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Comments

Comment to Daniels Blog:

I completely agree with you and feel like I have gained so much weight over this trip from eating so much food. I also got to see one of my friends from UMD here in Taiwan! I think it is a fun experience to meet up with people outside of this study abroad. Sometimes they know about good hole-in-the-walls that we might never find as tourists. I am glad that you guys bought the Mahjong sets, it is a lot of fun to play. Hopefully you get better at it. The knot tying was very difficult but I am glad we got to do it. It is awesome that you are still able to play tennis half-way across the world!

 Comment to Jacob’s Blog:

I am also very happy that this trip happened. Cara and I were on the fence on if we should travel abroad, but I am very pleased with our decision to come together. We have seen a lot of museums on this trip, but the National Palace Museum was one of the biggest ones. The jade inside was beautiful. I hope to continue to play you in Mahjong when we get back to Maryland. The food here is great, the only thing I wish was different was the portion size. I am a big guy, and I eat about twice the amount of food than the average portion size is here. In America, portion size is not a problem. I hope to be able to practice my Chinese back at home so that I do not loose this skill. I will be trying every chance I get to speak in Chinese. Overall a great trip that I hope other can experience as well.

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Last Week

This is my last blog post for this amazing study abroad here in Taiwan. I cannot believe how quickly this trip has gone by. Although I wish I could stay longer I am happy to be heading home soon. During our last week we have tried to get as many last minute activities in as we could. Now that we are getting comfortable in the Taipei area we are using our Chinese more and trying other things outside of our comfort zone. I got a foot and shoulder massage, we went to the National Palace Museum, visited the Zoo, and went on the Maokong Gondola. I also had to do a lot of schoolwork during this last week. I had to do a lot of studying as we have our final exam on Friday so any extra time that I had I would try and quiz myself. For our final paper I had to find 3 people to interview about my topic. Lastly we had to practice our skit to show how far we have come learning Chinese!

The National Palace Museum has a collection of ancient Chinese imperial artifacts and artworks. The artifacts in this museum show the history of Taiwan and also the social changes happening in art and society. The most beautiful pieces of this museum were the pieces made of jade. The patience that must go into creating these pieces is a skill that I wish I had. I don’t believe that the U.S. has any museum like this. The Zoo was a very fun experience for me. The Zoo was similar with our National Zoo in D.C. I thought it was very funny how they how deer inside there zoo when for us deer are very common to see in the woods! Next to the Zoo was the Maokong Gondola. This is basically like a cart on a zip-line that brings you up and down the mountain. We road up and we got to see the sunset over the beautiful city. We were very lucky and got to go on a cart with a glass bottom so we could see underneath us. This was both stunning and scary. When we were up on the top of the maintain we explored Maokong. This was a very small town but they are known for their tea, since tea mainly grows high up in mountains. We tried raspberry lime tea, an orange honey tea, and some waffles while we were in the town. I do have to say, the teas was really good but very pricey. On the way back we got to see the city night-lights which was very unique. This comparable to the Ferris Wheel at the National Harbor. Even though you are not going up a mountain on a string, you still get to go high in your own cart and get to see a city view from the top 

The foot massage was very painful but my feet felt great afterwards. I got the foot massage for a cheap price and am definitely going to go back and get another one before the long plane ride back home. I have had one full body massage back at home and it is crazy how much more expensive massages are in the States than they are here in Taiwan. During the nighttime some of us would play Mahjong. Some of the people in the group bought a Mahjong set and our teacher taught us how to play! It is really fun and a good way to feel as if you are learning more about Chinese culture. This game is like poker and matching combined. There is a lot of thinking and also frustration that goes into it but a good way to spend your nights while also practicing some Chinese.

Bringing this blog to an end for this trip I just want to recap some of my favorite times here in Taiwan. Out of all the excursions and site seeing that we did, my favorite was riding bikes on the Sun Moon Lake. The weather was perfect and the water looked amazing. Riding bikes is always a good time because you don’t have to walk and can sit on a bike too. I learned a lot of history about Taiwan, mainly the history about who controlled Taiwan during different time periods. My Chinese has significantly improved because before coming here I knew zero Chinese words. I enjoyed a lot of the food and also did not enjoy a lot of the food. I am glad that I tried a lot of different foods even if they looked gross. I could go on for much longer but I do have to study for my final coming up. This experience has been one of a kind. Everyone who has traveled abroad says that it is one of the best experiences they have ever had. I am now a part of those people.

