Waking Up From A Dream

When I landed back in the US, I felt my body relax with a sigh of relief. I was home! As I returned to my hometown, nothing had changed. It was like I had woken up from a dream or coma. I had changed, but the environment around me had not. People call this reverse culture shock, which is very real. There is a time when you just need to decompress, the outside world fades to the back for a little while, and all that matters is family and taking a breather. Then, the time for reflection and questions comes.

People would ask me about my time abroad, there were so many things I wanted to tell them, only to find out they really did not want a long-winded story. I learned to default to an elevator pitch, hitting the topics about learning about the culture, practicing my Chinese, and making new friends. You go through all these experiences, and you just need to keep them to yourself. Luckily, I had friends a part of my program and friends from NCU who I could go on and on talking about our travels. 

As soon as I returned to NAU to finish some required classes and graduate, I knew this phase of my life was completed, and it was time to move on to the next big adventure. 

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Thank you to everyone in IGP, NAU, Taiwan Biotech Co., NCU International Office of Affairs, and many more people who helped and cheered me on along the way. I will forever be grateful for having this amazing opportunity. 

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There are so many more fun and crazy experiences I would love to share, but a lot of it you need to experience on your own. The best advice is to make the most of your time abroad it goes fast, learn, and live life to the fullest. 

Going Home

Just like that, my time in Taiwan had come to an end. I remember being unable to say NCU in Chinese to taxi drivers when I first arrived, and before I knew it, I was a daily commuter on the morning and afternoon trains. My time in Taiwan changed me in the best of ways, I grew more independent, I learned and experienced Taiwanese and other Asian countries' cultures, and most importantly, I got back to my roots to understand more about my beginnings. 

The week before leaving was a whirlwind of packing, goodbyes, and last-minute get-togethers with friends. On my last night in Taiwan, I walked around campus, recalling all the memories I had created. The first time meeting my roommate and friends during orientation, the sleepless nights when my friends and I would stay up practicing our dances, and the midnight snacks we would buy from the late-night vendors, and, of course, I cannot forget to mention the countless hours of laughing at 7 Eleven. Even though there was pain in my heart and tears running down my face, I knew I had made the most of my time in Taiwan. I did not regret anything, and I would be going home with newfound friends that I was looking forward to visiting one day. Taiwan has become a big part of my life, and in the future, I will visit again. I left some parts that I still need to go and explore. 

The whole flight home, I cried, the people sitting next to me must have thought I was crazy. Even though it saddened me to leave Taiwan, my heart yearned for home.     

Exploring Asia

When you are in Asia, I highly recommend traveling to other Asian countries since you are on that side of the world. I used Taiwan as my base as I went on several trips with friends and even met up with friends from NAU and NCU. 

• Japan:

Visiting Japan was a great break from school life. Spending time traveling around Japan, going to a pig cafe, wearing kimonos, and staying up many nights laughing with friends from NAU and NCU.

• South Korea:

I met up with friends who I had Chinese classes with at NAU and Korean exchange students from NAU who I promised I would visit in South Korea. A weekend of exploring Seoul, visiting a palace in Hanboks, having fun with my friends, and lots of shopping (mostly buying food). 

• Malaysia:

I reunited with some of my friends from the United Nations in Malaysia. As we drove around Malaysia, I saw beautiful landscapes from beaches to waterfalls, and learned more about the culture. The food was to die for! I wish I had more time to explore more parts of the country. 

• Singapore:

I took the bus from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore to visit another friend's home and see another friend from NCU. The hustle and bustle of the country made me feel alive. There were so many things to see and great street food to eat. 

I had wonderful experiences of spending time with my friends and being able to visit their homes! I hope one day they can visit me in the US so I can reciprocate their hospitality by treating them and showing them my home. 

Taiwanese Holidays/ Festivals

There are several holidays/ festivals in Taiwan, such as Qingming Festival (Tomb-Sweeping Day) and National Day. Below are just some holidays/ festivals that I enjoyed celebrating while I was there. 

• Mid-Autumn Festival || 中秋節 || Zhōngqiū jié

A time for family and friends to gather around the table. It is tradition to eat round-shaped food like moon cakes and pomelo (fruit) because the holidays also celebrate the moon goddess. In Taiwan, it is common to have BBQ. My friends and I had a potluck, and then we took a walk around campus to watch the moon. 

• Lunar New Year || 春節  || Chūnjié

Lunar New Year is to celebrate the new year in the lunar calendar. It is a time when families gather,  children are handed red envelopes of money, firecrackers are popped to scare off evil spirits, and more traditions. Some of my friends from NAU came to visit. I showed them around Taiwan, and we celebrated the holiday with hot pot and enjoyed the empty streets of Taipei. 

• Lantern Festival ||  元宵節 || Yuánxiāo jié

At night, people light lanterns with wishes drawn on them with black ink and release them into the sky to mark the end of Lunar New Year celebrations. My friends and I went and released our own lantern with New Year wishes on it. 

• Dragon Boat Festival || 端午節 || Duānwǔ jié

The holiday is to celebrate the life and the death of the famous Chinese scholar Qu Yuan. Wooden boats with Dragon heads on the bow and tails on the stern race each other, and rice dumplings (Zòngzǐ) are commonly eaten, these are just some of the traditions. NCU hosted a night to make Zòngzǐ, which are harder to make than they look. My friends and I also visited Taipei to watch the dragon boat races. 

