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^^ Sun Moon Lake gondola ride from hotel to cultural village

My favorite thing that I did in Taiwan was just walk around at night. I loved walking to the Pier 2 night market. It has a ton of good food and fun things to buy, like, genuinely some of the most beautiful jewelry and art I have ever seen for under $20 USD. Kaohsiung is very walkable and safe, so I had a lovely time just exploring the area. There is a lot of public art and exhibitions that you can see for free!

Another cool thing we got to do was go to Sun Moon Lake. It was stunning there! That was definitely my favorite trip within the Maymester that we went on. We went to a cultural village, an amusement park, biked around the lake, saw temples, took boat rides, and had a bunch of free time to explore and pet cats. 10/10.

If you have the chance to do this program, take it! I get quite homesick, and I still walked away so grateful to have had this experience.

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I love food, so experiencing different types of food was what I always looked forward to on our excursions. One of my favorite memories was getting to go get shaved ice with USC students and a few of our language partners and being able to talk with for a longer time outside of our designated time.

Also being able to have cold items when the weather gets too hot and humid.

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There were so many memorable experiences from our time in Taiwan, but I think some of my favorite memories made were out exploring the country during our own free time. Whether it was late night walks, visits to the night market, grocery store, or beverage runs, I've really loved every moment of it.

This picture was from a visit to Coda cafe with Belle and Olivia where we got to interact with the cutest ducks while also getting out and practicing using the language that we spend so much of our class time learning about.

Aside from that, I would also say that I'm really grateful for the experiences and interactions that we were able to have with locals who were always incredibly friendly, welcoming, and overall had a huge impact on the positive experience that I had while here!

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It's really hard to choose any one thing as the highlight of the trip (honestly, everything was spectacular). From exploring the many night markets Kaohsiung has to offer to learning about the history of Taiwan's Aboriginal people groups to enjoying the city through the lens of a late-night solo bike ride, there are so many moments that stand out to me as memories I'll cherish.

If I had to choose one excursion/activity (which I do), I think I'd have to go with biking at Sun-Moon Lake (pic above). The views were breathtaking, and being able to leisurely cycle around the lake, snagging risky one-handed bike selfies was something else. Photos really don't do it justice.

This program was awesome! I truly left feeling more confident and conversational in Chinese, and the cultural experiences (and just being able to experience Kaohsiung City) made this program worth it and then some!

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Overall some of the fondest memories I had usually involved food here. The wonderful sights and the valuable history we learned here will have an impact on my life. Thank you to everyone in this program who helped me to get out of my shell more and speak louder. This trip was lovely to experience with you all.

Also Sun Moon Lake was especially beautiful! Such wonderful sights.

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Although I truly had a wonderful time every day in this program, I'd like to shout out the Hakka Culture and Temple Culture field trip!

In the morning, we built our own oven out of rocks and stone (something I never imagined I’d get to do) and though I wasn’t too confident in our group’s cooking abilities at first, we ended up making a delicious meal! After our meal, we even got to make a little sweet treat by pounding the rice to make some traditional mochi.

In the afternoon, we visited the Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum, where we wrote proverbs on our own scrolls, practiced a bit of meditation, and, of course, saw the giant golden Buddha. I just wish we had a little more time to explore the area!

Overall, this program has been such a special experience! I walked into it not really knowing what to expected but it truly deepened my understanding of Taiwanese culture, gave me the chance to practice Chinese in real-life settings, and left me with so many new friends and fond memories. I can't recommend this program enough!

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While it's challenging to choose just one memorable moment from this trip, I want to highlight my time spent with new friends exploring Taiwan!

The language exchange was conducive to improving my proficiency & meeting many new local friends. And, facilitated by this program, I was able to make many friends local to LA. Many nights were spent at the night market and days traversing town to find the very best matcha.

These past four weeks have been so productive, educational, and fun! I am so lucky to return home with memories that will last a lifetime.

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Some of my favorite experiences were going to various restaurants, as I love food and was always open to trying new places. One of my favorites was at hot pot, pictured above, and I was shocked how big the portion sizes were. Also, one of my other favorite spots for food was the Ruifeng Night Market, where I got fried squid, scallion pancake, popcorn chicken, and tanghulu. Overall, exploring the city and learning more Chinese was very fun and fulfilling!

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My favorite memory from this Maymester was waking up early one day and taking a bus to a scenic area near the Chaishan sea caves; you could see the ocean, cliffs, and caves, and there were so many butterflies flying around. I even saw several wild monkeys!

This course allowed me to make many friends (both from USC and NSYU alike) who shared my interest in learning Chinese, and we also went on lots of field trips to places like Tainan, Sun Moon Lake, and Lukang -- we got to see so much of Taiwan in such a short amount of time. I also learned so much about Taiwanese history and culture from all of the guided trips and museums, which I was not that familiar with before.