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Comments

Comment on Daniel’s Blog:

The hot pot was an awesome experience. For me it was my first time so I have never experienced anything like that. For me I am not experienced with the culture her in Taiwan. I am half Thai but have never really learned about the Thai culture so coming to an Asian country I am just as clueless as every other American. The choreography of the opera was awesome, I loved when they would throw sticks at each other and then kick them back. TKU is much prettier than UMD and it was a great experience playing basketball against students there.

Comment on Cara’s Blog:

The second hot pot that we went to was very different than the first one. It was cool how it was just one pot, but I liked the individual hot pot more so that way everyone could get exactly what they ant and not have to fight for the food.; The opera was a great experience. It was funny how we took the other peoples seats because they were late. It went by really fast but it was really funny. I think we all agreed that TKU is a much prettier campus than Maryland. I am very happy that I got a shirt from there so that I will always have a piece of where I went abroad.

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1/6/17-1/9/17

This past weekend was our last weekend excursion. I cannot believe that this trip has gone by so fast! It is crazy to think that we have gone all over Taiwan and have done so many activities in such little time. For our last weekend excursion we went to the Southwest part of Taiwan. The two main cities we visited were Tainan and Kaohsiung to learn about the history and religion of Taiwan. After our language class on Friday we headed out for the long bus ride to the Sun Moon Lake. This lake was beautiful! This excursion was probably my favorite out of all of them. We got to ride bikes around part of the lake, which was one of the best experiences I have ever had. This lake is the largest body of water in Taiwan and is home to the Thao tribe, one of the aboriginal tribes in Taiwan. In Maryland I am pretty close to the Chesapeake Bay and our water is brown and gross compared to the water here in Taiwan. It really goes to show that if people took care of the environment more and cared about keeping the Earth clean, the world would look more beautiful.

We visited three different forts on this excursion. One fort is in Tainan, called Fort Zeelandia, another in Tainan called the Eternal Golden Castle, and one in Kaohsiung, called the Cihou Fort. These forts were a great way for us to see the history of Taiwan. The Dutch built Fort Zeelandia when the Dutch occupied Taiwan. You could still see the European style that the fort still had left. The Eternal Golden Castle was a lot different than you would think from the name. This one was like a square with a lot of training area in the middle. There were also cannons everywhere! This Fort was built to resist the Japanese troops who invaded Taiwan due to Peony Suffix Event. Lastly we visited Cihou Fort in Kaohsiung. This fort is very beautiful as it is right on the water overlooking the South China Sea. The Qing Empire of China built this fort when they controlled Taiwan. These landmarks show the history of Taiwan and the people who have made Taiwan what it is today. This is comparable to the landmarks in the United States about the Civil War and the American Revolution. While at the Cihou Fort we got to go to a black sand beach, which is one of a kind. We ended our night in an elegant hotel, which I hope I get to stay at again in the future.

On the way back to Taiepei we visited another Temple that we are supposed to compare to Tzu Chi Temple in Hualien. In Kaohsiung we visited the Fo Guang Shan Buddha Memorial Hall. This was a huge temple that had restaurants inside and a huge Buddha statue outside. This temple was mainly outside based and had a lot of different types of exhibits in in each of the towers leading to Buddha. The Tzu Chi Temple was a completely different feeling than the Fo Guang Shan Buddha Memorial Hall. The Tzu Chi Temple was inside base and it had more of a museum feel. There were a lot of exhibits about Cheng Yen and all about her foundation and the volunteer work that it has provided to people all around the world. Even though it was a completely different set up than the other temple, both still have the same atmosphere of helping others before ones self.

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Comments 1/5

Comment on Applebee’s Blog:

It must have been nice to meet up with your old professor and catch up with all the different experiences you have been having during this trip compared to the other trip. It sounds like you had a fun dinner with a different experience sitting on the floor at somebodies house! I don’t know much about America and their gold mining, but I do think that the gold mining was similar to the gold rush that happened in California. New Years was an amazing experience but it was so crowded since this is really the only place to go in Taiwan. It was cool to see families going to a farm instead of an amusement park. American families are privileged to be able to have so many entertainment settings.

