The Language & Culture Summer Sessions at National Taiwan Normal University were well organized and helped me gain the necessary language skills almost immediately with themed lessons. The classes were small and very friendly, and I liked that my teacher forced me to speak Mandarin as much as possible. We often went on small field trips to local historical sights. Although the classes were intensive, they were also short enough that I always had time afterwards to go and explore the city if I wanted to with classmates. We frequented the Shida night market, which sold so many cute goods and good smelling snacks. Another favorite was the steamed bun shop down the street, and there was tapioca everywhere!
I was able to make some local friends through different language exchange groups. My friends showed me more remote areas of the city like Bali, a beach suburb that has lots of street snacks and boats buzzing to and from small islands nearby. The UCEAP group also became very close-knit. We were able to bring together our different levels of language and cultural competence and support each other. We went on weekend trips to different areas of the country with the goal to see as wide of a range as possible. We hiked part of the Alishan mountain range (the highest in Taiwan), visited the beautiful town Jiufen which is famous for tea and being the inspiration for the film Spirited Away, we saw native dance performances in Wulai, we saw the eastern coast in Hualian, and much more.
Taiwan is truly a beautiful and rich country. I thoroughly enjoyed all of the lush nature and exploring the different areas. I think that Taiwan is unique in the way that it has been touched by so many different cultures yet retains its own flavor. Everyone that I met there was extremely patient and kind, and the friends that I made in the program are some of the best. The program was such a positive experience that I decided to go abroad again for the second semester of the following year, and I continued to pursue Asian Studies at a summer internship abroad the following year. I plan to return to Taiwan someday to relive the wonderful summer.
