What did you enjoy most about your study abroad experience in Greater China?
What I enjoyed most about my study abroad experience was making new friends with students from the National Taipei University of Education and with students from around the world. I met a lot of interesting people from all over whom I've gotten to know very well through our language classes and while exploring Taiwan. I learned about others cultures, languages, foods, and customs. I even got the chance to practice speaking with other languages I've studied previously with native speakers.
I especially enjoyed learning Chinese and our various Mandarin classes. I think it was one of the best languages classes I've experienced as we focused on our conversational skills and did a lot of practical exercises that I could then use with the locals of Taipei. Learning Mandarin was also fun as it is the most interesting and different language I have studied and the first language I've practiced that uses various tones.
I also enjoyed the students taking us around Taipei showing us local restaurants and food. I found the history of Taiwan to be interesting and enjoyed visiting the National Palace Museum. I thought touring Dihua Street, Taipei's oldest street which was once a trading port, to be very fascinating. Overall, Taiwan has been the most interesting place I've ever visited and it has best trip I've ever taken. It is definitely a place I want to come back to and see again.
What is one of your proudest accomplishments while studying in China?
A few of my proudest accomplishments include how much Mandarin I was able to learn in such a short amount of time and getting to do a presentation on my home country, sharing traditions and customs of my own culture with student from around the world as well as talk about my university. In just the 10 days of the National Taipei University of Education Language and Cultural program, I was able to learn a lot of Chinese. It was especially fulfilling as I was able to then use what I learned in class in real life scenarios out in Taiwan. I was able to implement what I learned in class into ordering food at a restaurant, buying items from a store, or just thanking someone for holding the door for me.
I also thought the different levels of the language classes worked very well. I was placed in the more beginner class as I didn't have any prior experience learning Chinese, but felt very comfortable at that level. Although our classes were more intensive and covered a lot in a short amount of time, I felt like I could keep up. I also think my prior experiences learning languages really helped in my ability to pick up on aspects of the language quicker which was a very fulfilling experience.
How do you plan to use this experience or your Chinese language skills in the future?
I plan on using my Chinese language skills in the future with my career in the military and possibly even law enforcement. I'm currently serving in the Army Reserves and I think having Chinese language skills would be very helpful as the U.S. and Taiwanese militaries relations continue to grow. I think it would be very beneficial in cross military training with Taiwanese soldiers, fostering better communication and understanding of not just of their language, but of their culture as well having traveled to their country before. I also think knowing the Chinese language is helpful in understanding global relations and geopolitics as many times citizens become blind from other countries' perspectives and only sees situations from their own country's point of view. I think knowing Chinese would broaden my understanding of global relations, giving myself a more fair and less biased interpretation of any possible future conflicts or situations.
I also work at a police department in a very urban and diverse city. Where I work there a lot of immigrants, including ones from the greater China region and who speak Chinese. Having Chinese language skills and experience traveling to the region and experiencing Chinese culture will give me greater insight on immigrants from this region and will help me better communicate and interact with them in any situation I might encounter them while on the job. This will allow me to better represent my department and build better relations and trust with this community.
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