Sharing the experiences of one our scholars, Ms. Jean Liao, during her stay in Taiwan while pursuing her Mandarin studies.
MY WINTER TERM IN TAIWAN
Last November 18, 2018, I took a one-way flight to Taiwan which marked the start of my life as a Mandarin language student abroad. In the next four days I will be seeing my new school for the first time. I was getting pretty excited but also anxious about the registration and assessment process. There was always the slight chance I be put in a class I may not be compatible. I have had prior lessons on the language before but that was a long seven years ago. To be honest , I did not have expectations as to how my stay would be. Even so, I believe my non-existent expectations were exceeded somehow.
DECEMBER 2018: GETTING USED TO TAIWAN LIFE
Culture & Lifestyle
My first month in Taiwan was a whole lot of getting-used-tos. Even though its geographic location is quite near the Philippines, besides the language, the culture and the way of living is absolutely different. If anything though, I believe the Taiwanese people are the closest to the Filipino people in terms of hospitality and friendliness.
If I were to choose three words to describe the Taiwanese standard of living, I would pick: convenient, safe and gastronomic. Firstly, the main thing I noticed in my first month in Taiwan was the convenient transportation. As part of the Philippine working force , I know the pain of having to wake up early to go to work due to the traffic and lack of mass transportation in my country. In Taiwan, citizens have numerous options, we learned these modes of transportation in class too. These are the bus , metro, bicycles, taxis, Uber, local trains and high speed trains. The buses and trains are well-maintained, clean and on-time. They are also affordable especially to students like me. I hope that the Philippine transportation will be as efficient someday.
Secondly, I have also started to notice how safe Taiwan is. In a few occasions, I had to walk home a little late. The streets were always quite and well-lit, at least in Da'an district where I lived for the whole duration of my stay. When walking in broad daylight, I've been used to keeping my backpack in front to avoid pickpockets. In Taiwan, I was comfortable enough to always wear it at my back without the fear of getting pickpocketed.
Lastly, living in Taiwan was gastronomic. I personally believe that every street in Taipei definitely has at least one restaurant or food shop. It's so easy to look for restaurants or food shops (Snack Shop) you can never go hungry! Night markets alone have so much to offer. Noodles, rice, bread, hot food, cold food, desserts, juice, tea, milk, fried, steamed, grilled, and more, they have it all! My school, Shida, has a night market right across it so every day was a new day to try different types of food. My favorite Taiwanese foods are beef noodle soup, hot pot and pineapple bread. My favorite Taiwanese drink is no doubt milk tea.
Language & Study
My chosen school was the Mandarin Training Center (MTC) of the National Taiwan Normal University. MTC is quite known around the world for its Mandarin language classes so it came as no shock when I had classmates from all over the world. Although my classmates and I came from different backgrounds and spoke different language, we all had the desire to learn Mandarin. With only 8 students in my class, our teacher was able to focus on each of our needs.
The classes were well-paced and simple. We read through a dialogue, study the vocabulary and discuss the grammar. Personally, I found the speaking and grammar most difficult. Pronunciation and intonation is such a major part of the Chinese language that changing the tone of one character/word will result to a different character/word. The grammar is also quite different from English. In Mandarin, there are no time-bound tenses. Instead, time indicators are used to determine if it is in the past, present or future. Even the sentence structure is different. Truly, Mandarin is not an easy language to learn yet it is so interesting and
beautiful.
By the end of December, I could properly introduce myself in Chinese by sharing my name, country, and family. I could also write and speak what food and drinks I like and dislike are and what hobbies I enjoy doing.
Perhaps the weirdest thing about my stay in Taiwan was that Christmas was not an official holiday. Filipinos are known to celebrate Christmas flamboyantly and luxuriously as possible while in Taiwan, it isn't a big deal. Still, I spent my Christmas attending mass at the Filipino church in Zhongshan (中山) and ate at a nearby Filipino restaurant so Christmas was still alive.
JANUARY 2019: NEW YEAR, NEW DESTINATIONS
Culture & Lifestyle
On New Year's Eve, I made a plan to watch the Taipei 101 fireworks with my friends. Taipei was very alive on New Year's Eve. Even though it was drizzling outside, that didn't stop people from filling the streets of Taipei to watch the free new year concert and fireworks.
