My Study abroad experience in Taiwan臺灣

My Study Abroad experience in Taiwan August 2018-July 2019

PART 1
I arrived back in the United States a few weeks ago after my study abroad program ended this past June. I studied abroad in Taipei, Taiwan for an academic year so I did not eat food on Thanksgiving day with my family nor did I spend Easter day with my paternal grandparents. I calculated that I spend about ten months abroad. I was not used to the fact that I had to attend classes on Christmas day, but I know that Taiwan is not a Christian country.

I chose to study abroad in Taiwan because I wanted to spend more time in Taiwan. I felt that my vacation period in Taiwan with my parents and relatives is too short and that I want to do more things, see more places, and eat more food in restaurants. Also, I was feeling bored in my hometown so I wanted to experience living in a different country. I applied online (my home university's study abroad website in March 2018 and I departed San Francisco in August 2018. I had to type essays for two applications. The first application is on my home university's Education Abroad website. The second application is on my study abroad institution's website. My study abroad institution is National Taiwan University, the top and selective university in Taiwan where former presidents of Taiwan have attended.

I found out that I was accepted to be a foreign exchange student at NTU (National Taiwan University) in April 2018 and so the preparation begins. I was excited and I admit that I overpacked many things that I did not need nor use during my time in Taiwan. I learned this lesson: DO NOT OVERPACK! Because I did not have enough room in my suitcases nor my sister's suitcases for my items that I purchased in Taiwan or were gifts from relatives and friends, I had no choice, but to leave them behind in Taiwan. Hopefully those stuff will still be there when I come back to Taiwan in the future to retrieve them and bring them back to the United States. I even had to leave behind my Nike sneakers!

I arrived at Taoyuan International Airport on the evening of August 24th where my maternal grandfather and my uncle were waiting for me. After I got off the plane, I felt a sense of surreal excitement because all this was different and new to me. For the first time in my life, I was in a foreign country without my parents and sisters near me. I felt independent. I used my phone to send a LINE message to my relatives in the family group chat that I have arrived in Taiwan. My mother was awake too and saw my texts that I am now in Taiwan. She told me to buy something at the DUTY-FREE store then go to the immigration customs area to show my passport and my ticket to the customs official. Then I went to get my suitcases and to my surprise, they were the only suitcases left in a spot while everyone else already retrieved their suitcases. Then I put my suitcases on a cart and went through the exit two doors that I remember from my last vacation in Taiwan when my mom and I left the baggage claims to go through those two doors where loved ones, friends, and car drivers were waiting for their tired, sleepy passengers to come out the exit and greet them and smile and shout excitedly the passengers' names.

I did not see my grandfather's face nor my uncle's face when I came out so I kept walking until I saw my grandfather sitting at the waiting area right outside the exit doors. He saw me too and he went to get my uncle who was looking for my face in a different spot of the waiting area. We did not say anything much and my grandfather went to get the car while my uncle and I waited outside the airport. He asked for my cell phone and I gave him my cell phone. He then used a sharp needle-like object to open the slot of my cell phone so that he could take out the AT&T SIM card and attempt to put a Taiwanese SIM card in the slot, but it did not work. So he gave me my iPhone back and my grandfather arrived with the car and put my heavy suitcases in the back and I went to sit in the back seat of the car as my grandfather drove us to Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, a forty minutes drive from Taoyuan Airport. And he gave me snacks including a pineapple bun and a drink. I looked out the window and see the buildings pass me by and I see lights illuminating from neon florescent signs as the night sky darkens.

PART 2 to be published in next blog post