When I was debating with myself about what to do over the summer I received an email from the East Asian Studies Department regarding a scholarship to study Chinese in Taiwan. I was not so sure about spending an entire summer in Taiwan, so I considered and even started my applications to other programs in mainland China. Taiwan is a small tropical island, which means the weather is hot and humid all year round, but especially so in the summer. It was not so much the heat I was nervous about, but humidity does not agree with me. Taiwan also uses traditional characters, which are the more complicated version of the simplified characters usually taught in the US. I was nervous about having to relearn the traditional version of the characters I already knew on top of the new material. And yet, I knew I would accept my place in the program as soon as I got the acceptance letter.
The program is called the Taiwan-United States Sister Relations Alliance (TUSA). It offers full scholarships to around 50 American students to represent the United States as ambassadors in Taiwan. In addition to language courses, the program also offers cultural lessons and trips around the island in order to really get to know the country and the culture. The program accepts people of all levels—even those who have never learned Chinese before! I definitely recommend it if you are learning or have ever considered learning the language. I didn’t have to pay for the classes, the dorm, nor the group trips, which made the program all the much more affordable for me (can you believe most summer language programs cost upward of 7 grand?). I was also lucky enough to receive a grant from Wellesley’s own Mayling Soong Scholarship, a fund established in the name of a Wellesley grad that went on to become the First Lady of the Republic of China, with which I covered part of my travel costs to Taiwan.
I had an incredible time there. I got to meet a lot of students from universities all over the United States as well as native Taiwanese students. I don’t want this experience to take over this blog, but please check out my personal blog to find out more about my incredible summer, which was made possible by Wellesley and the Taiwanese government. I can assure you that you will enjoy looking through my pictures and reading about my experiences. The summer is pretty long—I was able to visit my sister in upstate New York, take a road trip to Canada, and visit my family in Texas and then Mexico before even going to Taiwan. It enables you to take on lengthy projects and internships or rest if necessary after the long year. I was only one of many Wellesley students that traveled around the world for work and/or study! I have friends that studied in Hong Kong, friends that interned in Portugal, and the list goes on! Wellesley opens up incredible opportunities for expanding your learning experience outside the campus.
Tune in on Tuesday for details on my first month back at Swells! Until then~