First Day of School!

Routine can help structure a person's life, but too much can cause life to slip away, which can lead to regret. No routine and only being spontaneous can lead to a life of wandering around without any purpose. Both sides are extreme, and you need a balance. I discovered this when college started in Taiwan. The first week of trying to figure out where my classes were, and my schedule was stressful. 

In Taiwan, students are given a week to create their schedules, this means attending classes they would like to join or dropping ones that do not fit. The first class I attended was a master's class in English on Confucianism. I thought it would be perfect, a culture class that would fulfill my second major's requirements, and it was in English. Perfect! My classmate from NAU, who was in the same program as me, attended the class with me. As soon as the professor came in, he announced that the course was, in fact, not taught in English but encouraged us to sit in on the first lesson. I can barely understand the principles of Confucianism in English, much less in Chinese. I sat there for two hours, wondering what in the world I was getting myself into. I could cross that class off my list. 

Eventually, my schedule was two online classes at NAU, Chinese movies and culture (completely in Chinese), children's literature (completely in Chinese), a speaking and listening Chinese language class, and another Chinese language class that was five days a week. My routine and new life in Taiwan were coming together. 

Arrival

 

Wheels down in Taiwan! Let the adventure begin! I spent the first week in Taiwan with Yin Laoshi, a professor/exchange student whom I met at NAU. I am so grateful that she opened her house and embraced me into her world. Being able to stay with her family for the week before classes instead of alone in a hotel helped me quickly immerse myself in the culture. I had Chinese spoken around me 24/7. I was able to get a glimpse of everyday life, whether that be visiting a hospital for a check-up or going grocery shopping. I could observe without the stress of classes. My approach to my new environment came from one of my professors who told me to treat a new place like a refrigerator. The metaphor is when you first go to someone’s house, you do not immediately make a beeline for their fridge, you get to know the person first, and then once you are friends, you are allowed to open their fridge. In class, we were talking about working for a corporation; however, I loosely applied a similar principle to my new environment by spending the first-week observing social norms and so on. My strategy of observing earned me a reputation in the household as being shy. I still chuckle a little to myself because that is the last word most people would describe me as. 

 

My friend had two little girls, so during the day, I would learn and help her around the house, and then at night, I would play with her daughters. I found that children are the best teachers, especially when learning a language. Some of the vocabulary they used I was familiar with, or they would repeat the same words enough times that I was able to pick up a little bit. At the end of the day, I would be mentally drained, and the best thing about children is you do not need language to know how to play.

 

Yin Laoshi was not the only person I knew in Taiwan. I also was able to meet up with Ginger, another Taiwanese exchange student whom I met at NAU. We got to catch up, and I was able to learn more about a student's perspective of Taiwan before becoming one myself. 

 

The whole first week still felt surreal. I enjoyed all my free time exploring, but I was ready to have a routine for Taiwan to feel more real. I was ready to dive headfirst into my life at National Central University.