TAIWAN FORMOSA THE HEART OF ASIAAAAA!

This is it! The winter study abroad program is finally coming to an end. I am very sad that it is ending because I have had such an amazing experience here, but everything must come to an end eventually. I am spending my last few days here attending classes, talking in Chinese, and eating all the food that I can afford! Since I know I am not going to eat such amazing food for a very very long time, I find the need to buy as much as I can without getting sick to my stomach. I ended up budgeting my food money really well so I have just enough left to splurge on extra food. The past few days have been very exciting, for one thing we celebrated Erica’s 20^th birthday! We surprised her by taking her to KTV and there we sang many songs. I think she liked her birthday surprise, even though there weren’t any balloons and tangible presents, there was plenty of cake and fun! On Wednesday, January 15^th, we went to the Palace Museum and it was really interesting to see all the different vases, bells, and sculptures from the different dynasties. I also learned that there are two kinds of jade, and the one that appears to be green colored is much more rare than the other kind. Last night and today I have spent my time studying and preparing for my exam and presentation. I would rather have time to explore the city one last time, but I really need to study because this is my last exam in Taiwan! Hopefully I fall asleep at a decent hour because I am starting to feel a little sick… uh oh.

Since this is my last post, I will focus my comparison on a similar topic that I am writing my final essay on. I am planning to write an essay on the contradictions in maturity of young people in Taiwan and America. One big topic that stood out to me is what it means to be mature. Of the several people that I have talked to, I got very similar answers. Most people that I asked were in their 20s and said that someone is mature when they have a job. It was interesting to think about this because in America I feel that there is more reasoning to being mature than just having a job. When I interviewed Josh and Zack they both allowed me to use short bits of their answers for today’s blog. Josh felt that maturity comes from “wisdom,” he mentioned that “a lot of what you can learn is in Confucianism: maturity often comes with age and life experience.” Zack added on by stating that maturity is a “sense of responsibility and accountability and understanding that the world doesn’t revolve around you and your ego.” It is contradictory in my opinion to think that Taiwanese people find maturity in having a job, and then they tell me that they want to open a coffee shop. Personally, it seems to me that the idea of maturity in America and Taiwan is very different. It seems that many students in America work hard and have the goals of going to college to find a good job. Whereas in Taiwan it seems that many students are still living at home, and are not seeking out jobs, but rather have aspirations and dreams of opening a cool shop that they can call their own, and be their own boss.

Since this is my last blog post, I will not be writing anymore after this! So this is my farewell message to everyone, and I want to say thank you to everyone who has taken time out of their day to read this blog. I hope that you enjoyed this experience as much as I did. Well, that’s all! I hope I was able to inspire someone to come out to Taiwan because this was such a wonderful experience that I will never forget. Thank you for everyone who made it possible to allow me to have a safe and wonderful journey. 谢谢你们！ 台湾让人回味无穷。 再见！

               

没关系， 我的中文进步了！

          This past weekend we went to Yilan and Hualien to see a different perspective of Taiwan – the more rural county side.  We left Friday afternoon, after our Chinese class – which did not go as well as I would have liked because we had another test that I was unprepared for. On the way to Yilan, the bus ride was terrifying and slightly nauseating. The bus driver drove at high speeds, shaking my body and making it extremely uncomfortable to sleep. Akeel and I tried to pass the time by reading our books, and playing various paper games until we both felt nauseous. We then decided it would be best if we take a nap, and after we both woke up we agreed that the nauseous feeling went away. Other than the constantly turning and twisting, the views were spectacular. I felt that I was on a tropical island looking out at the mountainous view with bright blue waters, it was very different that Maryland because Maryland has a flat terrain with green/brown Chesapeake Bay waters. In Yilan we experienced a DIY project, and had a chance to appreciate the nature and beauty that Taiwan has by walking around the Barn. The Barn hotel was wonderful, with a panel window and large sized beds. We also enjoyed hot pot and a Wushu performance, and Zack also performed that night! It was very exciting to watch. The following day, we went to Hualien. Hualien gave me the impression that the people living there have been living there for a while because the place seemed very “run down” and did not seem that the economy was flourishing in that area. We saw a performance performed by the aboriginal people, and even though Dr. Liu said she was not impressed, I personally found it very entertaining and I enjoyed participating with the dancing portion. After that, we went to a market, and then went back home to Taipei.

