Language and International Business: Global Citizen
Tenley Murphy
Taiwan
I went to Zhongli, Taiwan to continue my Chinese studies at Chung Yuan Christian University from February to May of 2024. Taiwan was the best surprise of my life. This page offers some insight as to why the country, its people, and its language changed my life.
About
Chung Yuan Christian University ä¸åŽŸå¤§å¸
Cultural Observations...
As a surface level cultural comparison, I was asked by Americans when I came home all about the food! I fell in love with red bean baos 紅豆麵包. I loved to start my day with a red bean mian bao with the occasional milk tea. I did not know this before going to Taiwan, but they invented bubble tea! American students carry around their water bottles but in Taiwan, they always have tea in hand. They even have tea cup holders (pictured to the right). They also are known for their night markets which have papaya milk, beef noodle soup, and stinky tofu! Stinky tofu is especially unique to Taiwan and does not cater to other East Asian palettes.
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Another cultural observation is about earthquakes. When I was in Taiwan, they experienced an earthquake in Hualien reaching at a 7.4 magnitude. It was the largest in 25 years. When the earthquake was happening, I was on my way to class, walking through the campus recreation area and track field. All of a sudden I was pulled towards the ground. A grandpa holding a baby looked at me and said “earthquake”. After it happened, I looked around and life continued as normal. People even kept running on the track field. I was shocked that no one was trying to find cover or even question what just happened. There were strong aftershocks the rest of the day (even while I was taking an exam) and again no one seemed surprised. Though this was a very big earthquake and made international news, Taiwan is used to having earthquakes. In fact, 25 years ago when they had a strong but much deadlier earthquake. Taiwan responded to this and built their newer infrastructure to be compatible with handling earthquakes.
On a deeper level, I quickly became aware of the fact that I was a minority in Zhongli. This completely changed my perspective and I feel much more empathetic to people of color, and people from other countries living in the United States. Another thing I quickly picked up on was the beauty standards in the country, and how having white skin gives me privilege. I have never considered myself more beautiful than when I was in Taiwan. I had strangers come up to me and tell me how beautiful I was. It evoked a lot of different emotions. Of course it felt nice to be complimented but it also felt like I stood out more because I looked different. I also began to question why in Taiwan am I called beautiful but in the United States, I do not receive such compliments. In Taiwan, my white skin, blue eyes, and golden hair color were most noted when I was given compliments. When I would go to beauty stores, I saw a lot of whitening products, whereas in the United States, you see a lot of bronzing products. This all was fascinating to me. My biggest takeaway and lesson I will hold onto for the rest of my life, is the fact that beauty standards are completely made up and therefore irrelevant. The question, “why am I beautiful in Taiwan and not in the United States?” turned into “why do beauty standards matter?” I cannot express how much my experience in Taiwan changed my life. This is one of many reasons why it is important to explore other cultures.
My First Solo Trip to Taipei
Taiwan Reflection
I will never forget my time in Taiwan, and will always thank it. I am most proud of who I was when living there and can confidently say that I experienced more personal growth than I have ever experienced before.
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I flew to Taiwan alone. I got on the plane by myself, not knowing who would be picking me up from the airport and what would be waiting for me at my dorm. Fortunately I was able to get on-campus housing. I was set to stay in a dorm and go to class on February 26th, beyond that, that was all I knew before boarding on that plane.
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I did know someone in Taiwan, though I had not met them yet. It was the sister of my highschool chinese teacher. Her mother and two sisters lived in Taoyuan, a city two train stops away from Zhongli, where I was staying to study at Chung Yuan Christian University. After a very long travel day, Phyllis greeted me. I was very overwhelmed. Taiwan was so different from anything I had seen before. Talking to Phyllis, I realized my Chinese level had deteriorated since spending time in France. Phyllis dropped me off at my dorm where I met my advisor, who had my sim card and temporary student ID waiting for me. Phyllis arranged for me to meet with her friends so that I could buy all the things I needed to buy in Taiwan, such as bedding. I did not want her to leave. I stayed awake and spent the whole day with Eric and his family. They treated me very well. I was so exhausted by the end of the day, though I did introduce myself to Hina, my Japanese roommate, Do-eun, my korean roommate, and Ha-yoon, my other korean roommate. It was clear that our only shared common language was chinese. There was so much to take in. Even the bed I slept on and the bathroom I shared with the girls in the hall was different from the US and France. My first day of class was also overwhelming, everyone was a foreigner yet I was the only westerner. I made a friend from Indonesia and we got lunch together every day. My first two weeks were very hard. I could hardly communicate (I quickly learned that even some of the Chinese words I learned were not used in Taiwan ex: fanguan, lese), did not know anyone, and I did not have a space to myself where I could handle what I was facing. Simple things such as wifi access and library access I had to ask for multiple times where in France these would have been provided and asked about prior to arrival. I felt uncared for by the university, unsure if my classes in Taiwan would count towards my degree and graduation, and I really missed my loved ones. I was really struggling and could not tell anyone about it.
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I don’t know what it was, but there was something in me that knew I had to change this mentality. I have always had a sense of adventure and I needed to uncover it. Sure, there were things I didn’t have in Taiwan right away but being upset about it was not going to do anything for me. My second weekend in Taiwan, I decided to do a solo trip to the capital city. The week leading up to it, I had practiced taking the bus, the train, and familiarizing myself with the area and necessary directional signs. My solar trip brought me to elephant mountain which was a steep trail that overlooked Taipei 101. I noticed that in Taipei there are significantly more westerners than in Zhongli and Taoyuan. The day also brought me through parks, Chiang kai-shek memorial, and Taipei botanical gardens. Ever since that day, I traveled back every Saturday and Sunday and soon learned to travel to all parts of the country.
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Every interaction and encounter I had in Taiwan was special to me. The Taiwanese locals and the foreigners in my Chinese class and who I met during my travels, together helped me realize that I was in a special place. Because I did go alone and was forced to use the language, my confidence in speaking Chinese improved significantly as did my language level. Learning traditional characters is still difficult, but I have come a long way since my first day in Taiwan.
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As I reflect on my time in Taiwan, I remember being so scared but finding comfort in the people, their culture, and the beauty of its landscape. My early mornings rushing to the train station with a red bean bun and matcha in my hand led me to my next adventure. The kindness I received from strangers was something I will never forget. The growth I experienced in Taiwan is what I am most proud of and these skills will prepare me for the rest of my life.