Reflections of a Southern Girl on her First Trip to Taiwan
Reflecting on our two-week journey to learn more about the rich history of Taiwan, I am thankful to be a part of the first International Educators Administrators (IEA) program for Fulbright Taiwan. I hope to give back by taking what I have gained and building upon it: I want more people to learn about the Fulbright Taiwan vision: “a world with a little more knowledge, and a little less conflict.” I am a “Southern” girl. I was born in the South of the United States, in Burlington, North Carolina. Growing up, I also spent five years in southern China and Hong Kong, where I learned Mandarin Chinese. I would like to reflect on my first trip to Taiwan using the lens of language and language learning, and share about my experiences in Taiwan: the charms of Taiwan, speaking Chinese there, and some things I learnt about the challenges Taiwan face. Charm of Taiwan The island of Taiwan is the size of Maryland and Delaware but has 23 million people, giving it one of the highest population densities in the world. I could feel the “heartbeat of Asia” when I first arrived in Taipei, and began to
