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Thursday, June 5th, 2025

四月

Prompt 1: This program pushed me to move beyond observation and into participation. At the beginning, I was primarily focused on seeing Taiwan as a cultural experience something to learn about from the outside. But over time, my perspective evolved. I started to realize how interconnected identity, history, and daily life are here. Talking with monastics at Fo Guang Shan, for example, made me rethink what it means to live with purpose. Visiting the 2/28 exhibit challenged me to think more critically about political memory and resilience. And even learning to make boba from scratch taught me how much tradition […]

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Wednesday, June 4th, 2025

Day 15 – June 3, 2025

Today was a refreshing break from the more structured and information-heavy parts of the trip. We had a Taiwanese cooking class, and it turned out to be one of the most enjoyable and hands-on activities so far. It was a good change of pace to focus on food and technique, and to be actively involved in creating something from start to finish. We watched as the chef taught us a few steps and then went back to our stations to try to repeat those steps on our own. It was fun and I got to try tiny shrimp which wasn’t […]

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Wednesday, June 4th, 2025

Day 14 – June 2, 2025

The day started off pretty casually. I walked to Starbucks in the morning, which felt like a nice reset. There is something comforting about having a familiar routine, even in a different country. Sitting there with a drink gave me a chance to mentally prepare for the day ahead, which turned out to be one of the more modern and business-focused days of the trip. Our main activity was a visit to Studio 76, a Taiwanese film and media production company. I had not heard of it before, but by the end of our visit, I was genuinely impressed by […]

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Wednesday, June 4th, 2025

Day 13 – June 1, 2025

Today was centered around Taiwan’s historical, philosophical, and political identity. We started our day with a visit to a Confucian temple, which offered a completely different atmosphere from the Buddhist sites we’ve been seeing. The environment was clean, structured, quiet, and formal. You could immediately sense the difference in energy it wasn’t about worship or spiritual transcendence, but about thought, ethics, and personal discipline. Confucianism isn’t really a religion in the traditional sense, but more like a philosophical framework. The design of the temple reflected that. It wasn’t overly ornate. Everything had a purpose and symmetry. No incense, no loud […]

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Wednesday, June 4th, 2025

Day 12 – May 31, 2025

Today we visited Fo Guang Shan, one of the major Buddhist organizations in Taiwan. The main message they emphasized was that Buddhism should be accessible to everyone, and that includes making it easier to approach through modern means like comfort, convenience, and clear communication. The presence of stores and amenities around the grounds wasn’t about commercialization but about creating an environment that invites people in without intimidation. They want people to feel welcomed, not overwhelmed. We walked through the museum, which had multiple exhibits showing how Buddhism has evolved and how Fo Guang Shan presents its teachings to the public. […]

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Wednesday, June 4th, 2025

Day 11 – May 30, 2025

Today I woke up around 8:00 a.m., even though our official departure time wasn’t until 10:30. I decided to take advantage of the extra time and go explore a bit on my own. I wandered around the neighborhood and found a small, local café tucked into a side street. It was quiet and cozy the perfect place for a slow morning.Lately, I’ve been doing this thing where I purposely order something random off the Mandarin menu, without translating it first. It’s my way of pushing myself to try new things and also a little language-learning experiment. So far, nothing has […]

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