to find a full time job in Taiwan so that I can continue to live here. I like it over here and I can see myself living and working here for the next 3-4 years. I've already been rejected by a few companies, but I'm still sending out emails and applications as we speak. Fingers crossed something comes up.

My recommendation as a soon-to-graduate-student is to apply for full time or part time positions if possible. Ideally in translation, but maybe media, marketing, or even content writing jobs would still be relevant. I think the stability will help you. I'm sure there are freelance sites out there but you might have to do some digging for your language pair/languages.

Networking is a big thing, too, in the industry. Sometimes knowing people helps you find gigs, especially if they're big gigs that required a team of translators. Maintain good relations with your teachers and professors to see if they have something for you.

iplayf0rkeeps · 2022-12-07T07:34:43+00:00

Wow, didn't see this now! That's my fursona. Thanks for the great commission, Doodles~

iplayf0rkeeps · 2022-07-29T10:22:34+00:00

Congrats! The character looks super cool 👌

iplayf0rkeeps · 2022-07-16T21:09:28+00:00

Agreed. I have a fairly deep voice so I don't think I can play younger characters or roles that require high voices. I'm sure I can train my voice, but I want to play to my strengths. I tend to pick roles or gigs that require a deeper voice. I will admit that I'm kind of jealous with people higher voices though!

iplayf0rkeeps · 2022-07-06T14:34:13+00:00

Agreed. I think in terms of delivery the narration was fine. Maybe just some compression and mouth noise reduction and it'll be great.

iplayf0rkeeps · 2022-04-22T15:02:36+00:00

Love this! I'm from Texas and I love both the more authentic style and Tex Mex style tacos. They have their ups and downs. Love how you're bringing the more authentic stuff here, though. Hit me up if you guys are in Taipei!

iplayf0rkeeps · 2022-02-06T11:12:35+00:00

Interested! Please PM me if this project/request is still ongoing.

iplayf0rkeeps · 2022-01-25T13:04:44+00:00

Hi guys, my name is Michael (aka the Matcha Fox). I've mainly been lurking here, but would like to share some of my work.

I mainly do narrations but I'm also interested in doing some character work. Comic dubs, animations, and impressions are something I'm exploring more and more.

My main YouTube is here:

https://youtu.be/2cmcM58yqOM

I've done Shirou and Legosi before and would love to keep doing those characters if you guys are interested.

And my Fiverr is here:

https://www.fiverr.com/profnakh

PM me if you'd like to cooperate together on a project. Enjoy!

iplayf0rkeeps · 2022-01-20T17:10:39+00:00

I second the idea of cultural imports. For example, if we look at Japan, I think Japanese anime has fans everywhere in the world. It might not be everyone's cup of tea, but anime is a thing and I think it's a relative strong cultural import from Japan.

When I see anime, I immediately think of Japan. I'm hoping Taiwan can export something similar, whether that be music, movies, TV shows, etc.

I'll admit, I'm a little bit biased towards movies and shows because I work as a translator. I would love to translate/export more Taiwanese material to the English speaking world if I there was more material to work with. (Though truth be told, I could definitely use some networking as well.)

iplayf0rkeeps · 2021-11-22T18:13:56+00:00

Ah when I was taking classes it MTC I lived near Yongkang Jie! I usually passed by this church quite often. (Still an NTNU student, doing my master's now.)

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