Study Abroad Reflection

            From May 2025 to July of 2025 I embarked on my study abroad trip to Taiwan. This trip was the ultimate culmination of my 8 years of studying Chinese and a real test to see how much I had learned. My initial learning goals when arriving in Taiwan was to become completely fluent in Chinese. I hoped to be able to fully keep up with the locals and to be able to confidently navigate through any situation I would be presented with in Taiwan. However by the end of my trip these goals had changed. I was able to keep up with most conversations with the locals, however I realized in order to achieve the fluency I had hoped this would not be possible during the short two months I had in Taiwan. For example, at the end of the trip when my mom and girlfriend came to visit I was the only one of our group able to speak Chinese so I was the only one able to communicate with the locals. We needed to exchange and print out our ticket for the train that day and I remember being able to vaguely tell the cashier at 711 what we needed to do but not to the fluency I had hoped. This frustrating experience changed my learning goals and helped me understand that the fluency I want to speak at is a long process in which I hope to continue to work at outside of Clemson. 

            During the short time I spent in Taiwan I spent a lot of time on my own exploring and talking with locals and even foreigners from around the world. I was able to pick up on a few main key differences between the culture of Taiwan and America. One that I would like to hone in on is the general attitude of people. In America I feel as a culture we are more focused on the benefits of ourselves rather than the good of everyone. In Taiwan it is not this way and everyone treats each other as if you are their family. Even though I was a foreigner no matter who I tried to talk with they were happy to talk with me and even teach me some words that I did not know how to say. There are little trash cans around Taoyuan, the place I stayed for my study abroad and when the trash trucks come people stand by the road holding their trash rather than leaving it outside in cans. This is because the people of Taiwan respect each other and respect their environment and wish to keep it clean for one another. This cultural attitude is something I believe in America we should strive to move towards. 

            In America we are currently in a time where foreigners are not appreciated in our society. As I went into Taiwan I felt worried that I would be met with similar treatment and unacceptance because I was not a local nor could I speak with the fluency of the people there. However, something about my trip that I will never forget is the treatment I received from everyone there. Not only was I met with kindness wherever I went. People were excited to talk with me because I was an American, not the type of person they were used to seeing. Even at the restaurants I visited the workers remembered my order and went out of their way to have a conversation with me each and every day. This kindness and acceptance I received during my trip is something I will not forget and I appreciate the bonds I was able to create with many people in Taiwan in such a short time. One challenge I faced that I worked to overcome is often times when people feel that your Chinese is to the standard they will default to speaking to you in English. This was frustrating at times because I wanted to practice my Chinese as much as possible and when people did not give me the chance I felt slightly disrespected. I overcame this challenge by simply asking if we could use Chinese or allowing them to speak in English while I spoke in Chinese. Another reason people do this is because they too want to practice their language they have been learning with a foreigner so I learned that the method of English and Chinese is fair for both sides. 

            My experience studying abroad enriched my academic experience and showed me a whole new possibility of learning Chinese. For years before my trip to Taiwan I learned Chinese sitting at a desk in a classroom reading a textbook. Sometimes I would speak to class mates and use Chinese briefly in a controlled setting. My trip to Taiwan showed me a whole new world to learning Chinese that I could not have imagined. Being completely engrossed in the culture of full Chinese speaking allowed me to improve my Chinese at a level I had not been able to previously. When I was forced to use Chinese to buy things at a store or order food at a restaurant my body was forced to adapt to survive. In an environment like this I was able to improve my Chinese greatly every single day. During my study abroad experience and after years of learning Chinese I learned the three things most important for learning Chinese. The first is the environment, you must be surrounded by Chinese and constantly exposed to it in order to pick it up. The second is frequent practice, you have to be consistently studying and practicing with your Chinese or it will not improve. And the last and most important factor is passion, you must be passionate about the Chinese language and Chinese culture because if you do not personally care it will not be possible to improve at a fast rate.