 Comment on Jacob’s Blog:

This past weekend was really crowded for us but it reminded me of home back in Washington, D.C. Jiu-Fen market was packed and the metro back from New Years I felt as if the crowd was moving me forward and I did not have to walk. At the farm I do agree the chair rope swing was awesome. It was so relaxing to be able to sit and enjoy the nature around you. One of the best things about this study abroad is that I am always outside. I would not have been outside this much if I were in the States. Lastly, getting to see the Buddhist temple was really cool. It was nice to see how one can start a charity from the ground up and effect the entire world.

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1/3/16-1/5/16

This week has been another great experience here in Taiwan. The Chinese Opera performance was an amazing experience that I was very happy I got to see. There were a lot of gymnastic type movements, singing, and a funny story line. In our culture class we learned a lot about the makeup and masks that the performers where and it was really educational to see what we learned with our own eyes. For me, this opera experience reminded me of the time I went to see a Broadway show in New York City. The whole point of the show is to tell a story. In telling that story, there is drama, singing, dancing, and story telling! Both Broadway and this Opera had that type of style. The Chinese Opera had more of a moral story than the Broadway show I saw, and it also had more of and Asian scenery obviously with the clothing and music style. It’s remarkable to see how each culture has similar ways of telling a story, with a twist of their own culture in it.

Over the past couple of days we went to do more site seeing. Earlier we went on a hiking trail in Taipei called, The Four Beasts. This trail is very difficult and gets you an amazing view of Taipei 101. The trails I have hiked in the States have been more like the hike we did in Sioulin Township, with the scenery of nature. This hike was a ton of stairs and got us to see the view of a whole city! The only hike I have been on that is comparable to this one, is in Hollywood, California to see the Hollywood sign. This was a long hike in a mountain and we got to see the view of Hollywood. We also saw the main campus of Tamkang University. This University had both similarities and differences from the University of Maryland. Like Maryland, this University had a building for each of its main school such as business, education, engineering, etc.; it was spread out with different shops on campus; it has a lot of shops outside surrounding the campus. Unlike Maryland though this campus had a lot more landscaping with trees and ponds everywhere. There was even a tree in the middle of a building! This campus also had a market right next to it. Maryland has a lot of store on route 1, but it is not the same environment as a market.

These past couple of days has also been a lot of new food experiences for me. We went to Hot Pot twice. Hot pot is where they put a boiling pot of water on the table and cook the food in it right in front of you! This experience was like Melting Pot and Sakura’s combined back in the United States. It is the idea of the pot from Melting Pot, but the meat and food like Sakura’s. I also went to a rotating sushi bar for the second time in my life. It was very cheap, basically $1 for every plate! Our last week is coming up so fast, but I cant wait to see all the activities we can fit in later.

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Comments 2

Comment to Jacqueline’s Blog:

I am very impressed that you are in the level 2 class at Tamkang University! It is nice to see that you are trying to get the most out of this experience instead of ease by it. I’m sure it is annoying not being with the rest of the class but at the end of the day it will pay off. We have learned a lot about the culture of Taiwan, so I agree that it was nice to go to the museum and 228 Park. It really showed a deeper meaning to what the people had to go through in order to get to where they are today. I am also very excited for the opera, I heard it’s very different than what we might expect. I haven’t researched it because I want it to be more of a surprise!

Comment to Jacob’s Blog:

It is crazy how much information we have been learning in our class. Learning a language is much harder than I expected, but we have to start somewhere. I agree with you and hope that at the end of this I will be able to have small talk with The night markets are so much fun, the games seem like fun and I want to play one during this trip. The cultural classes have been a lot of fun, I am glad they are hands on activities too. I can’t wait to see what is next!

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12/30-1/2

On Friday after our language class, we went to the Long Shan Temple in the Wanhua District. This temple serves for both Buddhism and Daoism. This temple is very unique. It is in the middle of a pretty buy city, with buildings right next to it and also taller than this temple. It’s a Chinese style temple and the people take care of it and its history. Buddhism is not as popular in the United States as it is here in Taiwan. I have been to a Buddhist temple once before in the States and it was definitely not the same style as the one here in Taiwan. The Temple that I have been to in the United States was more modernized; more inside based, and had fewer Gods inside of it. This Temple had two different religions, more of an outside base, which allowed you to have your shoes on, a lot of incents causing a lot of smoke, and a lot of colors. Both temples did have a lot of gold coloring. We also went to a market with a ton of stores for clothing and massages. Here we saw snakes that we could have eaten! 

