fulbright Taiwan online journal

fulbright Taiwan online journal

Month: January 2022

Life in Taiwan as Cultural Ambassadors

Although Fulbright Taiwan is officially named Foundation for Scholarly Exchange, the supported activities are not only about scholarship but also cultural exchange. Doing so, I firmly believe that we scholars can have a deeper understanding of the society, especially when interpreting research findings from a social-historical context that is very different from the U.S. With this mindset, I took my family visiting as many places as we could in Taiwan, such as the Confucius Temple and one of the earliest Baptist churches in Taipei, and interacting with people of diverse backgrounds. For example, we visited “contemporary” farmers, who are also scientists receiving highest academic degrees from the U.S., and stayed in a traditional house in the countryside. (the only thing that I can complain about this visit to rural Taiwan is that roosters woke up at 4 AM!) In a different trip to central Taiwan, when tasting natural honey fragrance (or, fruit-flavor) black tea, I also ran into an award-winning singer performing his soul-touching songs on the deck of droughty Sun Moon Lake. (“…the unique taste is due to insect wound…but the wound makes it particularly tasty…Tea is like people. Wounds can make people weak or can make people stronger.

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My Fulbright Program in Taiwan

I arrived in Taipei on January 31, 2021 to begin my Fulbright program in Taiwan. After three weeks of quarantine in two hotels in Taipei, I arrived at Tunghai University on February 22, 2021. My stay in the university was officially over by June 30, 2021 and I returned to the United States on July 2, 2021. In total, I have spent more than five months in Taiwan. Giving lectures is the major part of my Fulbright program in Taiwan. After arriving at Tunghai University, I met with the Dean, Dr. Wen-den Chen, of the College of Social Sciences and Professor Peiyuan Cai. With their arrangement, I had the opportunity to meet the chairs of the departments of sociology, social work, political science, and economics. Later on, I also met with the director of the Graduate Institute of Education/Center of Teacher Education and the chair of the Department of Public Management and Policy. These meetings allowed me to introduce my research and teaching topics to the department chairs and also learn the needs and interests of these departments. According to each department’s interests and needs, I have delivered six lectures to both graduate and undergraduate students as well as the

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Reflections on the Process of “Becoming” in Taiwan

I distinctly remember my first reaction to the notification that I had received the  Fulbright Scholarship: I screamed, I called my loved ones, and then I worried if I had earned the right to be here. I think any student applying for nationally competitive scholarships must undergo the process of self-doubt, imposter syndrome, fear of failure, and what can feel like the endless chase for success even after reaching another milestone. While enjoying the first accomplishment temporarily, a constant fear exists in the back of the mind of whether the achievements made are a product of luck, skill, or a mix of both, and whether they can be replicated or ever topped in the future. However, in Taiwan and the people I have met here, I have found self-confidence in myself and an appreciation for ambiguity that I would have never thought myself capable of before.   I cannot put into words the fullness of experiences and memories I have made in Taiwan so far. Of course, I could mention the easy and fun topics everyone enjoys: the bustling night markets of delicious food, the continuous search for the best boba shop, and the adventure of scuba diving or snorkeling with

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The Interminable Bento

Noon came, and with it the sound of plastic rustling outside my door. I waited for the footsteps to grow faint as they padded down the hallway, followed by the ding of the elevator, then silence. I stuck my head out just beyond the threshold of the doorframe—and no further. We’d all heard the story, by then, of the woman who was fined $3,500 for walking down the hall in her quarantine hotel to retrieve boiling water for instant noodles. At my feet lay the telltale plastic bag, striped pink and white like a candy cane. And inside it, the squat, horizontal box that would be my resilient companion for the next fourteen days.  I arrived in Taiwan on a Fulbright research grant in February 2021, after weathering the pandemic, first from Berkeley and then from Seattle, for the better part of a year. Taiwan had been sheltered from much of the pandemic up to that point due to its early intervention and austere quarantine measures for incoming travelers: two weeks confined to a hotel room. In my case, the room was the size of a galley kitchen. My window at the Green World Hotel in Taipei overlooked the backside

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Research & Reflections

fulbright taiwan online journal