My Experience Studying Abroad in Taiwan
-by FARRAH BURRELL, 2016 HES Recipient
-posted on November 9, 2017
My journey of studying abroad in Taiwan first started when I applied for the Huayu Enrichment Scholarship (HES) program in 2016 at my local Education Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Houston, Texas. At that time, I was just looking to continue my Mandarin language studies and gain some exposure to Taiwanese culture, but I never expected to gain the wonderful opportunities that became available to me during my studies in Taiwan. After receiving the news that I have been chosen as a recipient of the HES Scholarship, the Director of Education Division Sophie Chou, and other dedicated staff of the TECO office graciously helped with providing me all of the useful information and resources that I needed in order to be prepared when arriving and getting accustomed to life in Taiwan. After my arrival, I immediately felt comfortable in the new environment. The citizens were so nice and willing to help me whenever I was lost, regardless of the language barrier.
When starting the language program, because I had studied Chinese previously before in America, I was placed in a higher-level class after taking the placement test. The class curriculum was rigorous, but very fun and interactive as well. My teacher implemented the best methods on how to retain the new words and grammar while giving us the opportunity to speak conversationally using what we’ve learned, which is very important and useful for real-world interactions. Our class was small which gave us more opportunities to have more in-depth interactions with the teacher and work on any issues that we had with learning Mandarin, as well as create strong bonds between classmates and becoming close friends. Another aspect of the program that I greatly enjoyed were the cultural excursions. We were able to explore the breathtaking landscapes of Taiwan, as well as have exposure to the rich history of Taiwanese and aboriginal culture.
Before I knew it, a year had already passed and my program was finished. I had grown to love Taiwan and I felt that there were still more things to explore and to learn, so I chose the next best option which was to continue studying in Taiwan by attending University. After spending weeks researching which school would be the best for me, I finally decided that Tamkang University was the best option. I decided to join the Department of Diplomacy and International Relations because as someone who has an interest in possibly becoming a diplomat in the future and has in interest in international relations, it fit my needs perfectly. Now after already having experienced nearly half of a semester as a DDIR freshman, I can honestly say that this department has really become another family to me. My classmates are a perfect mix of wonderful people from around the world and local Taiwanese, and they all have the same interests and goals as I do. They are all kind and likeminded individuals, and the Professors are even better. To me, they don’t just consider the students as just a number, they truly care about what we learn and ensure that we gain meaningful knowledge about the world of International Relations and Diplomacy. They encourage discussions, deep thinking and allow us to give our input and opinions about the topics we learn. They don’t just give us a lecture and multiple choice exams. I think another special aspect is that the Chairman of our Department, Professor Cheng Chin-mo also takes the time to get to know his students personally, and he really cares about their progress and experience in the university. He, as well as other professors are willing to give us opportunities to listen to guest speakers and help expose us to different aspects of having a career in Diplomacy and International Relations, and to me that really shows that they care about our success. In conclusion, I really am happy that I made the decision to come to Taiwan. My Chinese has improved exponentially, the country and its people are safe, welcoming and fun, and most importantly I have the chance to study in a top-tier educational environment.
博菲拉的留台經驗
作者：2016學年度華語文獎學金受獎生博菲拉(FARRAH BURRELL)
刊登日期：2017年11月9日
我在台灣留學的旅程，起初是在我在德州「駐休斯頓臺北經濟文化辦事處教育組 (Education Division of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Houston)」申請2016年教育部華語文獎學金(Huayu Enrichment Scholarship, HES)的時候開始的。那時候我只是想繼續我的普通話學習，接觸一些台灣的文化，但是我從來沒有料到自己會在台灣留學期間獲得這些機會。在收到我被選為HES獎學金獲得者的消息之後，教育組組長周慧宜(Sophie Chou)和TECO辦公室的其他專職人員(Isabelle Chen)給予了我所需要的所有有用訊息和資源，在台灣到達習慣生活時做好準備。在我到達之後，我立即在新的環境中感到舒適。無論語言障礙如何，每當我迷路的時候，市民都非常好，願意幫助我。
在開始語言課程的時候，因為之前我在美國學習過中文，所以在參加分班考試之後，我被安排在一個更高層次的課堂上。班級課程嚴謹，但也非常有趣和互動。我的老師在如何保留新單詞和語法方面實施了最好的方法，同時讓我們有機會使用我們學到的東西對話式講話，這對於現實世界的交互非常重要和有用。我們的班級規模很小，給了我們更多機會與老師進行更深入的交流，學習普通話的任何問題，同學之間建立起緊密的聯繫，成為親密的朋友。我非常喜歡的節目的另一個方面是文化遊覽。我們能夠探索台灣的驚險景觀，並且接觸到台灣和土著文化的豐富歷史。
在我知道之前，一年已經過去了，我的計劃完成了。我已經愛上了台灣，覺得還有更多需要探索和學習的東西，所以選擇了繼續在台灣留學的第二好選擇。花了幾個星期的時間研究哪個學校對我最好，我終於決定淡江大學是最好的選擇。我決定加入外交與國際關係部，因為作為一個有興趣可能成為未來外交官，對國際關係感興趣的人，這完全符合我的需要。現在已經經歷了近半個學期的DDIR新生，我可以誠實地說，這個部門真的成了我的另一個家庭。我的同學是來自世界各地的優秀人士和台灣本地人的完美組合，他們都有著和我一樣的興趣和目標。他們都是仁慈的，志同道合的人，教授甚至更好。對我來說，他們不僅僅把學生看成是一個數字，他們真正關心我們學到的東西，確保我們對國際關係和外交世界有了有意義的了解。他們鼓勵討論，深入思考，讓我們就我們所學的主題提出意見和建議。他們不只是給我們一個講座和多項選擇考試。我覺得還有一個特別的地方，就是我們系主任鄭欽模教授也是花點時間認識他的學生，他真的很關心他們在大學裡的進步和經驗。他和其他教授都願意給我們機會傾聽演講嘉賓，幫助我們揭露在外交和國際關係方面的職業生涯的不同方面，對我來說，這真的表明他們關心我們的成功。總之，我真的很高興我決定來台灣。我的中國人成倍增長，國家和人民安全，歡迎，有趣，最重要的是我有機會在一流的教育環境中學習。
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| 系主任鄭欽模與博菲拉合影 |
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| 博菲拉 |
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| 齊藤(左)；博菲拉(中)；淡江大學外交與國際關係學系系主任鄭欽模(右) |
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| 師生合影 |
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| 師生三人合影 |
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| 於淡江國際學院前合影 |
