fulbright Taiwan online journal

fulbright Taiwan online journal

Tag: English

A Designer’s Guide to Living Leisurely in Tainan: Where to Eat Designer

I know as much as you want to hear about my work as a service designer, a sociologist, and avid observer and connoisseur of cities, you also know I live in Tainan and you want my list of where to eat. I get it, I’ll receive your eventual LINE message asking me to send you my google map recommendations, but let me take this opportunity to give you something more than google reviews can provide; the story behind every recommendation.  It’s no secret Tainan is known for its food, as every guide book on Taiwan will make sure to mention its famous reputation, and the distinctly sweet taste of its dishes. The food has wowed me to the point that trips longer than two days out of Tainan have me sorely missing the wide array of local tea shops and sesame noodles. However, Tainan is rich not only in flavor but in company, and this is my personal reflection on where to eat and go, compiled not from a guide book, but from memories of living leisurely in Tainan, and from a patchwork of experiences with my friends, the city, and of course–the sharing of food. My classmate Daniela and

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美國匹茲堡大學的學術文化之旅

很榮幸能成為傅爾布萊特學人(Fulbrighter),踏上美國進行文化交流的旅程。 申請傅爾布萊特計畫通過後,傅爾布萊特就舉辦台灣傅爾布萊特行前教育並邀請上一屆的傅爾布萊特學人分享出返國的經驗,期間更獲得多數人踴躍的提問與交流。雖然申請期間遇到嚴重特殊傳染性肺炎(COVID-19)的疫情,計畫因而延後了一年執行,也慶幸能在 2021 年 08 月至 2022 年 08 月到美國匹茲堡大 學擔任訪問學者,展開本人的台灣與美國的學術文化交流。因為嚴重特殊傳染性肺炎疫情的因素,2021 年 07 月 29 日到美國租屋處後就自主隔離 7 天,利用隔離期間上網查詢公車路線,如何到匹茲堡大學報到。隔離期滿後到匹茲堡大學與接待教授見面並申請識別證、電子郵件、以及線上學習研究的相關課程。 這次美國學術文化交流包括研究新知與社會科學文化之旅。 研究新知之旅: (1)  每星期舉行一次實體或線上討論會,與會學者有匹茲堡大學(University ofPittsburgh)美國學者 Yingze Zhang 博士/教授、美國學者 Frank C Sciurba 醫學 博士/教授、以及美國學者 Tin-Kan Hung 博士/教授和台灣學者洪菁霞博士/教授,進行運動治療肺氣腫相關研究之研究技術切磋、腦力激盪、以及研究新知交流,進一步推廣學術教育交流與跨國研究合作的潛力。 (2)  每星期一次參與賓夕法尼亞州的匹茲堡大學醫學中心(University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, UPMC)的睡眠醫學中心舉行的睡眠研究相關議題的討論會議, 了解最新的臨床與基礎研究知識。解決睡眠障礙患者的社會、認知和文化心理的障礙,這對我未來的臨床經驗和研究具有很大的幫助。 (3)  參與每兩星期舉行一次的慢性阻塞性肺病研究合作的研討會,會中有臨床醫 師、基礎研究學者、臨床研究學者、放射學領域專家、數據分析師、臨床各科醫事人員、以及體適能檢測員,討論該議題的研究新知與研究合作的可能性,和進一步撰寫整合型研究計畫的可能性。會中亦訓練與提攜新進人員或醫學生的研究能力,分享與討論預計投稿的研究論文,大家提供意見給作者們改善不足的地方、精進內容的撰寫與完整的研究設計。 (3)  參與每兩星期舉行一次的慢性阻塞性肺病研究合作的研討會,會中有臨床醫 師、基礎研究學者、臨床研究學者、放射學領域專家、數據分析師、臨床各科醫事人員、以及體適能檢測員,討論該議題的研究新知與研究合作的可能性,和進一步撰寫整合型研究計畫的可能性。會中亦訓練與提攜新進人員或醫學生的研究能力,分享與討論預計投稿的研究論文,大家提供意見給作者們改善不足的地方、精進內容的撰寫與完整的研究設計。 鐵路工人紀念館(Railroaders Memorial Museum),地址 1200 9th Ave, Altoona, PA 16602, United States (2)  從匹茲堡搭乘飛機抵達科羅拉多州的丹佛(Denver, Colorado),2022 年 4 月 27 日至 2022 年 4 月 30 日參與傅爾布萊特在丹佛舉辦的氣候變遷研討會。會中參觀了科羅拉多州立大學(Colorado State University, Colorado)的學校,包 括學校圖書館、學生活動中心、職員與校長辦公室、以及教室。令人印象深刻的是,校內有個戶外大學橄欖球場(Canvas Stadium),這在我們國家是完全沒有見過的。之後參與氣候變遷討論會,會後到科羅拉多州立大學附近的餐館用餐,享受晚上宜人的風景。會後搭乘飛機返回匹茲堡。 2022 年氣候變遷研討會在科羅拉多州的丹佛(Denver, Colorado)舉辦。 (3)  回國前兩天(08/13/2022)參加泡泡跑(Bubble Run),在賓州的 Altoona 舉辦,當成回國前的暖身運動。泡泡跑的路途中有經過黃色、粉紅色、綠色、 以及藍色的泡泡浴拱門,跑過後衣服就會染成該種顏色,參加泡泡跑除了可 以運動健身之外,也可以觀賞公園內美麗的風景,呼吸著新鮮的空氣,令人 心曠神怡。 泡泡跑(Bubble Run)- Pittsburgh, PA – 08/13/2022 這次在美國的文化學習經歷,除了增加個人社會文化觀察力,也學習了先進國際頂尖大學的文化底蘊,是我人生經驗的一個重要旅程。   Managing Editor: Chao-Hui Wei (Bonnie) 魏肇慧  

