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Monday, May 26th, 2025

Day 5 in Taiwan

Today we began the day with a trip to the Taipei University of the Arts after a quick breakfast at the hotel. The MRT and bus ride was quite long, but definitely worth it to be able to see one of the Universities in Taiwan, and meet some locals that were our age. Upon arriving at the university, we were greeted by a recent graduate and a current student who showed us around the campus. They brought us into two art buildings that contained art exhibits that displayed work done by students at the school. I enjoyed learning about the […]

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Saturday, May 24th, 2025

Day 4 in Taiwan

Day 4 began at a glorious 6am in the morning when Kyla and I woke up. Us, along with Hanna and Mikey unsuccessfully attempted to rent U-bikes to go on a morning bike ride and settled for a 3 mile walk along the river. We saw a bunch of crabs, fish, turtles, and birds, as well as a beautiful view of the city skyline and river. We met a man who was walking one of his 1100 5k’s for love and he posted a nice video of us on instagram!  We next headed to a small restaurant to get some […]

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Friday, May 23rd, 2025

Day 3 in Taiwan

On our third day in Taipei, we visited two temples, Lungshan Temple and Xingtian Temple, as well as the palace museum.  Breakfast ft. Kyla and the view of the city skyline. Our first stop of the day was to Lungshan Temple. This temple was the older of the two and was an interesting integration of both buddhism and daoism. I thought that the intricate architecture of the temple was super cool, and I noticed that the main colors present were grey, red, and gold which was similar to that of the second temple we visited. The physical deities, all in […]

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Thursday, May 22nd, 2025

Day 2 in Taiwan

Today started out very different from yesterday. We had the opportunity to visit two very different companies, and hear more about the economy in Taiwan, as well as the economic relationship between the US and Taiwan.  Our first stop was to AIT, American Institute in Taiwan, in which Christian Koschil gave an insightful overview on many aspects of the Taiwanese economy, as well as, explained what the AIT does. I found it interesting that the AIT serves as a de facto embassy of the US since Taiwan is not officially recognized as a country. I also enjoyed learning about how […]

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Thursday, May 22nd, 2025

Day 1 in Taiwan

After the long 16 hour flight, we finally arrived in the beautiful city of Taipei and almost immediately began exploring. After dropping our things at the hotel, we got to try a more traditional Taiwanese breakfast from a local vendor. Kyla and I tried a few things – some pork dumplings, a donut, and milk tea – and it was all delicious. Afterwards, we took the MRT to the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall which was super cool. I enjoyed seeing the memorial, as well as getting a glimpse into both the positive and negative impacts that Chiang Kai-Shek had on […]

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Thursday, May 15th, 2025

Pre-trip thoughts

My personal goals for this trip are to have the opportunity to immerse myself in a new culture by engaging with the local communities, exploring historical sites, and trying traditional Taiwanese cuisine. I hope build connections with both local residents and fellow students on this trip, and grow more confident in navigating unfamiliar environments. I am also excited to learn more about Taiwan’s culture and be able to experience a new culture/society firsthand. One of my main fears is the language barriers that might limit my ability to communicate or fully engage with other people.

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