                My focus this week is to compare and contrast classroom etiquette between Taiwan and America. One thing that I noticed today was that in Taiwan, when a teacher gives back an assignment, she will discuss what you did wrong right in front of you. This may be convenient and efficient, but it slightly makes me feel uncomfortable because I am definitely doing the worst in the class right now. It just makes me feel that everyone knows that I made a lot of mistakes on my homework assignment. Also, the teacher points out who did well in the class – and I am sure that she means well, but it almost makes me feel that people who do well get recognized. In America, we do not display or announce other students’ grades in the classroom. In America, it is even awkward to discuss grades with other students. We do not even ask another student what grade they got in the class because that is the student’s personal business. In Taiwan, I think that it is okay for student’s to know each other’s grades, because all the students in my class are very open with sharing what grades they got. Sometimes they will even come over to my desk and just casually take my homework or test to see how I did. I am not too upset by this because I think it is a cultural thing, it is just a little awkward knowing that everyone else knows how I am doing in the class. One more thing that I noticed is the Taiwanese obsession with owl products. I am a really big fan of owls, because they are my favorite animal. I have noticed that in almost every souvenir place that we have been to there have been owl products. I am wondering if owls are just popular right now in Taiwanese culture, or if owls have a deeper meaning to the culture itself.

                This upcoming week is very stressful because I have two oral presentations to prepare for, a test, and an essay to write. So I will be very busy working on my studies. Also, we are going to a Taiwanese opera and then we are going to 过我的室友的生日。 但是这是一个密密， 所以他不知道明天我们过他的生日！

一日不见如隔三秋!

            On Wednesday, January 8, 2014, I woke up extremely groggy because I stayed up till 2 AM the previous night, or I guess I would call it “morning.” A few of us walked over to Sunmerry to eat pastries, which is becoming a daily routine. Upon arrival to the university, I walked confidently into my classroom because today was a TEST DAY! I studied really hard, and felt prepared. Little did I know that the teacher would give the test 20 minutes before I had to leave the class to Dan Shui. I hurriedly completed my test, and overall I felt that I did “okay.” After I left the classroom, we all headed to the metro to go to Dan Shui, which is the main campus of the university. At the university we ate lunch with Dean of International Affairs, and then went on a guided tour of the university and various places around the university. We also tried some very delicious foods, one of which was a fish ball soup. We spent a lot of time walking around; by the end of the day, I just crashed in my bed and did a bit of studying and went to sleep. The following morning, we did the same thing – Sunmerry and then class. Something wonderful happened today in class… I fully understood the teacher! Our new topic in class is the stresses of standardized testing in Taiwan. I learned a lot of new phrases, one of which was very cute – it meant “a day spent without you feels like three seasons.” I told Cindy this phrase, and I think she liked it. Then we learned how to make a Satchet, and it was a lot harder than a thought. I realized that sewing is not as easy as it looks, and also the teacher was amazing at sewing – he was very detailed! The rest of the evening was very relaxing because when I came back to our hotel I studied a little bit of Chinese and then took a two hour nap. It was a much-needed nap, because I was definitely exhausted all day.

            When I first arrived in Taiwan, my speaking abilities were very bad and I had no confidence in speaking to Taiwanese people at all. Something that I noticed within the past few days is that my confidence level has gone up tremendously and now I have no problem practicing my Chinese with my classmates. I think that talking to Cindy and Travis has really helped me improve my conversation speaking abilities because they speak very naturally and the conversations we have I can keep up with. Something I noticed about the culture in Taiwan is that whenever I want to practice my Chinese, the locals become very excited and willing to maintain a conversation with me. No one has made me feel uncomfortable and everyone is always curious about where I learn Chinese. I feel that Taiwan is becoming very home-like to me, and I feel that I have molded myself into the Taiwanese culture. I feel that I have a daily routine here, and I am starting to see similar faces every now and then. Overall, I would consider Taipei a very welcoming city. I like that even though Taipei is a big city, there are very many people that speak Chinese, so it always gives me opportunities to practice. I didn’t have this perspective before because before I would not want to take advantage of speaking to locals because I would worry about how my Chinese would sound, but now I just want to speak to everyone!

            This weekend we are going to Ilan and Hualian, which is on the East side of Taiwan. Next time I will discuss my experiences in that part of Taiwan. I hope to continue improving on my Chinese, and hopefully learn more of Taiwan’s history. I will also compare the prices of food in that area in comparison to Taipei. So far though, everything has been really cheap! Sometimes I feel that I spend most of my time trying new foods!