After studying Mandarin for one month, I have become more confident with my speaking and commuting skills. So January was the month I decided to venture out to the nearby tourist attractions. In my travels, I can't help but notice how Taiwan is a mountainous country. Hiking, therefore, is one of the favorite hobbies of Taiwanese people. I also tried hiking once in Sandiaoling to see some waterfalls and was amazed that even old people hike!
As I am fond of architecture, I made sure to go back again to Beitou to visit the Beitou Public Library. I have read about its Green Architecture and was fascinated that such a nice library was accessible to the public. The Beitou Public Library is easily one of my favorite places in Taipei. A library in the middle of a park, with soothing views and serenity? If I could study there all the time, I would. In the following days, I would discover that Taiwan has its fair share of architectural wonders.
It is definitely good that the government maintains its public parks and libraries in Taiwan well. I truly appreciate the availability of public parks where people can go for a walk, go bird-watching or just get some fresh air. In parks, I see people with their professional cameras waiting for birds to photograph. I assume bird-watching and animal photography is also a popular hobby among Taiwanese people.
Another interesting location in Taipei is the Burmese street. Recommended by a fellow HES scholar, we tried out some good Myanmar food.
Language & Study
After the new year holidays, our teacher prepared a field trip for us to visit Ningxia Night Market. Chinese new year was upon us and so Ningxia Night Market was filled with people. We were able to learn about the clothing and wholesale industry through the field trip.
By the end of January, I already know Mandarin of the different modes of transportation in Taiwan, several adjectives like comfy (comfort), near (近), cheap (cheap), expensive (expense) and more. I am also more used to speaking Mandarin. As it was somewhat hard to talk to my classmates in Mandarin due to us collectively not being familiar with the language, I have
resorted to using mobile apps to help me meet Taiwanese people.
I have installed the language app HELLOTALK on my phone. After sharing in the app that I am interested in learning Chinese, several Taiwanese and Chinese people messaged me showing interest in doing language exchange. That being said, I schedule Monday, Wednesday
and Friday nights to do a 15-minute conversation in Chinese with my language exchange partners. It has truly helped me improve my conversational skills and also helped me know
slang words used by the younger people.
February 2019: MAKING THE MOST OUT OF THE LAST MONTH
Culture & Lifestyle
On my last month in Taiwan, I was determined to go around the country to see both nature and urban cities. I was able to travel to Taichung, Taipei North Coast, Kaohsiung, and Hualien. February was a quick month because of the Chinese new year holidays.
Taiwan, like the Philippines, could boast about its natural landscape. Each city has its own charm. Taichung had beautiful temples and delicious food. Kaohsiung had beautiful beaches and theater halls. Taipei North Coast had unique cafes and quiet beaches. Hualien had amazing mountains and shorelines. Going to these places wasn't hard either. Transportation was so convenient that I need not spend more than 6-hours on the same bus or train. I really really love the easy transportation in Taiwan above anything else.
Besides traveling these areas, I was also able to attend the annual Pingxi Lantern Festival. I was glad that it was free to take part in such a huge event. I especially woke up early to travel to Pingxi and line up for tickets. It was a surreal experience to see all the lanterns fly in the sky. It was great to witness such a cultural event in Taipei.
Language and Study
We only had three lessons left of the textbook for February. I was already able to order my meals in restos in Mandarin. I understand vocabulary and topics relating to money, time, weather and health. We took a proficiency exam again to check if we can move to the next book for the next semester. I got a score of 94 which I am very happy with although I won't be continuing my study in Taiwan.
Overall, three months in Taiwan did a lot for my Mandarin skills. I am more confident about speaking and writing now. When I applied for the Huayu Enrichment Scholarship, I wrote that my objectives were the following:
- Pass HSK Level 2 by the end of my study
- Be able to hold basic conversations with Mandarin-speaking people with ease
- Improve my Mandarin comprehension skills and use it as a tool to get better opportunities at work
Currently, I am still continuously working on number 1 and 2. After my semester in Taiwan, I plan to continue my language studies in the Confucius Institute in Ateneo. I also bought chinese books in Taiwan to help me improve my vocabulary and grammar.
I am thankful to TECO for giving me this opportunity. It truly is an enriching and educational experience for me. Learning about cultures and languages is an artform of life in itself. I am one step closer to achieving my dream of being proficient in Mandarin.