Celebrating these holidays/festivals, especially with the guidance of my Taiwanese friends, helped me continue to immerse myself.  For all those years of reading about these holidays/festivals, I was grateful to be able to be a part of them. 

Shaken Up

Taiwan is located on the Ring of Fire, a tectonic belt of volcanoes and most commonly known earthquakes. 

It was morning time when my roommate and I felt the shaking. We both instantly woke up and looked at each other. Our books and things on our shelves crashed on our desks and floors. We both held on to the sides of our beds. The shaking lasted for several seconds, then we both got up and went into the lobby. Which, looking back now, was maybe not the smartest idea. We probably should have gone under our desks like our schools taught us, but when you are in that situation, some steps are forgotten. In the lobby of our floor, there were already other girls out, and we were all talking. Soon, another shock hit us, and parts of our ceiling fell. I looked outside at some point and could see our building swaying. A strange noise was coming from somewhere, I went over the elevators not to get in them, but I noticed pools of water. There was water dripping down the elevator doors from the 12th floor. The group chat notified us that some of the water pipes on the 12th floor had broken and were flooding the floor's lobby. Another shock hit, and my phone binged with an email from NAU checking on me. I was grateful to them for looking out for me and was surprised by how fast they knew. Little did I know that the whole world knew about the earthquake. I was not in the heart of the earthquake, but the shocks were strong, and all of North Taiwan could feel it. Soon, things started to calm down, and I took the 11 flights of stairs to go get breakfast. My friends who also lived in the building with me shakenly ate our food. One of my friends lived on the second floor, and she was trying to leave when the earthquake moved her door, causing it to be stuck. She was unable to get out for a while, and luckily someone helped her. Of course, as foreigners, we were, no pun intended, shaken up. On the other hand, the locals were a little surprised since it was the biggest earthquake in 25 years, but overall unfazed. 

I called my family, who did not know about the earthquake since they were on the road. Luckily, I was able to get to them first before they looked at the news. I assured them I was safe and I was, in fact, going on a trip with friends to the furthest place in Taiwan from the aftershocks, the South. It was a four-day weekend and after that morning I needed a vacation.    

Must Try Foods

There is a lot of delicious food all over Taiwan, from sweet in Tainan to savory in the north. Night markets are everywhere in Taiwan and are great places to get street food. Food is important in Taiwanese culture. My friends and I sometimes would visit a part of Taiwan specifically to try a famous dish. Listed below are just some of the foods I enjoyed.

• Stinky Tofu ｜臭豆腐 ｜Chòu dòufu

Fried fermented tofu (in my opinion, it is less stinky), Taiwan kimchi, and garlic sauce. It is most commonly found in night markets.

• Egg Crêpes/Pancake || 蛋餅 || Dàn bǐng

Ham and egg fill (there are many different fillings), savory crepe, and sauce. It is usually only sold during breakfast. 

• Hot Pot || 火鍋 || Huǒguō

Soup base with any vegetable, meat, noodles, or seafood or more you want to put inside. It is most commonly eaten during colder weather. 

• Mango Ice || 芒果冰 || Mángguǒ bīng

Shaved ice, mangos (other fruits and toppings can be added), and condensed milk. Most commonly eaten during the summer. It is severed in large portions. 

• Coffin Bread || 棺材板 || Guāncai bǎn

Hallowed out fried bread and filled with chowder made with chicken, seafood, and vegetables.

• Beef Noddle Soup || 牛肉面 || Niúròu miàn

 Beef, Broth, noddles, and green onions. Kaohsiung is known for this dish. 

There are so many other mouth-watering foods not mentioned, but there are also different foods that I surprisingly enjoyed such as duck tongue and chicken feet. Taiwan also has many vegan and vegetarian dishes that are equally as tasty as other foods. I recommend trying a little of everything you might just find a new dish you love. 

Internship

The spring semester started with me rushing to catch a bus to wait in line at the train station and then walk to my internship at Taiwan Biotech Co. (TBC). Founded in 1945, TBC is one of Taiwan's top five local pharmaceutical manufacturers. I was assigned to the International Business and Development Department (IBDD), where I had several tasks and learned about not only international trade but also Taiwanese work culture. 

In my department, I was the younger worker and the only intern. An average 8:00 am - 5:00 pm day at work looked like eating breakfast before work, then working on my tasks, and I can't forget to say good morning to my co-worker in the cubicle next to me. We were the only two in our office space, while the rest of the department was a couple of rooms over. Then, I had an hour-long lunch where I would join my co-workers in my department at the company's cafeteria, then a short nap at my desk (which is a part of the work culture in Taiwan) before getting back to work. Once 5:00 pm hit, I would pack my things and run to catch my train back to my district to go back to my campus. On Fridays, I worked from home, this was my life for four months. 

My tasks included conducting a survey of pharmaceutical markets in different countries and researching potential business partnerships with companies in those markets. I learned more about international trade by shadowing some of my co-workers. They also helped me practice my Chinese, and I helped them practice their English. I observed it was common to give snacks to co-workers, whenever I went somewhere for the weekend, I always remembered to bring back snacks to hand out to my co-workers. 

There were times when days would blend into each other, but some of my favorite memories were touring the company, talking with my co-workers, the leak in the ceiling, and the lovely going away part they had for me. I concluded my time at TBC with a presentation to the General Manager of TBC, the Manager of IBDD, the Vice President of NCU, and another representative of NCU. Being an intern for a Taiwanese company was a wonderful experience for international professional growth and cultural learning.