One of the surprising thing to me that I experienced was the high humidity. I knew it would be bad, but not as high as 68-73% dew point. Two positive impressions that I’ve had here is that the locals and citizens were very nice and accommodating. They were willing to return fallen items and make sure items were okay until the owner got them back. During the homestay, the dad of the family was willing to pay money out of their own pocket to allow a me, and guest, to be happy and comfortable in the owners’ home.
My favorite activity that I’ve experienced so far is the night market that we were able to free roam with our friends today. Even though I was only able to experience 1 hour’s worth of it, it was quite comforting, being able to chill and chat with friends in an unknown area that none of us were very familiar with. The homestay family was very comforting, allowing me to get to know the area and comforting me whenever I got panicky or anxious. The house had a large living room, with couches and sofas. There was also a very large shrine for praying to ancestors. There were also another 3 bedrooms, one for me and my partner Max, one for the parents, and one for the kids.
Colin Huang
I’ve been having a lot of fun these past days. Especially the small shops. I am surprised how nice and kind everyone has been to us. Even though are Chineses isn’t native level they can still understand us. And if we don’t know it how to say it in Chinese many Taiwanese people will help translate to the shop owner. I think this is really helpful.
My favorite activity so far is probably the fisherman’s wharf. The combination of the beautiful sea and lovely shops is amazing. I really enjoyed shopping at the small gift stores. And chatting with the storekeepers.
My homestay was a really amazing experience. I was surprised how easily I made friends with Kay. Kay was really nice and welcoming and I had a great time exploring Taiwan with her and her family. Especially when we explored in Ximending. We drank lots of bubble tea and we had BBQ. Snacks and ice cream. My favorite snack was probably a mango jelly popsicle.
Arianna Kim
After arriving in Taiwan, one of the most surprising things was the fact that they don’t use toilet paper. Instead there are usually tissues sitting by the sink. This can be quite problematic because you will probably forget to grab them, and you might not grab enough. Also you can’t flush them, and you have to put them into the small trash can they provide next to the toilets (which are squat toilets). Definitely wasn’t ready for that.
One of my favorite things I have done so far was the homestay I did. After meeting my homestay family we all went to an older street in Taiwan and we played some of the games they had set up. Afterwards we did some tie-dye, but the dye we did was actually organically made from leaves, and, when oxidized, turned from a pea green color to a royal blue. After our exciting expedition, me, my friend, and our homestay family all drove back to their apartment and they thought us how to play 象棋 (chess) then we finished off our night watching top gun. This had been my favorite parts of my trip so far.
Alma Schmidt
At first I was nervous to come to Taiwan because I have never been out of country before. The first day I had a lot of adjusting, like to the heat or the time difference. But after a couple days, I know have learned a lot of things and am not nervous at all. In the past couple days, I have been able to see a lot of Taiwan’s famous things and places, like Taipei 101! I am having so much fun exploring new things, being with my friends, and having really good food.
At first I was hesitant about the homestay, but once I met my host family in real life I knew I was going to have a lot of fun. I got to stay with Nancy, a girl my age! She was very welcoming and caring. She is the leader of her school’s dance team and loves to sing. While with her I got to go get my hair done in the salon her mom owns! My hair feels so good. She introduced us to a lot of local Taiwanese foods. Some of them I was to scared to try she would tell me 是还好如果你不敢吃. At night, we went to a night market and played some games. We also got pan fried buns, candy fruit covered in sugar, and much much more. Silvija and I were so full but they insisted to take us to the coolest restaurant ever called “The Top”! Yum! The day after I got to see her friends (who were very very welcoming and nice) and attend some special classes they prepared for us. We got to sew traditional Taiwanese 拖鞋. I kept messing up but the students who were helping us helped me a lot at the end of that class. I literally only finished one sandal. After that we went to a boba making class! It was pretty good. I am having a great time so far!
Annika Watrud
One surprising thing I learned was that Taipei has almost no litter. Unlike other cities of such large scale and of such a high population, Taipei streets are virtually garbage-free. The strange thing is that the avenues have only a few garbage bins; if the populace wishes to do away with plastics or organics, they must ask a store employee to take it for them. Amazingly, the vast majority of citizens abide by the rules, so many outdoor and indoor facilities are spotless.
The home stay was quite fun, and after the first few hours of dry and awkward conversation we had transitioned into a jovial conversation with the father. The student who we had stayed with, Huck, was himself quite introverted, preferring to browse social media than exchange thoughts. The father’s hospitality knew no bounds, and he gladly showed us the apartment. After that, we devoured an assortment of dishes, all unique and all delicious. Though we did not quite connect with Huck, his father made us feel wanted and happy.
Nicholas Koessel
During my time here I saw many surprising things. One thing that really stood out to me though was their lunches. I thought that some students would bring their own lunch and some would get theirs from the school, but to my surprise all of them had a school lunch! It wasn’t as repulsing as American lunch, which was a pleasent surprise.
We have done many things in our short time here, some things together and some with our hosts. My favorite thing that I did so far was going to the science museum with my host and her friends and sister. This museum was very cool and interactive. It had very cool realistic sculptures to help us better understand the scope of things. I would say I enjoyed it the most because not only did we have fun playing with the science stuff, we also had fun doing it with the Taiwanese hosts.
Eleanor Metzdorf
It was surprising how big Taipei 101 was; I thought it would be smaller. The view from the top of Taipei 101 was amazing, and the elevator was fast. The food by the Seven Eleven near the school was cheap and delicious. I got a lot sleep during the homestay which was good. I’ve liked that there has been time to rest on the buses, because I have been really tired and drowsy because of jet lag. I liked the classes at xintaiguozhong like the cooking class making bubble tea, and the class were made Taiwanese sandal key chains. I’ve been happy about how we can just roam around everywhere as long as you have two other people or more with you. I’ve also thought it is nice how you get your own money and can choose whatever you’d like to eat. My favorite experience so far has been hanging out with the homestay family, talking with friends, or using blow up weapons to sword/hammer/ax fight.
My homestay family had 2 kids. One was 11 and one was 13 years old. When Elias and I were first picked up, we toured the school. Then, we went hiking in a forest an hour and a half away from the school. Next we went back home, cooled off, dropped off luggage, rested and played video games. Afterward, we went to a place to eat, and when we were waiting to for seats to open up for us, we went to a claw machine place and won a lot of snacks. When the wait was over and we went into the restaurant, I wasn’t hungry, so I ate a little food to have enough energy for the next day. I guessed that I wasn’t hungry because I was still adjusting to the time change. Overall, the food has been great, and I’ve been tired, but I’ve been having a lot of fun!
Alex Hinrichs
