I was an exchange student at Taipei Tech from September 2012 to January 2013. I was enrolled in the International MBA Program, and took courses such as Behavioral Corporate Finance, Marketing Management, Operation Management, and Information Management. The quality of the classes, especially Marketing and Operation Management, were above my expectations. The course workload was heavy, but I learnt a lot. I am already thinking about enrolling in a PhD program here at Taipei Tech. I really enjoyed my time here in Taiwan. As a student who doesn’t speak Chinese, everyone was very friendly towards me and tried to help me out whenever I encountered any problems. Therefore, I had never felt like I was lost in translation. This made it very easy for me to transition into the Taiwanese life. I sincerely recommend Taipei Tech for any international students who are thinking about studying in Taiwan.

There is a charisma about Taiwan. Before I came here, I thought Taiwan was a developing country, but after living here, it definitely is not. Especially Taipei City, the standard of living is like any other big European city (only with Chinese symbols). Everybody here is so friendly; I call it foreign bonus. Whatever happens, random strangers will help you. Once I was lost, and asked a group of people for directions. Although they could not speak English, they still took me to my destination that was 8 MRT stations away. Nobody would do that in my country. As you can see, Taiwanese people are more welcoming and friendlier to each other in general. That is something we all can learn from.

The food in Taiwan is phenomenal. I really like it, and will miss it dearly when I go back home. There are so many different kinds of rice, noodle, and soups. My favorite food is dumplings; I love it! The best thing about convenient stores in Taiwan is that it is around every corner. The convenient stores provide more services than any other countries’ convenient stores I have ever been to. It does not matter where you are, you can be sure that there will be a convenient store nearby. I will miss going to buy something at 2 o’clock in the morning. The night markets are also very nice, they offer a wide variety of foods. I like to just explore the different night markets, and try something new every time.

Taipei is a really nice city. Taipei 101 is a very impressive building; the building is so tall, you can see it from every corner of the city. For those history buffs, you should definitely go visit the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall, Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall, Presidential Office Building, and National Palace Museum. If you are a nature person, I would suggest you go to Maokong by Gondola and walk around tea houses, go to the Elephant Mountain and have the best view to Taipei 101, go to Yangmingshan National Park and go hiking, go to Beitou and enjoy Hot Springs or go to Danshui to see the sea.

There are a lot of different locations you can travel within Taiwan. I highly recommend the Green Island off the coast of Taiwan; it is extremely beautiful there. Taroko Gorge is also very nice. If you like cityscapes, you should also go south to Kaohsiung City. For more information and pictures, you can visit my blog www.taiwahnsinnig.wordpress.com . If you have any questions, you can also contact me on my blog.

Last but not least, I want to say that I am very thankful that I had the opportunity to do this exchange program. ‘’Heart of Asia’’ is the slogan for Taiwan, and for me it is undeniably true. And I will never forget my visit here.

Thank you, Taipei Tech for this memorable experience!