Day 13: Meeting Language Partners

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After an arduous night of studying and preparing for class and our weekly discussion, we awoke for another immersive day of studying at National Tsing Hua University in Hsinchu, Taiwan. I started my day as I normally do, with a breakfast scallion pancake from the cafeteria before class. Scallion pancakes are a very local dish to Taiwan. They are soft, chewy, and in my opinion, very delicious.


After chowing down on breakfast, I headed over to class in General Building II, where I met my classmates and conducted some last minute studying before our quiz. We started a new unit today, which focuses on agriculture and produce. While learning some vocab, we learned about some crops native to Taiwan and even discussed some of the differences between Taiwanese and American agricultural industries. We ended class by performing a skit involving three friends that go to a farm, eat mangos, and discuss the differences between modern and traditional farmers.


Class ended at 12:30, so it was a perfect time for lunch at the cafeteria’s buffet. The buffet is a popular spot for lunch due to its variety of options, high quality of food, and low price. I personally enjoy the tofu and made sure to heap extra onto my plate.



After staying and chatting in the cafeteria, it was time to head back to General Building II for our very first language partner time. As today was the first occurance, we met our language partners for the first time. Everyone seemed excited, as this is another opportunity not only for language practice and immersion, but also to meet a new friend outside of our immediate dialogue sphere.


Karyna and I had a great dialogue with our language partner. We told her about our experience so far in Taiwan, and discussed some of our observations of and around Tsing Hua’s campus. After hearing about her dorm, friends, and daily life on campus, we practiced some grammar we had just learned in class today. We even got some great dinner recommendations for the coming weeks on campus. Throughout the duration of the language partner time, everyone was busily chatting away with their language partners.



Hearing these dinner recommendations made me hungry, so it was time to head to 7/11 for a quick snack and some final prep before the weekly discussion. While in the food court, I saw two cute and friendly dogs walking around. They were behaving so well, as other students came up to greet and pet them.


Our discussion today was centered around the past, present, and future. We examined how Jian Shi Elementary School is furthering indigenous culture in the context of Taiwan’s history of indigenous oppression, the challenges of catering to the needs of a presently growing community, and what TSMC means for the future of Taiwan. The discussion proved to be very insightful and left me with many new perspectives to consider.


After getting an update on the next week’s itinerary and discussing the logistics of our upcoming weekend trip to Yi Lan, we headed out for a late dinner and studying. As I sign off for today, we are very satisfied with our productive discussion, happy to have met our language partners, and eagerly awaiting a weekend full of learning and fun!


-Phillip Schmider

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