Final thoughts from Taiwan

Hey all, this is my final blog post from Taiwan. I have now been in Tainan, Taiwan for eight weeks; I wish that I didn't have to leave so soon! I have grown quite accustomed to the pace of life here and, more importantly, I will be sad to part with my amazing teachers and classmates. My experience in Taiwan has been overwhelmingly positive.

A view of Taipei from Jiantan mountain.

Looking back, it is satisfying to think about just how much my Chinese has improved. When I first arrived, I struggled to hold even basic conversations with my teachers and local friends. These days, I can easily chat about a wide range of topics -- albeit with the occasional English word peppered in for the sake of fluency. I sometimes even catch myself having to translate Chinese thoughts into English sentences and, when I am texting/messaging non-Chinese speakers, I have to remind myself to not type in Chinese -- my natural instinct.

My program -- the American Councils Taiwan Intensive Summer Language Program at National Cheng Kung University -- advertised that we would learn one year's worth of Chinese in eight weeks. I feel as if I have improved so much that I would be unsurprised to find out that I learned more than a year's worth of Chinese!

A field on the outskirts of Taipei.

Moreover, as someone interested in cross-strait relations, spending my summer in Taiwan was invaluable. Though I lived in China for three years while growing up, I am comfortable admitting that prior to my time in Taiwan, my understanding of the cross-strait issue was flawed. I now firmly believe that experience living in both the mainland and Taiwan is essential for the development of a nuanced perspective.

I am excited to take all that I have learned in Taiwan and apply it to my studies, internship, research, and of course, my job at the Sigur Center!

Zachary Haver is a Sigur Center 2017 Asian Language Fellow. A rising sophomore studying at George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs, Zachary is majoring in International Affairs with a concentration in Asia and minoring in Mandarin Chinese.

Learning Mandarin Chinese in Tainan, Taiwan

There is no better way to learn a language than through total immersion; sitting in an American classroom for a few hours every week only gets you so far. Therefore, given that I hope to develop professional fluency in Mandarin Chinese, I am quite thankful to have received the Sigur Center Grant for Chinese Language Study in Taiwan.

At present, I am studying Chinese at National Cheng Kung University in Tainan, Taiwan through the American Councils Taiwan Intensive Summer Language Program. Though I have only been in Taiwan for just over two weeks, my Chinese has already improved markedly!

A farm in Taijiang National Park (the outskirts of Tainan).

The best part of my program is the individualized tutoring. Not only do we meet with a professor for a one-on-one session every morning Monday through Friday, each student also has a language partner. Our language partners are local students who have agreed show us around the city and help us practice our Chinese. This individualized tutoring allows me to tailor my language study experience to my specific areas of interest -- policy issues related to China, especially US-China threat perception in the South China Sea. 

Additionally, I am thoroughly enjoying the cultural aspect of my language study experience. I lived in China for three years while growing up, and so culture shock has not been much of an issue here in Taiwan. Rather, the cultural immersion is a welcome return. In particular, it has been quite interesting to discover how cultural differences between the mainland and Taiwan lead to slight variations in their respective versions of Mandarin Chinese.

A temple in Tainan.

Because Taiwan is relatively small, travelling around the island is fairly fast, cheap, and easy. I've already visited Kaohsiung, and I have plans to visit Taichung and Taipei. Moreover, because I took a class about Daoism last semester, I have seized every opportunity to go see local Taiwanese temples -- I have already visited five!

Flying a kite in Kaohsiung.

I look forward to what these next six weeks have in store.

Zachary Haver is a Sigur Center 2017 Asian Language Fellow. A rising sophomore studying at George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs, Zachary is majoring in International Affairs with a concentration in Asia and minoring in Mandarin Chinese.