As I prepare for the trip to Taiwan, I have certain expectations of how being abroad there will go. My main goals are to really immerse myself in the country and its culture and be able to get a good feel for what Taiwan is like. I want to visit as many new places and try as many new things as I can, and, along with the course, be able to leave Taiwan with much more knowledge about the nation and its culture, politics, economics, religion, and so forth. While I am very excited to explore all these new places, there are certain aspects of traveling to Taiwan that are a little daunting to me. I have a bit of worry about how I’m going to navigate cities and public transportation, as well as figuring out how people customarily behave in their day to day life. I think it could take some time to adjust to social norms in Taiwan and get a feel for the way locals go about their everyday lives. Otherwise, though, I’m really looking forward to traveling there and I feel really lucky to be able to go on such a cool trip!
You are going into this trip with exactly the right attitude. Being open to new experiences and wanting to understand the culture on a deeper level will make it so much more meaningful. It is totally okay to feel a bit nervous about navigating new places or adjusting to local customs. Perhaps we can take the public transportation together outside our itinerary to have some adventure! Everything will be part of the learning process. You will get the hang of it as you go, and chances are you will end up loving how different everything feels. Excited for you to experience it all!