I arrived in Taipei about 2 days before ICLP started, as I knew from past experience that I needed some time to settle into a new country. While I was nervous about attending ICLP since I learn relatively slowly and the program is said to be quite intensive, I’ve decided to give it my all! My first test came on the day of my arrival, when I arrived to the airport after the SIM card kiosks had closed, and had to navigate my hotel without Wi-fi. How did I find my hotel, you ask? By asking locals for directions in Mandarin! Thank goodness I had just studied directions for my Chinese 102 final, because I was putting the terms to good use\u2014particularly the term for traffic light, \u7d05\u8def\u71c8\uff01By asking how to get to my hotel from my current location, I was able to inch closer and closer to it, and located it after only 20 minutes! Not bad for someone who struggled to navigate routes in a class exercise shortly before my departure!<\/p>\n
While Taiwan is certainly humid, the weather does not feel as bad as I had feared. Besides my first day here, I have felt pleasantly, but not overpoweringly, warm. Fortunately, the first week of ICLP also passed by without too much difficulty. The teachers are all very kind and helpful, and while I am struggling with the knowledge gaps in my grammar class, I have already noticed myself getting better at expressing myself in Mandarin\u2014in fact, now I know how to describe myself on my first day here: \u8ff7\u8def\u4e86\uff01I have been mindful about prioritizing my mental and physical health first this summer, as I indubitably put my Chinese studies before myself last school year, but I’m glad that my homework so far has been manageable and I haven’t had to speak with my instructors about the workload. Judging by our class schedules, this week definitely seems more intense, but I’m hopeful that I can continue learning comfortably, joyfully, and healthily as I did in my first week for the rest of the summer!<\/p>\n
I’m incredibly grateful to both the donors and the selection committees of the Wilmers and Linen Fellowships for helping me to fulfill my dream of being back in Taiwan. Although I have only been here for about a week, I already know this will not be my last time here. Every day, I am struck by the earnest kindness and warmth of others (shop-owners keep giving me free products and snacks when I enter into their stores?!) and I can really envision myself working here as either an English teacher or as a comparative education researcher. While I am enrolled in ICLP, I still plan to fulfill my Wilmers and Linen application mission of speaking to local teachers and professors about elementary education here, to set a foundation for an independent project in Political Science\/EALC\/Global Studies later down the line. I will initiate this process through speaking to my ICLP instructors tomorrow. Overall, I feel very pleased with how my first week in Taiwan and at ICLP went, and I look forward to the next!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I arrived in Taipei about 2 days before ICLP started, as I knew from past experience that I needed some time to settle into a new country. While I was nervous about attending ICLP since I learn relatively slowly and … Continue reading