Each morning in Taipei City, I woke up to take the Taipei Metro (MRT), walk the city’s streets and alleyways, order my scallion pancake and egg breakfast in Chinese at a street stand, and attend school. Nights were all about eating: authentic boba, delicious hot pot, and a variety of foods from the street markets.
In the sprawling urban landscape of Taipei City, the intimate everyday bustle captivated my attention—and it felt like I was part of it.
I remember very little from the last time I visited Asia over eight years ago. Aside from the itinerary, I had no idea what to expect from Taiwan on the night before the flight out. But in hindsight, I can confidently say that it is now my favorite travel destination, and partaking in the inaugural exchange trip was the perfect way to spend my February break.
During the six days, we spent three days sightseeing and three days with host students from Taipei WeGo Private School in the Beitou District of Taipei City.
There, I didn’t feel like just an international exchange student. I was welcomed and felt like a WeGo student who had lived in Taiwan my whole life. We attended typical Taiwanese language and PE classes with our host students, as well as special lessons in calligraphy and Peking Opera dance—all of which were taught in Chinese. With shorter classes and longer passing periods, I also spent significant time with other students in their free time, connecting over the NBA, volleyball, and the Premier League, and playing beabadoobee music on the guitar.
Outside of school, I learned and observed the unwritten cultural and social norms that set Taiwan apart from the United States. I never saw someone jaywalk or eat and drink on the MRT, and everybody observed and respected escalator etiquette—which is not strictly followed in California.
These small details contribute to Taiwan’s safety, and the effects were fascinating. Each morning on MRT, I saw children who couldn’t have been older than 11 making their over-40-minute journey to school all by themselves. No one else seemed to bat an eye.
Our trip also included visiting Taiwan’s lush countryside, exploring the winding mountain village of Jiufen, and spending a night in the beautiful green hills of Yilan. This refreshing change of scenery was an experience steeped with culture, with highlights of making scallion pancakes from scratch and releasing a fire-lit lantern into the sky.
These moments, distinct from the urban rhythm of Taipei, allowed me to deepen my connection to Taiwan and its traditions. By the time I returned from the program, I had not only gained a more worldly perspective of living in a different culture but an expanded Mandarin vocabulary and increased confidence in my speaking abilities, too. Undoubtedly, this memorable and immersive experience shaped my interest in learning more about both Taiwan’s language and culture inside and beyond the classroom.