            学如逆水行舟，不进则退。 我的老师教我这个句子。 

如何！！

            On Friday, January 3^rd we hurriedly packed our belongings anxiously awaiting our bus to head out to Tainan, Taiwan. The bus ride was approximately 4 hours long, with exactly 2 pit stops. The bus ride was surprisingly entertaining because a few of us played Monopoly and other games in the back of the bus. The bus driver and tour guide were great, and the bus driver especially because he drove at such high speeds! In Tainan we went to the night market, and I tried 1000 year old eggs, takoyaki, ice cream, cuttlefish, and pigeon eggs. At first I didn’t want to try any of it, because I had gotten food poisoning the previous day. But then I just ate everything! Then, we went to the hotel, which was quite fabulous in comparison to our previous living conditions. We had a TV and a bathtub which had a shower curtain! The following morning we went to the Chikan Tower, Anping Old Fort, and the Eternal Golden Castle. It was interesting to see the different architecture that was created by the Dutch, Japanese, and Chinese. Then the following day we went to the Buddhist Temple and visited a wedding to wish the soon-newlyweds our blessings. I already knew a lot about Buddhism, so it was nice to see the explanations again to reassure what I already knew about it. But, it was interesting that Buddhism focuses on simplicity, but the entire temple/museum was very extravagant and seemed to be more of a tourist attraction rather than a temple of worship. When we headed back, I slept almost the entire time on the bus. The following morning, we had to go to class and I was extremely tired in the morning because I stayed up late completing my homework. After our Chinese class, we had a discussion about cultural differences in China, Taiwan, and America. Finally, we made jiaozi, and ate until we were beyond full. I had a really fun time making the jiaozi because I started making random shapes with them, such as a snowman.

                My focus for this week is the difference between Chinese and Taiwanese people. When I first arrived in Taiwan, I could not tell the difference between the two, but as I spend more time in Taiwan I am starting to notice some interesting differences. This does not go for all Taiwanese or Chinese people, but these are just a few things that I noticed. It seemed to me that the Mainlanders are more rambunctious and they are very pushy. For example, when Samantha was in line to get her food, some Mainlanders just cut right in front of her. Also, when we were all on the ferry, the driver instructed everyone to stay seated until the boat stopped. But all the Mainlanders got up before the boat stopped. From what I have seen, Taiwanese people are more friendly and kind. They are very willing to speak Chinese with me when I want to practice and always seem to be excited to see foreigners. Also, Mainlanders have a very distinct accent that is different from the Taiwanese people. I hope to one day go to China to be able to experience the culture for myself.

                This week we have a full week of class, and tomorrow I have a test! Hopefully I do well, because I just spent the past two hours studying really hard! Also, we are taking an MRT trip tomorrow, so hopefully Travis and Cindy will be there so I can continue practice listening to more local Chinese with them. Also, next time I will be blogging about the difficulty of my Chinese class and more cultural differences and similarities between China and Taiwan.

 

ZENMEYANG?? 怎么样？？

MRT station after New Year 地铁站非常挤

              I woke up on Tuesday at 6 AM with great excitement because I knew that we were celebrating the New Year in the evening. I went to class, which was extremely difficult. But I think everyone knew that my listening and speaking abilities were not that great, so the students were all very friendly and eager to get to know me. On Tuesday night at around 8 PM, we arrived at Taipei 101. I wasn’t surprised by the crowd of people because I already assumed that the area was going to be overcrowded. We sat on the ground and while we waited for the New Year’s countdown to start, a few of us played games – an intense clapping game that requires you to be able to follow directions under a high amount of pressure. When the countdown began, we all stood up and counted down followed by a great firework display. The fireworks literally came out of the sides of the building, it was so cool! But the firework show was about three minutes long, so I thought it was a little short. Josh and I made it known that we were excited by screaming at the top of our lungs. I’m sure that we were the loudest ones there. After the fireworks finished, we went back to our rooms, and by the time we got back it was 2 AM, and immediately I went to sleep. The following day we didn’t have to go to class, so I slept in till 8 AM, followed by an intense three hour Chinese study session. Afterwards, we all met with our Taiwanese friends and went to Chiang Kai Shek Memorial. We went into the main museum and learned history about Chiang Kai Shek, it was very interesting. One of my favorite parts was seeing the painted jars. I was amazed that the inside of the jars were painted, and the painting designs were so intricate and precise. Also, I spoke a lot of Chinese today. I think my Chinese is improving! I feel more comfortable talking in Chinese than ever before. After the memorial, we went to eat at a very expensive restaurant. The food was okay, but I think the price was not worth what I ate. Overall, it has been a great few days and hopefully there are more good days to come!

我的台湾的朋友们

                A large difference I noticed between Americans and Taiwanese is that I feel that Taiwanese people are much kinder and polite. When we were at Taipei 101, we were sitting on the ground waiting for midnight to happen. While we were waiting there were many people passing us, and pushing into us. But it seemed that although the Taiwanese people pushed into us they would apologize. We encountered an American from New Jersey who reacted in a very hostile manner. He was upset that we were sitting on the ground and said that we were the cause for the traffic jam of people. He said, “It wasn’t like this 10 minutes ago” followed by other unnecessary comments. It just showed the difference between the two cultures. It seemed that in this case, the American had to voice his opinion about how he felt, and he approached the situation in a very vulgar and mean way, while the Taiwanese people simply said sorry as they walked by us. I know that among my friends, I have several who have no problem voicing their opinions; sometimes without even considering the impact it might have on the people around them.

