Today, 06/08/2022, marks my last full day in Taiwan, studying at National Taiwan University (NTU). It has been an interesting experience to say the least.
For me, it marked the beginning of a chapter of personal growth and independence. This study abroad experience in Taiwan, made possible by the Freeman Scholarship, was my first time living away from home for an extended period of time. Although I can't say that my cooking skills have improved as a result, here are some learnings I've picked up along the way, as well a reflection on my time in Taiwan.
Independence
I applied to exchange in Taiwan through the Manoa International Exchange (MIX) program. One of the main ways this differs from UH Manoa's Study Abroad program is that you aren't going to the host country with a cohort of people from UHM. Now, for more popular MIX exchange destinations like Korea, it's highly likely that you won't be the only UHM/Shidler student at your school or in your city. But in my case, I was the only MIX student exchanging to Taiwan this semester. This was primarily due to the government's tight COVID border restrictions at the time; they weren't issuing student visas and only allowed Taiwanese citizens into the country.
Luckily for me, my study abroad opportunity wasn't cancelled and I was allowed into the country, as I have Taiwan citizenship due to being half Taiwanese. However, this meant that I was starting off fresh, knowing no one at NTU. I would say that this was a blessing in disguise. Being quite introverted and having a certain degree of social anxiety, I know that if it were the case that someone from UHM was also exchanging to NTU, I would feel less inclined to broaden my horizons and push myself out of my comfort zone to interact with lots of people. I was in a sink-or-swim situation where I did have to push myself, but I have no regrets.
During my time in Taiwan, I've met, interacted, and worked with a plethora of different people with different personalities, as well as made new friends. Of course, it's possible to stay in Hawaii and meet a lot of people as well. But being born and raised in Hawaii where it seems like everyone knows each other by association, I would've defaulted to sticking to interacting with the same people that I know and am comfortable with, only stepping out when necessary. I had no idea I had it in me to start building connections from scratch, but now that I've done it in Taiwan, I'm confident that I can do it again.
Responsibilities
Having been a student for over 15 years, I think I have academic-related responsibilities down pat. But you know what I didn't have down? Health and nutritional responsibilities. For the first time in my life, I was in charge of procuring every single meal for myself over the course of 4-5 months. Was I very good at it? No. I fell prey to the classic trap of forgoing a good sleep schedule and nutritious meals for the polar opposite. I do have some regrets about my bad sleep schedule for half the semester, but I do believe that weight gained while trying new foods in a foreign country is the best type of weight gain. Having tried over 50 different milk tea shops in Taiwan, I can definitively list the best and the worst of the bunch -- a worthy cause.
Living away from home and independently gave me a different perspective on responsibilities. Only after staying in Taiwan for a couple months did it fully click that in the future, I will be responsible for managing all aspects of my life, without the aid of reminders that I was so used to growing up. No one has everything down to a tee, but taking yourself out of environments that you are familiar with makes it much easier to spot where you can improve. My time in Taiwan did just that.
Exploration
This aspect of my study abroad experience has left me with the most regrets. Initially, I had planned to travel to different parts of Taiwan to further immerse myself in the culture and learn more about Taiwan. However, only a month into the school semester, COVID-19 hit Taiwan pretty hard. The number of cases doubled daily, reaching 90k new cases a day at its peak, the most Taiwan's ever had. This led to an increased widespread caution toward COVID in Taiwan; NTU's classes even went completely online in the middle of the semester. As a result, I cancelled my many weekend travel plans and avoided crowded areas; I didn't want to risk catching COVID, as it would significantly impact my studies, and I wasn't sure how I would deal with the health insurance aspect of it either. I only got to travel a long distance once, to Kaohsiung in the south, to visit family.
Luckily, I managed to avoid COVID entirely while in Taiwan, although I did have a false-positive reading today, which caused a lot of undesired panic. I am disappointed that I was unable to travel to many places in Taiwan, but that only gives me more reason to visit again, to cross destinations like Hualien and Green Island off the bucket list.
Academics
Last but not least, I want to discuss academics at NTU, which may be a point of interest for those who are looking into studying abroad in Taiwan or at NTU in the future. At NTU, I took 3 business classes that were taught entirely in English. Although the selection of English business classes were not as large as I'd like it, I managed to sign up for 3 classes that would transfer back to UHM and count toward my degree. Like many classes back at Shidler, classes at NTU were decently rigorous, being very case study and group project oriented. Overall, I would say the most refreshing aspect of taking business classes at NTU was that not all the case studies were America-centric. We looked at Taiwanese companies, Japanese companies, Chinese companies, and European companies. As an international business major, it was extremely insightful to see how cross-national deals are impacted by local government and regulations.
My last class was a General Chinese class, which they offer to all exchange students, that was taught in Chinese. I thoroughly enjoyed and recommend this General Chinese class to everyone who plans on exchanging to NTU. You get placed into the appropriate class according to your Chinese proficiency, which is tested through a placement test. My Chinese speaking and writing improved so much, and I am a lot more comfortable in using Mandarin to converse with others as a result.
So the real question is, would I recommend studying abroad in Taiwan or at NTU?
The answer is yes (but)...
If you are interested in Taiwanese culture, want to eat delicious food, and improve your Chinese, I highly recommend studying abroad in Taiwan. From an academic standpoint, I think studying at NTU is great for those interested in International Business, and the quality of the courses and topics discussed in classes are excellent. However, if you're not particularly interested in International Business, all big universities in Taiwan are of high caliber and you'll get an excellent exchange experience regardless of which one you go to. I will say that one of NTU's positives is its beautiful, nature-filled campus (see the photos at the bottom of this post!)
Perhaps this is due to the pandemic, but I felt like NTU's support and offered guidance for international exchange students was not very substantial. It's not that the faculty and staff at NTU weren't helpful, but rather, a lot of the experience felt very self-guided and "figure-it-out-yourself." I'm not too sure how the support systems are at other Taiwanese universities, but if this isn't up your alley, I would suggest against studying abroad at NTU.
Overall, I had a great time in Taiwan and hope to be back someday.
I hope this was helpful, and thanks for reading!
Deborah
Gongguan, the area where the NTU campus is located.