All posts filed under: School

9 Months Of Studying Chinese in Review

Studying at one of the most prestigious universities in Taiwan, NTNU aka National Taiwan Normal University helped me level my Chinese up to a higher degree. I had the opportunity to learn Chinese from well-taught and talented Chinese teachers from September 2018 till May 2019 and in turn, truly improved and understood the true meaning of struggle as an adult living abroad in a foreign country where English isn’t commonly spoken. I have shared my first impressions of the school itself here, but now that I have fully finished and exhausted what the program has to offer, I share with you today more details. Let’s just get right into it.  First Semester This semester was a great starting point in getting back into learning Chinese. Because I have studied it before, getting back into it was a bit of a hurdle. For one, I have never learned traditional characters, so I had to pretty much retrain my brain to read and WRITE (omg WRITE) traditional characters. Compared to simplified characters, traditional characters have many more strokes. …

Dragon Boat Training

Every year on the fifth day of the fifth month on the Chinese lunar calendar, countries from all over the world celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival. This holiday commemorates the life and death of the famous Chinese scholar Qu Yuan. He dedicated his whole life to assisting the king to build the State of Chu stronger. When he died, locals rowed out on a river to search for his body but were unable to locate him. Gradually, rowing boats developed into dragon boat racing. I chose to join my school’s Dragon Boat team to change up what I was normally doing. I have already been living in Taiwan for some time and was getting so bored with my everyday routine. School, Hang Out, Tutor, Bike, Sleep…I mean that just got so repetitive and dull. When I studied in Shanghai, my school also had a Dragon Boat team in which many of my friends participated in. But unfortunately, I left my program early and was unable to take part, but when I came to Taiwan and heard …

2019 Dragon Boat Competition

3 months of non-stop training, this three day weekend consisted of endless laughter, rolling in 34 degrees with 80%+ humid weather, endless chanting, and a lot of dancing. The energy, the love, the support, and the vibes felt almost surreal. Taiwan has Dragon Boat competitions going on all over the country. Even for Taipei alone, they have 2 different, one in Taipei and in New Taipei City. Our team competed in Taipei for 3 days long consisting of different categories of teams racing in the competition including men, women, mix teams, high school, small boats, and even senior citizens category. Our team had two teams, one for men and one for women. The men team competed against 45 other teams while women on only had a competition of just 10 teams. In order to get the full, yet complete experience of the Dragon Boat competition, we were required to attend and stay for the entire day each day of the festival even if we didn’t have a race till the end of the day. The …

Language learning takes time

When I first started learning in China 3 years ago, I had no idea what I was getting into. At first, I honestly was against learning a new language, for I just was never good at it. I took Spanish for 3 years in high school and that was a bust. Love the language, hated my teachers. And unfortunately, I didn’t grow up learning my parents’ native tongue, Igbo so the interest to learn any language was never there. While learning Spanish, the process of learning the language was not fun. All of my Spanish teachers were crazy. My first teacher spent more time dancing bachata music with us and flirting with one of my classmates than teaching the language. The second one was a complete psycho. Definitely, if not one of the worst teachers I have ever had in my entire life. Too many days I went home crying. She would say one thing, do another and always found a way to ridicule people in class which I hugely disliked. My last teacher knew …

How to Apply for the Huayu Enrichment Scholarship

What is this scholarship? The Ministry of Education (MOE) established the MOE Huayu Enrichment Scholarship (MOE HES) to enhance exchanges between the Republic of China (Taiwan) and countries designated by the MOE by encouraging foreign students to study Mandarin in Taiwan and to deepen their understanding of Taiwan’s cultural and social developments. Students can pick up a new language and learn more about the culture and history associated with Taiwan. Funding A monthly stipend of NT$25,000. (this money must be used to pay for tuition, rent, and living expenses combined) Duration: two months (summer courses), three months, six months, nine months, or 12 months. Travel to Taiwan and moving into an apartment are expenses not included in the scholarship amount. Please prepare for these expenses before you arrive to Taiwan. Date of the application period The application period is from Feb 1st till March 31st of every year (end date may vary) Required documents Completed PDF Application form Photocopy of your passport Photocopy of the certificate of the highest degree and transcript Photocopy of the …

Studying Chinese in China vs. Taiwan

I have studied in two major cities in China and Taiwan (Shanghai and Taipei) and there is not a ton of information online about these programs or yet someone who has done both and can openly share their experiences about it. I’ve been asked from different social outlets about mine and I want to express the major differences between the two and possibly help those decide which one may be a better fit for them. Disclaimer: My experience may be different compared to others. At the end of the day, this is my opinion on what I feel about the programs and maybe something you should consider before in deciding on which program may be better for you. Keep the facts I mention here in mind, but also take into account that maybe what I experience is different from others. Scholarship Details China Chinese Government Scholarship Bilateral Program pays for the tuition up front. Students can stay in the campus international student dormitory for free. If a student decides to change the housing type at …

Studying Chinese at NTNU’s Mandarin Training Center

National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) was the first school in Taiwan to open up a language program for foreign students starting in 1956 called the Mandarin Training Center (MTC). And to this day, its considered as the most popular school to attend and study Mandarin due to their high standards in teaching techniques, along with the books they’ve published used in class for foreign students. The building is located on: 129 Heping East Road, Sec. 1, Taipei City, Taiwan You can take the Green Line to Guting and take exit 5 walking down Heping East Road or you can also take the blue line to Taipower Building Station Exit 3 and walk straight down Shida Road where all the shops are down to the university. At the university, there will be a library in front and right behind it is the Bo Ai Building where students attend the Chinese Language Courses. Take the elevator up the 7th floor to access the classroom area, but if you need to talk to the staff, visit the 6th …

My first blog post

In less than 4 weeks from now, I am embarking another year abroad and I cannot be more than excited. When I left China on May 11th, 2016, I felt like my time wasn’t over. It felt like I had one stick of gum left in my pack and someone took half of it. I want my other half back. Chewing the half in my mouth just isn’t satisfying. And I told myself, I have to go back abroad. And here we are two years later about to embark on yet another journey abroad where I’ll be in Taiwan for the next 5 months following by China into the year of 2019 through the summer and I am more than excited. But let’s be honest here, there’s a lot of people who are wooting for me but many others who are confused and not happy with my decision including my own parents. “But Nnedimma, you worked at Google, how can you not take up on their offer?” That’s not my life. As much as I …