CET Taiwan Fall 2023

There are a lot of reasons that my semester with CET in Taipei was an awesome experience. CET does a really good job of encouraging you to immerse as much as possible in the local community (like the language partner program, local roommates cultural reimbursements, travel reimbursements, organized programs, etc) while also providing a lot of support and planning for you (housing, orientation, metro pass, programs, etc). While being in a language study program does mean you spend a lot of your time in class with other study abroad students and not locals, having local roommates and built in language partner program was a really unique chance to make connections and friendships with local students, and definitely helps to balance out the bubble of only hanging out with other Americans that can be an easy routine to fall into. In terms of location, Taipei is such a great city to live in and there are endless things to do for whatever you love; amazing hiking and nature, BIKING!!, history and museums, night life and night markets, sports culture, etc, all easily reachable by the safe and accessible public transit systems. The food I ate during my semester abroad is by far the best food I've ever eaten, and also the cheapest.
The academic culture of this program and Taiwan in general should definitely be considered before coming. There is a heavy focus on academics and you will be spending a lot of time in class and studying outside of class. While it is an adjustment to make, I think it is overall a good opportunity to learn how to prioritize time management, because you will have to put in effort to make time for all of the things you want to do/explore.
Looking back, my favorite things about Taipei became the routines I created for myself. The riverside bike path that runs all around the city is extremely lively all afternoon and night, and realizing that going on nighttime runs was something that was safe to do in Taiwan was a game changer for me: this little routine became one of my favorite things to do after my busy days of class and interning, and is one of the places I'll miss the most. Finding a nearby food alley in the neighborhood my apartment was in also became a part of the daily routine, and becoming friendly with the owners of my go-to breakfast street cart or braised pork restaurant really contributed to the sense of home in the corner of Taipei that I lived in.
Traveling all over Taiwan was undoubtably a huge highlight of this semester as well. The HSR and train systems make going virtually anywhere in Taiwan really easy as well as affordable. My favorite part of traveling in Taiwan is that Taiwan is not a major international tourist hub, and so traveling within the country was a really cool way to get a sense of the different local indigenous and regional culture. One of my favorite trips was over Mid-Autumn Festival, when my roommates and myself visited family of one of my roommates in Chang-hua (a small rural city). We were able to stay with her Taiwanese cousins and celebrate moon festival and barbecue with them.
These are just a few of my biggest takeaways from my semester abroad. I am so grateful for the three months I got to spend in Taipei, and know that it is a place I want to be a part of my life in the future.