My Reflections on Taiwan: Cultural Insights: Academic Connections: Personal Growth: Script: As for the academic connection, And then finally, my personal growth
Interactions with local people have been facilitated by mutual effort and positive energy. One of my main concerns going into this program was whether I’d be able to communicate with people, especially considering that one of my goals was to meet people and possibly make friends. Indeed, I did run into many people who primarily spoke Mandarin or Taiwanese, but these situations almost always worked out in the end, and I still managed to make meaningful connections. I can remember one time at Xingtian Temple when a volunteer came up to us while we were looking at the huge koi. […]
Personal Growth Being in Taiwan and exploring this country has allowed me to deepen the way I perceive various cultures and compare the differences in living between Taiwan and the US. I admittedly knew little about Taiwan before coming here and wasn’t sure exactly what to expect of the culture and way of life here – most of what I previously knew of the country were that it had tensions with China, and that there was a “dispute” over which entity should be the rightful owner of the Chinese and Taiwanese lands. Spending time here has allowed me to see […]
Ohmmmmm… Today we had the chance to visit Dharma Drum Mountain, one of the four biggest monasteries in Taiwan. From the moment we arrived, the atmosphere was calm and welcoming. Our hosts were just as enthusiastic to have us there as we were to be there, setting a peaceful and open tone for the day ahead. We began right away with a welcome and introduction from our host, who explained a bit about the team hosting us. It’s worth noting that Dharma Drum Mountain is divided into two parts, the monastery itself, and the Dharma Drum Institute of Liberal Arts […]