Asian Studies Study Abroad Programs in Taiwan

When I signed the language pledge on day one, I made a promise: only Chinese, all day, every day. Every character was a rep, every assignment a set, and I studied my way through coffee shops all over Beijing, rating each one out of five stars. My politics and business courses were taught entirely in Chinese, and my one-on-one research dug into modern dating and why so few young Chinese are having kids — answers I found by interviewing locals myself. The real growth, though, happened outside the classroom. I'd talk to anyone who would say hello — monks, aunties in the park, students in the library, a woman making tea in a Yunnan mountain village. Each conversation was a private lesson worth more than gold. I took the bullet train to Shanghai, biked around West Lake in Hangzhou, got lost in the tea mountains, played pick-up basketball with Tibetan and Uyghur students, and even talked my way into a free tour of Alibaba's headquarters after waiting at the gate for over an hour. Persistence works. By the end, my teachers said my Chinese was the most improved in the program. But the part I'll carry with me isn't a grade or a trip — it's that I loved who I was in China.

Kaohsiung is an artsy, digestible city, one that is filled with history and was a joy to explore every day. The teachers, director, Taiwanese peers and roommates, and other study abroad students laid the framework for the program, while Taiwan's vibrant culture and natural environment filled in the rest of my experience. Under the language pledge, I was able to make progress in my conversational and formal Mandarin skills. I took classes that challenged me intellectually, but were still a lot of fun, learning the most in my one-on-one tutorial, where I got to delve deep into a topic of my choice. I chose modern Chinese and Taiwanese literature as part of my preliminary research for my senior thesis, and learned more in one semester than I could ever have on my own. Aside from academics, I also spent plenty of time exploring Kaohsiung, the rest of Taiwan, and was even able to utilize some weekends and breaks in traveling internationally within Asia. Despite living in the city, we also spent a substantial amount of time interacting with nature. Our school campus was surrounded by both mountain and beach, and Taiwan as a whole has no shortage of natural scenery to take in. Sprawling rice fields, Formosan monkey colonies gathered on trees, fog descending on the mountain in the early morning: these images of Taiwan have been truly unforgettable. The highlight of my time in Taiwan was of course the food. I ate a variety of Taiwanese dishes (even stinky tofu!), had a wide variety of desserts (108 cups of bubble tea...), and laughed with friends over meals every day. If I had the chance to study in Taiwan again, I would take it in a heartbeat. Studying abroad with Middlebury C.V. Starr Schools Abroad in Kaohsiung was one of the best decisions I have made in my life!

Overall my experience at CET Janterm and Middlebury in Beijing was very rewarding, albeit academically stressful. The CET program offered the biggest improvements to my Chinese I have ever had in such a short time. However, I was not nearly as physically and mentally healthy as I am normally. The Middlebury in Beijing program was similar but less extreme as it was spaced out over several months. The cultural activities organized by the program were wonderful and allowed me a very full experience in China, from going to various museums, the Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Great Wall etc. Also, the study trip to Hangzhou was a major highlight. Also, it was not the experience of everyone, but in my experience I had a great roommate pairing and great interactions with the local students, they helped us to adjust and integrate into their communities.

I was very pleased to see that Middlebury in Beijing was incredibly helpful in making sure that I had the opportunity to study the things I was interested in. My topics were not particularly beginner friendly, most of them had a lot to do with Classical Chinese, however the professors at MiB went above and beyond to create a learning environment that supported my interests at my pace and language level. I will always be grateful for the knowledge and experiences I had during this program!

I would be likely to recommend CIEE to my peers because it offers so many chances to meet some of the best friends and relationships you can find through a diverse group of like minded people which you get to go on adventures with.

Although my study abroad experience was virtual, American Councils adjusted its online language program to create a great and effective language learning experience. I was hesitant at first because I didn't know how they could create an "intensive language learning" experience with students all around the country, but through daily group meetings, one-on-one instruction, challenging homework assignments and weekly meetings with our language learning partners, I felt that my Chinese speaking skills have improved immensely. I communicated in Chinese everyday within the 8 weeks of the program and I felt that I’ve gained a lot of communication skills by speaking to my instructors, classmates and language partner throughout TISLP. Due to COVID-19 I was unable to travel to Taiwan for the program; however, I still felt like I witnessed some of Taiwanese culture and language through my language learning partner. I also got to see various night markets and national parks through my language partner as she showed me around Taiwan on LINE, a popular Taiwan communication app. TISLP, overall, has been a great experience.

I had my doubts that an 8-week online program would enable me to advance an entire year in my language studies, but it did!  I worked hard, though I still had time to relax and pursue some other interests over the summer.  The program was extremely well organized and implemented, and our classes were small—only 5 students, plus we had one-on-one sessions with a teacher daily.  The teachers and my language partner worked as hard as I did to help me improve.  Even though I wasn’t able to travel to Taiwan, my language partner showed me around Taiwan via video chat.  Being stuck at home was not how I anticipated spending the summer, so the chance to virtually experience some aspects of life in Taiwan made a huge difference.