Study Abroad Reflection Essay

Description of The Trip:

 

My study abroad trip was in the Summer of 2024 in Taoyuan City, Taiwan, at Chung Yuan Christian University (中原大學). We flew into the airport on May 18th and out on July 13th. I participated in my trip with nine of my peers from Clemson University, comprising four other female students and five male students. We were also accompanied by one of our Chinese professors, 安老师, in the first half and another, 张老师, in the second half, along with one more, 陈老师, who is native to Taiwan and was there for the week that was directly in the middle. They all lived in the guest house with us on the University’s campus in Taiwan. We were all provided a room with one or two roommates except for the professors, who had rooms to themselves. Integrated into our 8-week trip were several cultural and regional experiences and time for exploring on our own. These experiences included a trip to the Taoyuan Tudigong culture museum, the Gaomei wetland, the Wu-qi fishing port, the port of Kaohsiung, the Sicao Mangrove Green Tunnel, the Anping Old Fort, Sun Moon Lake, a Black Tea Factory, and the Kuo Yuan Ye Museum of cake and pastry. We also took trips to Taipei, Keelung, Jiufen, Hualien, Taichung and Kaohsiung in our free time.

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The Program:

 

Our program consisted of four courses, two taught in the first four weeks and two in the second four weeks. We took one Mandarin course in each half, where we were in Class A or Class B from our course completions at Clemson University. Those who had only taken Chinese language courses at Clemson University up to the 2000 level were in Class A. Those who took language courses beyond the 3000 level were in Class B. Six students were in Class A, and the other four, including myself, were in Class B. We were also assigned students from CYCU as tutors to help us review what we learned in class. Our second class in the first half was a culture course taught by 安老师on Pre-Modern Chinese Literature in translation. We read philosophical writings, poetry, prose, short stories, and other similar literature. At the end of the course, we chose a topic that pertained to Chinese literature, like a symbol or theme, to analyze and compare to American literature. My paper was on birds, trees and flowers in American and Chinese Literature. Our second half class was a cultural course taught by 张老师 on Chinese Culture and Society. We focused on topics such as Chinese traditional family structures, traditional Chinese medicine, and the Chinese education system. When we attended the Kuo Yuan Ye Museum of Cake and Pastry and learned how to make凤梨酥 (pineapple cakes), we also learned about marriage customs and traditions related to having and raising children. We also worked on the “Hands Together” project throughout the program. For this project, we paired up with one or two students from other universities who were also on a study abroad trip in Taiwan at the same time at the same school as we were to travel to a local high school and tell students about our hometowns, universities, countries, and cultures. The high school students also taught us about their school life, country, and culture.

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The Overall Experience:

 

The overall experience was nothing short of amazing! Taiwan is a beautiful place with breathtaking views of mountains and the ocean. Most of the people we met were so kind, friendly, and accepting of us and willing to help us whenever we needed assistance with anything we did not understand. This experience was truly immersive and significantly impacted my language-learning journey for the better. My Chinese proficiency improved significantly as I used my preexisting skills to navigate everyday situations, participate in class, and make friends, all while learning more from my teacher, my tutor, and anyone else we came in contact with who was local. I enjoyed studying abroad immensely and would be fully content with returning to Taiwan and living there for the rest of my life!

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Original Learning Goals:

 

Before completing my study abroad, my original learning goal was the standard desire to speak the target language better. I learned a lot in my Chinese courses at Clemson University, but I knew I could learn more by fully integrating the language into my life while abroad. I initially did not aspire to learn any other dialects or variations of Chinese other than the standard speech. The register I was mainly interested in was a formal speech, as taught in class, instead of a more everyday speech spoken in the vernacular. Given that I chose to study Chinese at Clemson University to pursue a career, ideally in the government, using the language skills I would acquire, it makes sense that I would be more geared toward learning a higher speech register for those purposes. I solely wanted to refine my usage of formal Chinese speech and proper grammar.

