Love Letter (aka my deregistration letter)
My study abroad experience in Taiwan has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life. Throughout my childhood, I have had the unique opportunity of growing up in a culturally diverse environment. My father being Caucasian and my mother being Chinese both insisted that I attend a weekly Chinese school to make sure that I was exposed to Chinese culture. However, Chinese school only seemed to give me a taste into the cultural heritage that I was missing. Despite my teacher’s best efforts, I have grown up in the United States seemingly lacking half of my cultural heritage. My study abroad experience was phenomenal in that it allowed me to experience that half of my heritage and made it possible for me to reach the goals I set for myself so long ago.
My first goal was to improve my Chinese, not only for myself, but so that I could better speak with my grandmother. I think it is important to know where you come from, and I believe that speaking to one’s grandparents is the best way to learn that. Unfortunately, my grandmother does not speak any English. Before studying abroad, my Mandarin was nowhere near good enough to be able to have any sort of conversation with her. I could only enjoy her many stories through my mother’s begrudging translations. Now, not only can I understand her words and meanings on my own, but I can also ask questions and delve more intimately into her stories.
Related to my grandmother, another one of my goals was to become more connected with the family I have in Taiwan. Living in the United States, I was restricted to the occasional phone call greeting. By studying abroad in Taiwan, I was given the opportunity to actually see the real people behind the voices on the telephone. Instead of my mother telling me who is speaking, I now know for myself. I have my own special memories that I can draw on for that information. I now feel closer to the Chinese side of my family so that they actually feel like family now! This would have been impossible without spending so much time with them; without my continued study of Mandarin in Taiwan, I never would have been able to overcome the language barrier or even the distance barrier that separated us before.
Studying abroad in Taiwan has given me much more than just allowing me to become closer to my family. By joining clubs at National Taiwan University, I was able to meet Taiwanese students near my own age and see how their daily lives were similar and not so similar to my own in the United States. I participated in the Taekwondo club and the Karate Club and was able to keep up with the martial arts training that I had begun at my home university’s Taekwondo club. Additionally, despite being so far away from my friends and family, these clubs allowed me a comfortable forum to meet people and make friends. I remember many nights after class where the club members would meet up for a “midnight snack.” We would go to one of the many night markets around campus and eat shaved ice or fried chicken while laughing and joking. Many of these friendships are what I believe to be long-term and I hope that I am able to continue these friendships for years to come. I hope someday soon to return to Taiwan and spend more time with the friends I made during my stay, but until then I shall faithfully maintain my connections via e-mail and phone calls.
Besides my family and the friends that I made during my stay, there are many things about Taiwan that I miss very badly, things that I will not forget. One of the main things is the Taiwanese food. I am constantly reminded of the convenient little street vendors near where I was taking language classes. Every morning as I was walking to my morning class, I would stop by one of the vendors and buy a breakfast sandwich or danbing (蛋餅). I stopped by one vendor so frequently that he actually remembered my name and would joke with me as I waited for my food. In the afternoons, I would usually go out with classmates for lunch. Sometimes it might be fried noodles or fried rice while other times we would not really know what it was that we were eating, but it was delicious. Before going to Taiwan, due to Chinese influences in my life, I thought that I was knowledgeable about Chinese food. While studying abroad, I learned that this was not the case. Fortunately, I discovered many new foods that I really enjoy, such as milk tea (奶茶) and passion fruit (百香果). While I enjoyed learning about all the new kinds of foods, there are, however, some that I would not want to try again, like stinky tofu (臭豆腐).
The atmosphere of my study abroad in Taiwan was amazing. My classes were stimulating and the professors were encouraging. My friends were helpful in deciding what classes I should take and what to do during my stay. In short, my trip was an amazing, life-changing event. Not only was I able to improve my Mandarin, but I connected with family members that I never really “had” before, while forming lasting friendships with people I had never met. I will be able to continue practicing my Mandarin with them, as well as talking to them as they continue their lives. Along with new friends, I also found new foods; some good and others… not so good, but all very interesting. My stay brought me closer to my cultural heritage than I had ever thought possible. All of this would have been impossible had I not taken the opportunity to study abroad. I am very glad I did, and I hope to one day return to Taiwan.
