I have just completed my penultimate week in Taipei, and I am, to be frank, not quite sure how to feel. The first few weeks felt very go-go-go, and I didn’t have very much time to process what I was actually experiencing. Now that I’m a little bit more accustomed to life here, I am able to realize how remarkably specific this experience is. I got to spend the summer focusing on one, single thing: learning Chinese. And, while I initially was worried that would feel somehow confining, I’m beginning to realize it is the opposite — there is something surprisingly liberating about having one focus. I’m a pretty scatter-brained person, and it is refreshing to have one goal. And that goal is to absorb as much as I can while I am here. Anyway, I am feeling more and more appreciative about how very unique this opportunity is. And I know that I likely will never experience something like it again. Of course, I miss home, but I am already starting to mourn my Taipei summer.
More about this week, specifically — it was a good one. My two highlights: #1) Taipei Night. Everyone in the HTA program, including our teachers, but on a talent show extravaganza. It was so deeply entertaining. And I got (somewhat embarrassingly) a little bit emotional during it! I just love my teachers so much and they work so hard and it was so lovely to get to do something like that night — something so fun and silly — with them. Highlight #2) Baseball. On Saturday, our HTA outing was to go to a baseball game. It was so. much. fun. I’m a big yankees fan and have gone to quite a few games, so getting to see what a baseball game is like in another country was particularly cool. And, once again, it was really quite lovely to get to do something fun and light-hearted with all our incredibly hardworking teachers.
Feeling somewhat devastated to begin my last week, but excited to see where it takes us.