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After study Abroad:

 

After completing my study abroad program, I learned so much more by being there about the culture and the different ways people speak and why. I have gained interest in the native Taiwanese languages and everyday speech, which is different from textbook speech. I acquired knowledge that taught me about the different cultural reasons for several different phrases and ways of saying the same things in different situations and where one is more appropriate. Studying abroad really ingrained the idea of speaking to different people in different situations differently. Not everything applies to every situation, and everything does not have a direct or exact translation to English or makes sense to a foreigner without the necessary cultural context. Understanding people and where they’re coming from is the proper way to live and effectively communicate with one another.

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Cultural/Social Similarities:

 

The cultural similarities that I noticed between American and Taiwanese cultures is the love for our country whether it is be cause of political relations or other factors and other universal things such as sports, music, and other forms of entertainment. Three concrete examples, starting with sports, are badminton and baseball. Badminton is a game we commonly play in grade school in America, and they also play it in Taiwan. Our tutors often took us to play with them in our free time. Baseball is also a big thing in Taiwan, just like in America. People in Taiwan also enjoy attending games and cheering on their favorite teams. No matter the origin, music often transcends language, which was also evident in Taiwan. Several American and Korean artists are prevalent in Taiwan, even though the listeners do not understand the language. We also noticed that places like zoos and amusement parks are popular attractions in Taiwan.

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Cultural/Social Differences:

 

On the other hand, I found that Taiwan has more of a culture of kindness and respect for other whether that be keeping the peace on the trains or just helping someone in need. Cultural differences between American and Taiwanese cultures can be prevalent in sports, music, and entertainment too. In Taiwan, behavior around sports is different. There is way more excitement around baseball games in Taiwan than in America, and they are way more intense badminton than Americans since it is something you do in your physical education classes instead of something you do in your free time or even competitively as they do in Taiwan. Musical artists idolize celebrities less, and fans are less aggressive than in America. Taiwanese people behave with much more reservation and less entitlement than Americans regarding entertainment, travel, and day-to-day life. Examples of this are waiting in lines and talking loudly in public.

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Meaningful and Memorable Experiences:

 

Some of the most meaningful and memorable experiences I had during my study abroad in Taiwan were the bonds I formed with my teachers and peers from Clemson University and the students and teachers from CYCU. For my classmates and professor from Clemson, going to Taiwan and living together allowed us to learn more about each other and experience Taiwan together. We will always have a special place in our hearts saved for each other. The students and professors that I met at CYCU were the ones who made the trip that much more fulfilling by being so welcoming and supportive of us during our trip. I still communicate with the teachers and students I met in Taiwan and hope to revisit them soon.

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Challenges:

 

Some challenges that we faced were language barriers and profiling. Sometimes, our level of Chinese speaking ability was insufficient for a task we were trying to complete or for the person we were trying to communicate with. We were foreigners, so most of the time, people would speak English to us first before they found out we knew Chinese, but not everyone knew English, and we had to find a way to overcome the language barrier between us by either asking for help or using an aid. With us being Americans as well, some people were unintentionally profiling us either racially or ethnically and treating us as such. This issue was less of a problem, though. We overcame it by understanding that what is offensive to us may not be offensive to someone from another culture, and it may be due to ignorance that was not intentionally malicious.

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Reflection of The Experience:

 

Looking back on my experience studying abroad in Taiwan, I am very grateful to have had this opportunity to not only learn more of the Chinese language but also learn more about the people’s culture and customs that I would not have been able to understand in the same degree from a book or a video. Talking with people and getting to know them was so valuable that we could only achieve it in such a way that we could do it by physically being in the country and actively participating in building these interpersonal relationships. I now have a deep respect and love for Taiwan. Going on this trip will always mean so much to me, just like everyone I met, and the experiences I had will also. We did way more than study; we truly lived and experienced abroad.

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