After a short bus ride, we went to go see some of the mountains in Taiwan. We went to the Gold Mine Museum, which was very interesting. We learned a lot about the history of Taiwan especially with the colonization of Japan and how important gold was to them, causing them to advance the technology in Taiwan’s gold mines. This style of this museum was very similar to the style of museums in the States. The history is also similar. Japan colonized Taiwan and used Taiwan for their natural resources such as gold. This is similar to how England colonized America and used America for its natural resources. Obviously a lot of the history is different than the United States, but that aspect of it is similar. After the Gold Mine Museum we went to the Jui-Fen market. I have never seen a market so crowded and narrow. This market was filled with little shops and food stands, but even more filled with people. Other night markets that I have been to here in Taiwan are a lot more spread out and less crowded. These night markets are comparable to a combination of shopping centers in the United States. When I go to a night market, it reminds me of an Outlet, where you have to walk around outside and see the store and can chose to go in what you want, but also reminds me of the vendors in the middle of a shopping mall where they are always trying to sell you products and asking if you want to try something. A lot of times you see people going on dates to the malls in the States and you also see that here at the night markets. Like the States, these are places to hang out, eat and buy things, which makes everybody happy! After getting back to Taipei we met up with Derrek to eat dinner and get ready for our New Years event. Derrek had a friend who lives on the roof of an apartment complex in Taipei right next to 101 so we got an excellent view of Taipei 101. It seems the spirit of New Years is the same in Taiwan as it is in the States. People are all happy, there is a lot of drinking, and people look back on the good memories while learning from their mistakes. In the U.S. the big thing is to watch the ball drop, but here in Taiwan, the fireworks from Taipei 101 were amazing. I am so glad I got to experience such a beautiful sight and see New Years from a different place in the world. 

After checking out, we headed out to the East side of Taiwan in our huge comfy bus. Our first stop was the Toucheng farm. This farm was all-organic and had a lot of beautiful landscape for us to see. We got a tour that taught us how to survive if we were ever lost in the jungle in Taiwan. They showed us what we could eat and what we couldn’t because it was poison. Lastly we were able to pick Kumquat, an orange like fruit that you are supposed to eat the skin with. My family loves to go fruit picking. In America we go apple picking, peach picking, or blueberry picking at farms back near home. This farm reminded me of the fruit picking farms back in the United States. There were some differences, for example, at the Toucheng farm you were able to stay the night and get meals, and it also seemed more educational instead of just fruit picking base. After the farm we went to the Lanyang Museum. This museum is about the local area in Toucheng Township. We had to rush through the museum a bit due to time and I hope to go back to learn more about the history of the local area. To finish of the night we went to the Hualin night market. This night market was very spread out and had a lot of sitting eating areas. Other night markets that we have been too are more compact and have very little seating area. This one also had a live band playing which was different than the other night markets we have been too. We started off the next day with a hike in Sioulin Township, which is a mountain indigenous township of Hualien County. This was a beautiful trail that showed us all of the marble and other gorgeous stones that Taiwan has. Lastly we stopped on the way back to Taipei at the coast to see the Pacific Ocean and on the cliffs! This was such a beautiful sight that is comparable to driving down the coast of California.

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Comment to James Blog:

I think that it is awesome that you got lost in Taiwan. I feel like if you get lost you get to see more and you explore places that you might never find without getting lost. It was smart getting here a day early. I wish I got here earlier or I wish I could stay later so that I could go on my own and explore like you were able to. It is funny that you were asked if you needed help in the subway, it seems that the people here in Taiwan are more willing to help than others. I agree with you that the markets are different than the US but I really like them a lot. 

Comment to Caras Blog:

I completely agree that the plane ride was terrible! I am dreading the fact that we have to have such a long flight back. The jet lag is awful waking up so early and I know that when we finally adjust we will be going back to the States. I agree that 101 was incredible. The elevator was so fast and the view was like no other. When we went to the park the rocks were very cool. I can not wait to walk on the rocks everyday to help my feet!