My Experience Studying Abroad!

Temple located in Ximending

This summer, I studied abroad in Taiwan in a Chinese cultural immersion program! It was four weeks long and I stayed with a host family. In this blog, I will tell you all about what my everyday life was like, the experiences I had, and my final thoughts on it! 

My plan to get there was to fly from MCO airport to SFO airport, then meet the rest of the group at the gate to Taipei at the SFO airport. Once I arrived at the SFO security, I waved goodbye to my mom and my brother. I got so scared when I left them and then made my way to the gate. I sat down and instantly made a new friend, and we chatted until it was time to board the plan at 11:00pm. It was a 13 hour flight, and the first time I had flown internationally without my family. 13 hours later we were in Taiwan at 6:00am! Everyone collected their checked baggage and we boarded a bus to go to orientation. One of the first things we did was visit a Taiwanese 7/11. I found so many cool snacks that weren’t available in the USA, like steak flavored Lays Chips and sushi flavored Pringles! We went to orientation, and after, it was time for our host families to pick us up. 

My host family was a family of four plus my roommate who was also studying abroad. There were two parents and two children around my roommate and I’s age. They lived in Fuxinggang, the Beitou district. They also had a car that we drove home in. But first, we tried Taiwan’s specialty: Pineapple cakes! They were flakey, tart, sweet, and most importantly, delicious! After that we went to a traditional dumpling shop which also served boba. Before coming to Taiwan I always preferred pan-fried dumplings, but the steamed corn ones were so amazing! We also tasted some beef noodle soup, a dish that Taiwan is famous for. The broth was rich, the noodles were bouncy, and the beef was tender. It was so comforting! Finally, we arrived at what we would call home for the next month. My roommate and I were exhausted from jetlag, so we both unpacked a bit and completely fell asleep on our beds. The next day would mark the class orientation!

My roommate and I had to navigate how to get to the National Taiwan Normal University campus on our own that morning since the parents had work. First, we walked to the Fuxinggang station on the Red Line. Then, we rode all the way to the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall stop and transferred to the Green Line to ride one stop to Guting. After that it was a straightforward walk to the campus. It was about a 45 minute commute. Soon, that became our schedule everyday for a month. We would wake up at 6, have homemade yogurt with chia seeds and fruit that our host mom made us at 7, then commute to school. At the university we would have Chinese class from 8:40-11:00, learning new vocabulary and sentence structures. From 11:00-12:00 we would debrief the day's Community Conversation, where we would interact with locals in Chinese. When the clock hit 12, we were released for lunch!

We were allowed to walk around the area to find places to eat, but my friends and I decided to mainly eat at FamilyMart, which had chairs and tables outside where we could enjoy our lunch. Usually I got black sesame milk paired with a scallion sauce salmon onigiri, but on days when I was craving spice, I got instant noodles. Throughout my entire time in Taiwan, I definitely went to FamilyMart or 7/11 at least once a day! After lunch, my friends and I walked down the street near the train station to buy boba at The Oolong Tea Project. My go-to order was a Spring Oolong tea with cheese foam and oolong tea jelly with less sugar and less ice. I’m not joking when I say I could drink that everyday for the rest of my life! 

After lunch ended, it was time for the most exciting part- cultural activities! Our cultural activities would vary from many different things- sometimes it was visiting a prestigious high school, other times we would practice cooking Taiwanese food. My favorite activity was making soup dumplings and boba! I learned these recipes and saved them to bring home and share with my family. I also enjoyed visiting Longshan temple, where we were split into groups and Taiwanese high school students acted as our tour guides. This is also the time where we would execute our Community Conversations. We would record them, take a photo with the locals, and submit it for homework. This way we could truly immerse ourselves in the language and learn more about how Taiwanese students our age lived. Every Friday, we had a free afternoon to spend with friends to explore Taipei! My friends and I loved Zhongshan’s shopping district, where we could find local Taiwanese fashion brands and browse their beautiful clothes, accessories, and more!

I would say that my first time studying abroad was amazing- and it definitely won’t be my last! I would recommend this experience to anyone who wants to discover more about global cultures and themselves as people. My time in Taiwan was amazing, and I can’t wait to go back to revisit all of the unforgettable memories I experienced in the Summer of 2025. 

Happy Traveling!