NSLI-Y Taiwan 2023 – Week 2
Welcome back to our adventures in Taipei! Today, Nolan and Virginia are here to take you through our busy second week as NSLI-Y students!
Our second week in Taiwan seemed to fly by. As we quickly got the hang of Taiwan’s public transportation, classes ramped up and we dove head-first into another week of language learning. No matter their language level, students have quickly grown to appreciate their teachers, who have not only provided top-tier Chinese language instruction, but done so with creative and engaging methods. Students have set up “shops” to practice their purchasing skills and currency vocabulary, played fast-paced card games to work on character recognition, and drawn their own creative pictures to practice describing locations.
This week we continued our cultural studies by learning a classic Taiwanese pop song, and meeting with American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) representatives via Zoom. Students worked with Mick, our lovely university coordinator (who we recently discovered has the voice of an angel) on preparing the song Xiao Shou La Da Shou (小手拉大手) by Fish Leong, a catchy romance song with a music video that has enchanting imagery of the island of Guam. Our process began with watching the music video and listening to how the song sounds, then as a group we read the lyrics out loud to become more comfortable with the pronunciation. While Mandarin is a tonal language, in singing, tone varies based on the melody that is present in the song. Over the next few weeks we will be working on this song, and perfecting our sound as a group before our final performance at the end of the program.
Mick, our Overseas Partner representative, teaches everyone the song Xiao Shao La Da Shou by Fish Leong.
After our singing lessons, we all made our way over to a conference room to “Zoom in” with the AIT representatives. We engaged in conversation about what it takes to be a diplomat, and learned more about globalization and international affairs. One of our NSLI-Y students, Steaven, asked a thought provoking question about China-Taiwan diplomatic relationships, which led to very interesting commentary from the representatives. Each of the officers described their role in the U.S. State Department, offering personal insights on their interest in working on an international scale as well as advice for all of us as the next generation of global ambassadors.
Students attentively listen to the American Institute in Taiwan representatives.
Our cultural excursion this week was to Dadaocheng, Taipei’s oldest district, to learn about screen printing and the history of tea in Taiwan. After taking the MRT (Taipei’s renowned metro system) to Dadaocheng, our first stop was inBlooom Together, a DIY screen printing and craft shop boasting dozens of intricate designs. After a crash course in screen printing and a tour of our design options—among them famous Taiwanese street food and traditional Taiwanese glass patterns—it was time to make our own tote bags!
Posing for a group photo at inBlooom Together.
Genevieve and Liz working hard on their tote bags.
Evan helping our screen printing instructor with steady hands.
We then walked through the historic district to Shin Hong Choon Tea. Designated as a municipal historical site in 2009, it was built in 1934 by a Dadaocheng tea merchant, and now serves as a museum and cultural exhibition space. After appreciating the robust air conditioning, we enjoyed the exhibition as well as an array of traditional hot and cool teas.
Ready to taste an assortment of teas at Shin Hong Choon Tea!
To wrap up this week’s blog, we wanted to share with you some of our favorite moments so far during these busy first weeks!
“I loved going on the Ferris wheel at Miramar Mall. We got to see so much of the city, from Taipei 101 to the temples nestled into the mountains. Buying the tickets even gave us an opportunity to practice our Chinese speaking skills!” – Evan
“Going into the countryside and having a barbeque with my host mom’s friends!” – Ronan
“Going to the Taipei Zoo with my host family and learning the names of cool animals in Mandarin, as well as seeing my first panda! I also got to see my favorite animal at the Taipei Zoo—alpacas!” – Steaven
“This Monday we went to the night market, and I felt like such an older sister with my siblings as they held my hand through the busy market!” – Sybellah
“When we got one of our first bobas in Taiwan, and immediately spilled it on the street. Lucky a kind worker helped us clean up, and we quickly learned to keep a tight grip on all further bubble tea treats” – William
Spilled boba tea–William’s favorite memory so far! (The boba spiller will remain anonymous).
“Our favorite memory had to be getting lost in the mall. We must have gone up and down every escalator at least twice.” – Anthony and Kaj
“My favorite memory was the excursion to Longshan temple on one of the hottest days on earth’s record because I had no reason to be insecure about my sweat stains- everyone was drenched!” – Genevieve
“Playing hide and seek at PDO!” – Matthew
“Getting ice cream after Longshan temple—I got the lemon and mango flavors, and it was perfect after a hot day!” – ARD Sam
“Buying my daily bubble tea (in Chinese of course), my favorite tea only costs $2 here, which is a third of the price in America!” – Katie
“So far I’ve visited 5 new bakeries in Taipei! I’ve been trying a new one each day, and my favorite has definitely been Yeast Bakery, where I ate delicious 蛋糕 (cake) and 麵包 (bread rolls)!” – Tess
“I loved learning the song Xiao Shou La Da Shou (小手拉大手) with everyone!” – RD Devin
Thanks for tuning into this week’s blog! We’ll leave you with a gorgeous photo taken by Genevieve overlooking our beautiful host city. – Virginia and Nolan