My first goal was to improve my Chinese, not only for myself, but so that I could better speak with my grandmother. I think it is important to know where you come from, and I believe that speaking to one’s grandparents is the best way to learn that. Unfortunately, my grandmother does not speak any English. Before studying abroad, my Mandarin was nowhere near good enough to be able to have any sort of conversation with her. I could only enjoy her many stories through my mother’s begrudging translations. Now, not only can I understand her words and meanings on my own, but I can also ask questions and delve more intimately into her stories.
Related to my grandmother, another one of my goals was to become more connected with the family I have in Taiwan. Living in the United States, I was restricted to the occasional phone call greeting. By studying abroad in Taiwan, I was given the opportunity to actually see the real people behind the voices on the telephone. Instead of my mother telling me who is speaking, I now know for myself. I have my own special memories that I can draw on for that information. I now feel closer to the Chinese side of my family so that they actually feel like family now! This would have been impossible without spending so much time with them; without my continued study of Mandarin in Taiwan, I never would have been able to overcome the language barrier or even the distance barrier that separated us before.
Studying abroad in Taiwan has given me much more than just allowing me to become closer to my family. By joining clubs at National Taiwan University, I was able to meet Taiwanese students near my own age and see how their daily lives were similar and not so similar to my own in the United States. I participated in the Taekwondo club and the Karate Club and was able to keep up with the martial arts training that I had begun at my home university’s Taekwondo club. Additionally, despite being so far away from my friends and family, these clubs allowed me a comfortable forum to meet people and make friends. I remember many nights after class where the club members would meet up for a “midnight snack.” We would go to one of the many night markets around campus and eat shaved ice or fried chicken while laughing and joking. Many of these friendships are what I believe to be long-term and I hope that I am able to continue these friendships for years to come. I hope someday soon to return to Taiwan and spend more time with the friends I made during my stay, but until then I shall faithfully maintain my connections via e-mail and phone calls.
Besides my family and the friends that I made during my stay, there are many things about Taiwan that I miss very badly, things that I will not forget. One of the main things is the Taiwanese food. I am constantly reminded of the convenient little street vendors near where I was taking language classes. Every morning as I was walking to my morning class, I would stop by one of the vendors and buy a breakfast sandwich or danbing (蛋餅). I stopped by one vendor so frequently that he actually remembered my name and would joke with me as I waited for my food. In the afternoons, I would usually go out with classmates for lunch. Sometimes it might be fried noodles or fried rice while other times we would not really know what it was that we were eating, but it was delicious. Before going to Taiwan, due to Chinese influences in my life, I thought that I was knowledgeable about Chinese food. While studying abroad, I learned that this was not the case. Fortunately, I discovered many new foods that I really enjoy, such as milk tea (奶茶) and passion fruit (百香果). While I enjoyed learning about all the new kinds of foods, there are, however, some that I would not want to try again, like stinky tofu (臭豆腐).
The atmosphere of my study abroad in Taiwan was amazing. My classes were stimulating and the professors were encouraging. My friends were helpful in deciding what classes I should take and what to do during my stay. In short, my trip was an amazing, life-changing event. Not only was I able to improve my Mandarin, but I connected with family members that I never really “had” before, while forming lasting friendships with people I had never met. I will be able to continue practicing my Mandarin with them, as well as talking to them as they continue their lives. Along with new friends, I also found new foods; some good and others… not so good, but all very interesting. My stay brought me closer to my cultural heritage than I had ever thought possible. All of this would have been impossible had I not taken the opportunity to study abroad. I am very glad I did, and I hope to one day return to Taiwan.