Studying in Taiwan: A Great Choice!

I chose to study for a semester in Taiwan, I really wanted to go to a country with a totally different culture than I’m used to and I definitely don’t regret that decision! The people are very nice, the weather is perfect, the nature is amazing and it is not too expensive. Also, the location is perfect, I traveled to Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam, all within 3 hours of flying from Taiwan.

Arrival:

My first week in Taiwan I couch surfed, this is a platform through which you can sleep at local peoples houses for free. I ended up in a Taiwanese family in the middle of Taipei. The oldest son, Chong-Han (22) fortunately spoke English very well and showed me a lot of beautiful and fun places in Taipei. By living in this Taiwanese family I was totally submerged in the Taiwanese culture, I learned a lot from it. After this week I was ready for my exchange at the National Taiwan University (NTU).

Taiwan & the culture:

When I arrived in Taiwan I had not a lot of knowledge of the culture and the country itself. Living at the Taiwanese family helped me a lot in understanding it. It was a pretty big culture shock for me, because a lot of people don’t speak English very well and the city looks completely different than I was used to in the Netherlands. Also the food was different ( a lot of rice). But I actually managed to adapt well to the culture. I found out Taiwanese people are very friendly, helpful, respectful but also very shy. As tourist you will likely not be bribed and if you ask someone a question, he will do anything to help you. They however are a lot more shy and less direct than us Dutch people, which could lead to some frustrations in group projects.

Taiwan is a beautiful country with a lot of mountains and a great climate, I’m writing this letter in January and it is still around 20 degrees here. In the summer it can get extremely hot though, to around 35 degrees. I became a big fan of hiking, which is great here. You can also visit the nature parks and scouter around. Partying is different here, we always go to an all-you-can-drink club, where you can drink everything you want all night for about 10/15 euros, this led to some amazing night.

“I do notice that, as a blonde- blue eyed European guy I do get stared at a lot by the local people.”

The NTU:

The National Taiwan University is quite highly regarded, the Taiwanese people really look up to you when you say you study at NTU. From Tilburg, you are obliged to collect 30 ECT’s, but I got 42 in total. I chose voluntarily to get Chinese lessons and have taught English to Taiwanese children. Both additional courses for me were great experienced for me. I held Skype-sessions weekly where, with help of a translator, I tried to teach them English. I was responsible for a class of 26 children, around 11 years old in a primary school. The children looked up to me and called me their teacher. We were received in a great way, they performed dances for us, organized group games and prepared a delicious dinner for us.

I was enrolled in the College of Management and chose a lot of courses related to Finance. I have had a couple of nice courses about investing, risk management and mergers & acquisitions. The overall level of courses was a bit lower than in Tilburg, a couple courses were very easy, where others were more challenging. I think Chinese language was the hardest course I had. A part of your grade is coupled to participation and every course I followed was in a group. I worked with many different nationalities, made presentations and reports.

Accommodation:

Accommodation was well organized, I live in a big complex with student dorms. Almost just Exchange students live here. Male and female dorms are strictly separated and unfortunately you can’t have friends over in your room between midnight and 07:00 in the morning. My dorm room is pretty simple, with a bed, desk and own bathroom. It is pretty cheap, I chose a double room and I pay about 150 euros per month, but you can also choose a single room for 220 per month. By living in the dorms you meet a lot of new people very easily. All these fun international exchange students made my time here fantastic. The location is perfect as well, 10 minutes walking to lectures and in the middle of Taipei with easy access to metro and buses.

Overall, I love Taiwan, perhaps to most chill place I have ever been to. The atmosphere is very pleasant, I felt at home very quickly. Despite Taiwan being a huge city, I didn’t have the feeling it is very chaotic and crowded. Moreover the interaction with the local Taiwanese truly is fascinating, they are really genuinely interested in me and my life (and I of course in their lives). It is just incredibly cool and funny to hang out with Taiwanese people. In the Netherlands I feel pretty normal, but here in Taiwan I feel super special. There is also so much to do in Taiwan, I literally was never bored for one second. I feel like I did and been through a lot here, life was truly intense here! I enjoyed the people, the nature, the culture and the amazing weather. In short: Taiwan has been an amazing choice for me and I would definitely recommend it to others!