Last Thoughts on Taiwan

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This is my last entry for my study abroad experience in Taiwan. Since I got here I have had none but good things happen to me, blessings I would call them If I wasn’t trying to avoid sounding clichรฉ. It’s my last day in Taiwan since tomorrow morning I’ll be taking a flight to San Francisco. I’m currently in Taoyuan and I’m meeting with a friend at 3:30 at the Taipei main train station (it is 1:49 right now), I also spent all day yesterday exploring Taichung with a friend.
I look back now and I’m filled with a plethora of feelings. Sad because I’m leaving such a wonderful country and all the friends I made here without knowing when I will have the chance to come back, fear because I have no idea how to make it to the airport tomorrow morning, joy because I will see my little brother again after such a long time, and happiness because of the memories and experiences I’ve had here.
I can’t help but say I fall in love more and more with Taiwan as I travel around it. The culture in Taiwan, I feel, is quite interesting. But interesting does not do justice to it. Chinese culture in Taiwan has something different that I have not experienced in any other countries I have been to. Besides the people being inviting and patient, there is a lot of emphasis on traditional values. By traditional values, I refer mostly to family values and a hard-work culture.

I am forever grateful to all of my teachers and instructors at Cheng Gong National University for their patience and hard work. Every day I would meet my one-on-one teacher that would help me improve anything from production use of grammar, word choice, or Taiwanese history. I had discussion classes every day as well, which seemed rather absurd to me at first because, I thought, how could I even discuss issues that I can barely discuss in English or Spanish? Now Iโ€™m very grateful that I discuss anything from Air Pollution in Beijing to Foxconnโ€™s Foreign Investment in the U.S. It was not easy. I worked hard every day and at times I hesitated my choice of learning Chinese, I doubted myself and thought I would never truly speak Chinese good enough to actually communicate with people at a deeper level. The day before my flight I spent the whole day with a friend I made in Taipei, who took me to walk around Danshui, just about 30 minutes away from Taipei, and the place where the Spanish established Hong Mao Cheng (I canโ€™t really recall the name in English right now). Her English was not good, so we spent the whole day speaking and communicating in Chinese. I could explain myself over a variety of topics, from school to family life, from the difference of living in Northern and Southern Taiwan to the job market in Taipei. It was then that I realized my time in Taiwan was fruitful and that I want to continue studying Chinese until I become truly fluent.

In the end, I a forever grateful for the opportunity FEA has given me, and I hope to use my language skills to make a difference in society and someday give back to causes like FEA and help someone else achieve their dream of speaking a (ridiculously) difficult foreign language.

 

Ivan Pineda

<i>Hello in your host country language</i>: ไฝ ๅฅฝ (Nว hวŽo) <i>University</i>: University of South Florida <i>Expected graduation year</i>: 2019 <i>Destination</i>: Tainan, Taiwan <i>Program Provider</i>: American Councils <i>Major / minor</i>: Quantitative Economics and International Studies majors, Chinese Language minor <i>Language of Study</i>: Mandarin Chinese <i>Demographic background</i>: First-Generation, Hispanic-American <i>Future career aspirations</i>: Investment Banking, Data Science <i>Top 3 goals for study abroad</i>: improve Chinese skills; develop communication skills with Chinese natives; get a better taste of Chinese culture and history