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Three Bach and the Curatorial OMO Concept

2035 vs. 2020 Dubbed “the turnaround king” in arts management, Michael M. Kaiser, the author of Curtains? The Future of the Arts in America (2015), knows the arts industry better than most. “Long before 2035,” Kaiser writes, “It is likely that many productions will be available for viewing at home, on demand.” Furthermore, he predicts that “While these performances should attract sizable audiences, there will be a reduction in overall demand for the classical arts.” Why? “Another two decades without comprehensive arts education and the passing away of many current arts lovers and supporters.” But all of this “will” in his book is happening now. Today, classical musicians and their managers are trapped in all the crises which Kaiser writes about in his book, years earlier than he expected them. After two years of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the performing arts industry, we are making efforts to move forward and find ways to survive. We may discover something that will help us along the way by opening a drawer of history. In the drawer, there is a case that we can refer to: a unique classical music project created by integrating pieces from the classical canon with creative, cross-border

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Taipei Quarantine Temple

This is my first-time visiting Taiwan. I arrived in Taipei on December 12, 2021. Everything started with a 22-day quarantine. Actually, it was not bad. I was very lucky to have got a hotel room with a window. Not only that, but there is a temple (Jingfu gong) right in front of the window as my view. I was so excited for I have long been interested in Taiwan’s religious culture. I took pictures and sent them to my friends in the US. Everybody thought it was so beautiful. Moreover, I didn’t need to make decisions on what to eat for each meal and did not have to cook at all. I got to try various biandang (bento box) the hotel provided. I took pictures of each. When I encountered some food that I have never had, I sent pictures to my Taiwanese friends to ask and often ended up having some interesting conversations with them (about family, memory, nostalgia, etc.). I guess that’s what food can do and part of the reason why I have been interested in food history and culture. In addition, it was a delight that I could directly communicate on the LINE app with the

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Taiwan: A Wonderland of Tea

It took me more than a year plus three weeks to start my Fulbright program in Taiwan, so I was determined to utilize all the opportunities during my stay there. The pandemic delayed my travel by over a year, and of course I had to go through three weeks of quarantine in Taiwan. My teaching and research are related to tea and culture, and Taiwan turns out to be a tea paradise!   While I have studied tea and culture in China’s Tang through Ming dynasties, I came to Taiwan with no experience in tea making, and only rough ideas about Taiwan’s tea tree species, the variety of teas, and the art of tea. Now having completed my program in Taiwan, I feel so enriched in my knowledge and experience of tea. I followed tea masters to make teas three times, which means, in addition to learning about the process of tea making, I stayed up till 4 or 5 am to follow critical tea-processing steps. I have learned so much about varieties of tea plants, kinds of teas, and the art of tea in Taiwan.  My trips to Alishan initiated my wandering in the land of tea, learning about and

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US Education Systems

Participating in the Fulbright exchange scholar program has given me an opportunity to broaden my view of US education systems. I am familiar with US higher education while receiving my Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. Coming back to the US as a Fulbright scholar with my family and conducting research in the preschool and K-8, and acting as a parent has enriched my experience. With an 11-year-old son, I participated in an American public middle school as a parent. Being a 6th grader and the oldest in an elementary school in Taiwan, my son became a freshman at Northeast Middle School in Minnesota. We arrived in the US on the day of the open house of the school. When we arrived at the school, we were surprised to see the welcome printed in different languages on the wall, including Chinese. We met the principal in the office, who welcomed us enthusiastically. He is very different from the serious principal in Taiwan, with rich intonation and body language. We were able to select courses in time and obtain the course schedule during the open house. Then, we visited every classroom teacher listed on the course schedule. The teachers introduced the

