About: From Formosa

Courtesy of Geology.com

Study Abroad: Taiwan

Each year hundreds of thousands of students study abroad. In the 2009-2010 academic year, over 270,000 U.S. students studied abroad (Open Doors 2011). For many students Taiwan is not on their radar. It isn’t usually mentioned in history classes and you might only hear about Taiwan from a Taiwanese teacher or fellow student.

Taiwan is a small, democratic, subtropical island in the Pacific Ocean off the southeast coast of China. Like China, the national language of Taiwan is Mandarin Chinese and the island’s residents are descendants of Chinese immigrants (Han Chinese) and native peoples. In 2009-2010 only 850 U.S. students studied abroad in Taiwan.

Temple in Taroko Gorge, Taiwan

About:

The purpose of this blog is to provide information to those who are interested in studying in Taiwan, are currently studying in Taiwan, and those who have recently returned from studying in Taiwan. It is designed to be an easy to read resource for students with an interest in Taiwan. This blog is by no means all-inclusive, the goal is to provide a solid jumping off point to planning your trip abroad. Also, this blog is not actively monitored, so please don’t be offended if questions and comments go without a response.

 

Author:

I’m Stefanie. I have a B.A. in Chinese and a minor in Asian Studies. As an undergrad I studied abroad in China and loved it. While in China I was introduced to Taiwan through, if you can believe it Taiwanese dramas. With this introduction to Taiwanese popular culture I began to learn more and more about Taiwan. After graduating I wanted to study more Chinese. I was dying to go to Taiwan and in the winter of 2008 I moved to Taiwan to study at The Mandarin Training Center of National Taiwan Normal University. I came back to the the U.S. in March of 2009 and have been trying to go back ever since. My stories might be old, but they should still be relevant.