If you are apprehensive about taking this course, don't be. It is such a great experience to be able to go abroad and study here for a month; the teachers, tutors, and staff are all so kind, friendly, and understanding. Going on this Maymester made me realize how I could actually use Chinese in my life and while travelling. Even if you don't need to take this class, I recommend going on it (if you have room) in order to understand why language learning is important for everyone. It will make you want to keep learning Chinese :)

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There's a lot of memorable moments to choose from, but I'd have to go with the small moments from just living in Taiwan. I loved being able to try new food and explore with my friends or even by myself. I absolutely loved shopping and seeing all the cute accessories I could buy. Both the tanghulu and the pig in the picture came from night markets! I'm coming back to LA with so many cute plushies, cute earrings, and really good fashion. I grew a lot in my confidence of solo traveling, since I would often go to malls or night markets on my own.

When speaking to the locals in Taiwan, it's also really apparent how friendly and kind Taiwan is to everybody. A highlight of my trip would be the random conversations with locals who would approach me while I was out shopping or exploring. They were super encouraging whenever I would speak Chinese! Although I still struggle a lot, I feel less stress about trying to be perfect. I found there was a great importance in simply trying to speak, and not necessarily speaking perfectly or understanding everything.

I'm going to miss Taiwan a lot!

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I think this whole experience was so amazing and really helped me be more confident in talking to strangers and choosing to go places by myself!

If I had to choose one moment that was the most memorable, it would definitely have to be our trip to Sun Moon Lake! It definitely hit all the points in terms of scenery, culture, entertainment, and food! It felt so early in the trip but left such a large impression, the first week really went by like a rollercoaster

Everything else was also really fun and just picking one really feels like a disservice to all our other events!

If you have any doubts on going, just do it! Everyone is super nice, from the people in Taiwan to the other USC students, the barriers you might anticipate really aren't a big deal at all and everyone helps you out to overcome them. You won't regret coming at all, and you'll definitely make memories that last for a lifetime!!

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I am so grateful for many things I got to experience for the first time in Taiwan! One moment was getting to learn to play Chinese Erhu from a music shopkeeper in the market we stopped at on the way back from Sun Moon Lake. The Erhu is a two stringed bowed instrument that is used in traditional and contemporary Chinese music. After learning some basic notes, I ended up purchasing an Erhu that I can't wait until I get back to this US to practice!

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My favorite trip during this Maymester was definitely Sun Moon Lake!!!!!!! The hotel we stayed at smelled so good and area surrounding it was super cool! I especially loved walking around in the mornings to pet the cats <3 Aside from Sun Moon Lake, I also loved eating at different restaurants around Kaohsiung (food here is SO cheap and it’s SO GOOD). Walking around the neighborhood—whether it’s visiting a night market or getting bread from PX Mart—is always so healing, and seeing different forms of art all throughout Kaohsiung really made me realize how different the culture in Kaohsiung is from LA. I also really enjoyed the cultural activities likes seal carving! Super fun! Yippee!

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My favorite part of this trip was definitely the trip to Sun Moon Lake! I loved the hotel so much and we did so many fun things near the area. I especially loved the bike ride around the lake (no picture of it though because I was struggling), it was super relaxing and it had some of the best views I've ever seen in my life.

I'm so grateful that I had this opportunity to visit Taiwan for the first time! I definitely want to come back and visit in the future. It was also very fun trying to speak Chinese with the locals. It was challenging at first, but the locals are very kind and open to letting you practice with them.

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I thought that this maymester was absolutely incredible. I feel like everyday there was new things to see and new places to go, and I could never get bored. Even though I have been in Taiwan before, this trip was a valuable and memorable experience because I got to learn so much more about the culture and places we’ve visited. From getting hot pot with the class, going to a capybara cafe, and watching the dragon boat festival, I had the most amazing time! Everyone is incredibly kind and always happy to support and help you out.

I think all the trips and activities we did were so much fun and I wouldn’t miss a single one. But I especially liked the Sun Moon Lake trip. The views were absolutely amazing there and they had so much to do that I wish I could spend a whole month there. I also really liked interacting with the students at NSYSU, they were all super nice and fun to talk to. The food here is also amazing, I have been getting 3 boba teas everyday.

If you have the chance to take this maymester, you should absolutely do it. It has been super awesome and memorable.

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I had genuinely so much fun in Taiwan from exploring the many attractions, trying new foods, and experiencing cultural activities that I wouldn't have had the chance to do otherwise (making mochi from scratch, making our own stamps, calligraphy, oyster fishing, rice dumpling 粽子 making, etc. etc.) This trip was such a perfect balance of school as well, and living here definitely motivates you to pay attention in class LOL. I would 100000% recommend doing the Maymester, not only do you get to visit Taiwan but you get to become close friends with so many people you wouldn't have otherwise normally have met and it makes for such a unique travel experience.