美国人！

                This weekend we are going to the southern part of Taiwan to learn more history and culture, and also just to see another part of Taiwan. We will be going to the night markets in Tainan and Kaohsiung. Also, although I will be exploring Taiwan this weekend, I will also be studying hard because I have another test coming up, covering the topic of traffic in Taiwan. Next time I blog I will discuss my experiences in southern Taiwan and more cultural comparisons between northern and southern Taiwan.

                 我觉得我的中文越来越进步！祝你 新年快乐！ 我最喜欢台湾的吃饭也我的新的朋友们！ 

Embrace the culture!

                On December 27^th I waved hugged and waved goodbye to my family at Dulles airport and nervously proceeded to embark on my journey to Taipei, Taiwan. Not knowing what to expect, I decided to keep an open mind and fully embrace the Taiwanese culture. Connie and I happened to be on the same flight, and our seats were right next to each other. After Connie and I arrived in Taiwan, we met with Travis and Dr. Liu, and immediately Dr. Liu put me to the test and made me have a conversation with Travis is Chinese. I was so nervous! After everyone had arrived we went to our hotel near Tam Kang University. I immediately noticed that the room was very small and the shower was not separated from the rest of the bathroom. Taking a shower was an adventure, and due to my inexperience in using Taiwanese showers, I splashed water all over the toilet, my towel, and the mirror. The following morning, I woke up at 6:30 AM due to a loud ruckus of people walking around on our floor. Surprisingly, I felt well rested even though I only slept five hours. A few of us walked over to Sunmerry and bought bakery items to eat for breakfast. Then we came back to the hotel and met with Dr. Liu. She invited us over to her apartment and offered us apples, bananas, oranges, and a Taiwanese fruit which I do not know the name of. She told us that when one has guests over, a good host will always prepare a gift. After we left Dr. Liu’s apartment we decided that we were going to explore around Taiwan, so we walked to a park called Da’an Park. There were many beautiful trees and statues. Then we all decided to go to Mos Burger, and almost everyone decided to get the burger that has sticky rice buns with beef inside. It was delicious! After lunch we met up with Cindy, Travis, and Dr. Liu to take the MRT to Taipei 101 area to learn more about the history of Taiwan. We had a wonderful tour guide who told about the colonization of Taiwan, and the different countries that had influences on Taiwan. We also saw the stage where the New Year’s celebration is going to take place. Although many of us were already tired, we decided to continue the night by going to the Night Market. I did not know what to expect, and upon arrival I was so excited by all the culture and food all around us! There were so many foods being sold, and so many smells in the air. I tried the famous Taiwanese tofu, which tasted great. Travis and Cindy warned us and told us that the tofu smelled like stinky socks, but personally I didn’t think the tofu smelled bad – smelled like garlic to me. After a long evening, we finally came back to the hotel, and by 10 PM I was sound asleep.

                Something that really stood out to me about the Taiwanese culture was the lack of trash cans and trash in the city. After visiting big cities such as Manhattan and Brooklyn, I noticed that there is trash everywhere! But in Taipei, the streets were remarkably clean. This was shocking to me because I assumed that in a city where there as so many people and no trash cans, there would be trash cluttered all over the streets. Turns out, Taiwanese people actually carry around trash bags and keep their trash on them and do not just throw it out onto the streets. To me, this shows that Taiwanese people have respect for where the live and want to keep their city clean. I saw visual similarities between cities in America and Taiwan in that both do not have very many trashcans in the city. But Taiwan is very tidy and do not just throw their trash on the ground. I feel that part of Taiwanese culture that I will take back to America is that we should preserve our cities too and not just throw trash around in the city and on the sides of highways. Also, another reason that Taiwan does not have trashcans is because when they did people would take their trash from their homes and try to throw it away in the public trashcans. It is great that Taiwan is so clean, and that people just carry around their own trash with them at all times.

                Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve, and we are all going to Taipei 101 to go see the fireworks and many famous Taiwan pop singers. I am very excited to celebrate the New Year with my new friends from UMD and Taiwan. Also, we are going to our first day of classes tomorrow, and I was placed in Level 4 Chinese. Being the only one placed in that level, I am a little nervous to go into it all by myself. But I am looking forward to learning a lot of useful Chinese. I am not exactly sure what time we will arrive back to the hotel after New Year’s, but luckily we do not have Chinese classes the following day, so I can sleep in!