All posts filed under: Taiwan

You can speak Chinese?

Published by nnedi

If you already don’t know by now, I have learned Chinese back when I studied in China. But let’s get real here; At that time, my main goal wasn’t really to learn Chinese. I went there to get an experience and that’s exactly what I got. Yeah of course “I learned Chinese”, but it wasn’t till I got to Taiwan where I would say my Chinese has massively improved. I can speak sentences fluidly without stopping, give directions-ish, have conversations (to some extent), order food, open a bank account, communicate to delivery guys on the phone (while my mind goes blank), listen to stories-ish, all in Chinese. But how? From Roommates to Close Friends The first apartment I lived in was a sharehouse, with a mix of both foreigners and Taiwanese people. But let me just say, most of the people that lived there were weird and unsocial, which made no sense or purpose of living in a shared house but… There were these two people I befriended that helped me improve and learn many everyday words and …

Dragon Boat with a hint of Corona

Published by nnedi

This is my second year participating in the Dragon Boat Competition in Taiwan with NTNU’s Mandarin Training Center team. Unlike last year, this year, we had a run-in with Corona so everything was left uncertain. The school didn’t even want to have the team at first this year, but our captains pushed it to make it happen. And…thanks to Taiwan’s Success in stabilizing Coronavirus, we got through this season untouched. Because of the pandemic, it was our first year our team (from what I have heard) to compete in a different competition. Normally, we would compete in Taipei City’s Dragon Boat Competition, but this time around, we missed the registration and snagged a spot in the New Taipei one instead. With this one, we rowed in the international dragon boats (also known as the IDBF 1222). They are 12m long boats, holds 22 people (20 people to row, one in the front to drum and one in the back to steer). These boats are also lighter than the traditional ones, can move faster with very …

What are you doing exactly?: Teaching Edition

Published by nnedi

I am going in 8 months strong in teaching English and believe it or not, this is my first full-time long term job ever.  Teaching is not my background, but if you don’t know.. English teaching is the most common job to have in non-English speaking countries due to the appeal and access to all types of resources if one was to master the English language. Also, it is an easy gateway for foreigners to move countries and experience something different. And with that, Taiwan has a lot of options, if you’re looking. Now with my job, I shared here of the process I went through in getting it.  But when I first started, it felt very foreign; almost out of my element. Let’s be real here: I am not crazy about the job itself. BUT It pays the bills, helps me get by, and I get to live in Taipei carefree-ish, but it is not something I plan to do or look to doing long term, but its good for the time being. I teach kindergarten …

Dealing with Ms. Rona in Taiwan

Published by nnedi

My friend’s parents luckily was able to travel and experience Taiwan right before the major lockdown in the US took place in Mid March The day was January 24th. It was the last official work day right before the Chinese New Year holiday. By then, it was already around a week since we heard about the virus, but this was the day when people kinda realized that this was real and no joke.  And just maybe a day or so later, China had to shut down all of their cities just like that. No one could go out, people had to scramble and alter their plans, many left the country, etc. Taiwan and Hong Kong are the first ones to be directly affected by it due to our close proximity. But Taiwan took the necessary actions.  They firstly canceled all flights coming from China to Taiwan. The use of mask-wearing was instant and checking temperatures for fevers along with spraying of hands with rubbing alcohol happened overnight in all public establishments: restaurants, cafes, drug stores, …

7-11s in Taiwan are the best

Published by nnedi

If you don’t know, Taiwan has 4 main convenience store chains: Ok-Mart, and Hi-Life Family Mart, and 7-11. They all tend to serve the same type of things and the price is almost always the same, but let’s be honest here. 7-11 easily takes the crown. 7-11 (in my opinion) has a better selection in almost everything they sell, aesthetically looks and feels nicer, their food tastes better, and you can find a nice collection of EasyCards if you fancy for one.  First of all, these stores are legit everywhere. You can go down just about any block in Taipei and see a convenience store nearby. Sometimes they are so close, you wonder why that would be the case? Taipei alone has over 10,000+ convenience stores and Taipei itself is only 271.8 km² large. Do you really need that many convenient stores? You can find them: On the corner Right below an apartment building In the cut (of a super narrow alley) Right beside a pharmacy (where queues will always block your entry) Under an office building …

YouBike 2.0 is here!

Published by nnedi

From January 15th, YouBike has introduced a new model of bikes, which have proven to be a massive upgrade from the original. They are running through a 3 month trial period as of right now and can only be found in the National Taiwan University area in Taipei. During the trial period, (from now till April 15), a discount of $2 NT is being deducted for the first 30 minutes, afterward, its $10 NT for every 30 minutes. There are 500 bikes placed amongst 102 stations from the Technology Building to Gongguan MRT stations. Let’s get into the new look! They kept with the same design but changed it up with the color of the frame. A nice shiny white. It really does stand out as you notice people riding it among the streets.  And now with 2.0, the screen is now on the bike. You can use an Easycard or QR code to scan to use the bike. A cute sound plays when the bike unlocks. The bike seat is even easier to adjust …

HOSTEL LIVING YOU SAY?