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“It’s made by chili, not curry.” Supra-understanding of Foreign Friendship Talks in ELF

In America, I found that many speakers of English as a lingua franca (ELF) experience misinterpretations involving loanwords, culturally-specific locutions, creative wordplay, or individual idiolects. Accordingly, in my talk for the celebration of 75 years of Fulbright, I proposed the concept of supra-understanding to explicate how ELF speakers can develop a critical sociolinguistic awareness of ethnocentric language usages and worldviews, thereby avoiding the misunderstandings of alien and idiosyncratic utterances in intercultural communication. To illustrate this concept, I present two scenarios to demonstrate how these adept ELF speakers achieve supra-understanding by re-deploying their semiotic resources, repositioning their perspectives, and re-negotiating meanings. The poster for my Fulbright talk Anecdote 1: It’s made by chili, not curry. Pat, a visiting scholar from India, invited me for dinner at his apartment.[1] He cooked some rice, vegetables, and soup. Like most Indians, Pat likes very spicy food, but the dishes he prepared for me were much milder than those he usually makes for himself. I was surprised by the reddish-brown color of the soup, having long associated Indian food with the yellow color of turmeric powder, but I instantly realized my misconception. My Indian friend cooked delicious dishes for our dinner Then I asked Pat

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An Unforgettable Adventure in Taiwan

Looking back on this past year, I couldn’t have imagined how incredible my Fulbright experience in Taiwan would be. For most of my life, I lived in Boise, Idaho, a modest-sized city in the Mountain Northwest. I knew, however, that after graduating from college I needed to explore more of the world: to learn about different cultures and people. Growing up I was always passionate about the idea of using science to contribute back to my community and to use it as a tool to advance change. It’s for this reason I studied molecular biology all throughout college and planned to pursue medicine as a career. However, as I progressed with my undergraduate studies, I became more and more fascinated in the intersection between science, policy, and service work. After discussing with my college fellowship adviser my desire to travel abroad and expand on my education interests, he recommended that I look into the Fulbright Scholarship, and specifically into the grants in Taiwan. When I stumbled upon the master’s program in global health at National Taiwan University, I realized I found the perfect opportunity.    Educational Experiences in Taiwan:    Since coming to Taiwan to start my graduate studies, I

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The importance of optimism

“I don’t know if you’re brave or if you’re crazy,” said a fellow Fulbrighter to me after our quarantines had ended, “coming to a country where you don’t know anyone and you don’t know the language.” The comment caught me off-guard, but she was right: What on earth had I been thinking? Why did I agree to take on this incredibly daunting challenge, and who was I to think I could overcome it?    I remember laughing before responding: “Maybe it’s a little bit of both.” Weirdly enough, this has become my mantra during my time in Taiwan, though I’ve never been too big a fan of the word “crazy” – instead, let’s call it “blindly optimistic.” Yeah, sure, that’s what I am. See, growing up in a small South Carolina town, I’d always had dreams of “making it,” though I was never quite sure what that meant. Did I want wealth, popularity, incomparable success? I thought so – after all, aren’t these the things that make people happy? Now, I believe that “making it” is actually just realizing you are more than all of the bad experiences you’ve had — and that you’re fully capable of making new memories

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Lessons from my Mini-UN: Teaching History in an International Classroom

While preparing for my teaching grant at Tunghai University, International College Dean, Dr. James Sims, asked me to design a world history course that introduced students to foundational concepts from history and geography. His request was particularly exciting to me because I have a passion for history, but don’t often get to pursue this interest as a Science, Engineering, Technology and Math (STEM) librarian at the Colorado School of Mines (Mines). As course development began, I knew that as a librarian, I also wanted to incorporate the opportunity to practice research and information evaluation skills in class. From these goals came my course, History and Geography for our Interconnected World. Fulbright scholars with Dr. Nadeau and Tunghai University President Me outside the Tunghai University Library Over 13 weeks, 43 students and I worked our way through approximately 800 years of world history. We utilized the SPICE framework to explore the social; political; environmental [interactions], cultural and economic aspects of history. Covering that amount of content in a single, shortened semester can be very difficult for students to follow. It can also be difficult to connect events, people and cultural developments throughout history to their lives in the 21st century. To mitigate these concerns, I

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Research & Reflections

fulbright taiwan online journal