HTA Week 1

Greetings from Taipei!

I arrived in Taiwan a couple days early to visit a friend. (It’s really hot. And humid. I hope I’ll get used to it…) I took a high-speed train south to a smaller town, Yuanlin, where my friend lives, and I visited Lukang, which has a famous old street. Then, after a relaxing weekend of checking in and orientation, we were thrown into the deep end.

With five hours of class (lectures, drill sections, and a one-on-one session) every day and written and oral exams every week, in addition to 3-4 hours of homework per night, Harvard Taipei definitely puts the intense in intensive language learning! Even though I’ve spent a lot of time studying Chinese, I’ve still managed to have fun going out to eat every night and going around Taipei on Friday afternoon and Saturday excursions. Yesterday I visited Dadaocheng, a historic trading port and shopping center. Today, I saw lots of cool ceramics at the Yingge ceramics museum, and I even got the chance to make my own bowl (make is a strong word!)

I can’t believe it’s already been a week, but I also can’t believe I still have 7 more weeks left! Until next week.

– Jonathan