Published by nnedi

After my Chinese studies ended, I decided that I was going to stay in Taipei, but living in my apartment wasn’t doing it for me (that damn landlord). And at that moment, I felt that it was time to change my environment. The semester was ending, Dragon Boat Season was coming to a close, and moving just felt right at the time. It was also a very quick and last-minute decision. Just like that, I moved out of my apartment and into a hostel, doing yet my 3rd work exchange. I talked about my first ever work exchange experience here, the second one isn’t worth mentioning, and now my third and yet another special one at Meander Taipei Hostel. Meander is located in Ximending, which is a very convenient location to live for there are a variety of places to go eat and shop at. It is also located both on the Green and Blue MRT lines and super close to Taipei Main Station. But I will have to say, its one of the places I …

9 Months Of Studying Chinese in Review

Published by nnedi

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

Published by nnedi

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

Published by nnedi

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 …

My Favorite Taiwanese Food

Published by nnedi

Eating locally in Taiwan has proven to be super cheap to eat out in Taiwan so I tend to take advantage of going around and trying new things constantly. The main thing while I am looking for when eating out is good, somewhat healthy, fulfilling and most importantly, cheap food. Braised Pork with Rice This is the OG, the staple, the must-try dish if you ever visit Taiwan. I personally don’t care to eat pork so much, but when I do, this is always my go-to. This pork is cooked under low heat for hours and some unknown Taiwanese sauces are placed into the mixture to create this bad boy. It has a savory yet sweet taste to it and normally cut into very small tiny pieces. A lot of shops have this staple dish, but I recommend everyone to try it at this restaurant. To spice it up, add a Tea Egg for an additional 10 NT for love. Chicken with Rice As simple and plain it may look, this is yet another staple …

Biking in Taipei

Published by nnedi

Riding a bike in Taipei is one of the most convenient but also can be the most nerve-wracking things to do. A lot of people ride in the city to get to places much quicker when the MRT (subway)/ bus cannot necessarily take them there. A lot of people also ride as a form of exercise. Taipei has a ton of bike trails that span across the city and lots of people take advantage of riding them whenever the weather is super nice. If you’re just visiting Taipei for a short period of time or just want to ride to get to one place to another, I highly recommended taking advantage of Taiwan’s Youbike bike sharing program. Youbikes are the lovely orange bikes which people can easily rent wherever and whenever. There are stations placed all over Taiwan, but the majority of the stations are in Taipei. You can typically locate a station by an MRT stop or in a very busy central area. They have an app where you can find the closest one …

Language learning takes time

Published by nnedi

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 …

NEW RIDE, LET’S GET INTO MOTION

Published by nnedi

Why do I love to ride? It’s super convenient and my way of unwinding down. I just love being outside and seeing new places and exploring different parts of where I am without necessarily putting in a lot of effort to walk. With a bike, you can cover more ground moving at a slightly faster rate in a lesser amount of time. On those bad days, If i go out for a ride, those headaches and all of what I was thinking about goes away temporarily. Sometimes, I feel like I am in a movie going through the streets. That strong wind pushing against me maneuvering through the people, the cars, and the pedestrians. But biking is also my main way to commute to places. I know if I am going somewhere relatively close (and close can be different depending on how you may see it). But for example, if the location is close enough, I will walk. If it is kind of close, but not too far, I will definitely ride a bike. If …

How to Apply for the Huayu Enrichment Scholarship

Published by nnedi

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

Published by nnedi

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 …

How to Make Friends While Living Abroad

Published by nnedi

Moving to another city is one thing, but moving abroad is an entirely different thing. A lot of things come to mind when it comes to moving such as the changes in the environment, food, people, culture…it can be a lot for many. Especially if someone moving to a new place for the first time without knowing too much of the location or what to expect. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Here are some simple ways to meet people abroad easily Go on a walking tour I don’t know why it took me this long to go on a walking tour. But I went on my first one in Taiwan and was blown away by it. A walking tour is a great way to learn about the country’s history and getting to know the city on a local level. And because of my experience going on the tour, I was able to meet people and spend time with them for the weeks to come. I even met a local who I am …

Workaway in Hualien

Published by nnedi

What is workaway? Workaway is a platform that allows members to contact one another to organize homestays and cultural exchange. Volunteers or “Workawayers”, are expected to contribute a pre-agreed amount of time per day in exchange for lodging and food, which is provided by the host. Just for a small fee, for a year the user have access to hosts all over the world. Choose a country, set up the profile and message away. This is a great way to learn more about the places one visits and a great way to practice the local language and learn about the culture. Typically, volunteers are guaranteed a place to stay in exchange for 3-5 hours of work a day max 6 days a week. With the platform, users can read the list of available hosts and past experiences of volunteers time spent. Users can also look at what’s expected of the work and the incentives of working with that particular hosts. Some hosts may provide more than just accommodation such as free meals, bike rental, laundry, …

First Impressions of Taiwan

Published by nnedi

Everyone is super sweet! I feel like Taiwanese people really want to know and learn more from me. Some places I travel to, people start a conversation in trying to get something from you whether its to buy their product or some type of services, but the people here seem genuine. When I am lost, people go out of there way to help me even if they are not asked for and are very hardworking individuals. Great balance in their infrastructure and use of space From just living in Hualian and Taipei, Taiwan has a great balance between city and rural life in many of their cities. You could take a hike up one of their many mountains, bike on their designated trails, hang out in a park, go watch a movie, go out, sing it up in a KTV venue all without leaving the city. That food tho… Taiwan is a foodie destination. Known to have the best night markets in all of Asia with a variety of food to try. From Beef Noodles, …

Plans can change, but that’s ok

Published by nnedi

Some may take the time to plan out every single minute of a trip without realizing that something can happen, but you know what, that’s ok. When it comes to traveling, its essential to create options for yourself. Just in case if something goes wrong, there should always be a backup plan. And although my trip was pretty set on what I was going to do, anything and everything can happen. Two weeks ago, I got a message from the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Representative Office in DC stating that I signed up for both the TUSA Program and the Huayu Enrichment Scholarship. Both of these programs are funded under the government, and “technically” I can only choose either of the two. Mind you, I received notification that I got both scholarships in February, but they didn’t notice until this May. Since I planned to stay in Taiwan for a year, I chose the Huayu Enrichment Scholarship. But here is where the problem lies: The Huayu Enrichment program is a 9-month program beginning in August. …