an unforgettable three months. May 24, 2023
By A student (East Asian Studies, Middlebury College) - abroad from 02/23/2023 to 05/20/2023 with
CET Taiwan
Yes. Learned about cultural differences and lots and lots of Chinese characters. Of course it was worthwhile, what kind of question is that?
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Classes included a healthy enough workload where we were learning a lot, but not burdened to the point where we couldn't explore Taiwan. My Chinese class was one of the best I have ever taken. 蔡老師 is an incredible teacher. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Good People |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Good enough apartment. Really no complaints other than the mosquitos, which arguably is not the programs fault as much as it is the fault of Taiwan's fault. |
| * Food: |
This place has incredible food at very cheap prices. I ate at a different night market almost nightly. As long as you aren't a 井底之蛙 and are willing to try food outside of the US you'll be very happy. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
There are lots of opportunities to get involved with the community through the CET program, but I would argue that if you really want to be involved, you have to take the initiative yourself. You can use the CET programs to make Taiwanese friends, but once you've made friends invite them to hang out outside of the programs. Speak chinese, speak chinese, speak chinese. You want to get involved with the community? Speak their language. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
Taiwan has incredible healthcare. |
| * Safety: |
Safer than any US city I've ever been to. My buddy dropped his wallet with over two hundred USD in it, and somebody turned it into the police station that day. There is a good culture of honesty, which even carries over into goods and services. You won't be tricked or pay a different price as an American (as will certainly happen when traveling other places in Asia). |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
If I had the choice I would choose somewhere with a language pledge. |
Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
Very cheap, so long as you are not a 盤子。 |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $100 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | eat at your local breakfast spot. 1.50 for soy milk and 蛋餅. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
I think this is where CET falls short. No language pledge, and your other class is in English. If you want to have a large improvement you have to take it upon yourself to stick to the language, which I think very few students did. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Advanced |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Fluent |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Advanced Chinese 1 |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Go out with your language partner. Pay attention to your tones. Use every spare moment for practice. Listen to podcasts on the subway. Use 讀中文 app to read on the toilet. Don't go to Taiwan to make English speaking friends. It can be hard sometimes to express yourself, but stick with it, and be comfortable sounding like a baby or speaking slowly if it means your grammar and pronunciation are accurate. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | its ultimately whatever experience you make of it. You can use this program to travel, learn chinese, or go out in Taiwan. Depends what you want. |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Nearly Native or Trail BlazerCraving the most authentic experience possible, perhaps you lived with a host family or really got in good with the locals. You may have felt confined by your program requirements and group excursions. Instead, you'd have preferred to plan your own trips, even skipping class to conduct your own 'field work.' |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Chinese Lower-Advanced |
| Course Department: | CLD |
| Instructor: | |
| Instruction Language: | Chinese |
| Comments: | Arguably the best Chinese class I've ever taken. I learned a ton of useful grammar and new words. I can't stress enough what a good teacher 蔡老師 is. She has just the right balance of humor and instruction to make the class very engaging. We only had one field trip, but it was lots of fun. The grading may be slightly harder than your typical Chinese class in the US. Can't recommend this class enough. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: |
| Course Name/Rating: |
History of Taiwan |
| Course Department: | |
| Instructor: | |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | It had good field trips, but the class itself did not have enough discussion. Due to no quizzes and in class discussion, it seemed after week three the majority of the class gave up on doing the readings. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | none. |
