2011-12 Student Photo Essays

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I immigrated to the U.S. when I was nine years old. I am one of five kids and most of my siblings are heading off to different locations of the world in search of their own life. I chose to study abroad in a place I've never been before—Taiwan.

I planned to study abroad from a young age. I chose Taiwan, a place full of Chinese culture and friendly people. I have met a lot of interesting people and have had a chance to live independently through this study abroad experience.

This is the Guo Qing dorm, where I stayed for two semesters. This dorm is mainly for international students and graduate students.

While exploring Taiwan, I noticed that there are a lot of temples.

There was a big Halloween party held at NTU. This was my first time going to a Halloween party and I saw lots of variety and creative ways people dress themselves up. While studying at NTU, one of my greatest experiences was meeting people from different backgrounds. I have met people from all over the world.

The Office of International Programs at NTU aims to help exchange students. Not only do they help us with academic problems, they also arrange trips for us! This is one of the trips I went on. This is Hualian, where we got to experience the life of Taiwanese aborigines, the Amis tribe.

We dressed up in traditional Amis outfits and learned their unique, joyful dances.

We also learned how to put together rooftops for traditional Amis houses and how to catch fish from the river. The next day, we got to ride bikes, and the guide showed us around the area. We got to explore the town's architecture and meet the local Amis aborigines.

The other trip I went on was to YingGe. YingGe is well known for pottery making. There were a lot of pottery shops in town. During my trip, we got to make our own pottery. Afterward, we visited a pottery museum. The picture is of one of the most famous landscapes in the area. There are huge pottery tools, dishes, bowls, and a gigantic pottery sculpture.

I did travel to some places on my own. This place is called JiuFeng. It was full of vintage shops and made me feel like I was lost in time.

Furthermore, I went to MiaoLi to see a very large-scale chrysanthemum plantation. The area is mesmerizing. Additionally, there are a lot of Hakka people who live in the area; they make up to almost 65% of the local population.

Additionally, I went to DanShui. The place is famous for its old-street and the fisherman's wharf. The old-street in Danshui is very interesting. There are a lot of interesting stores and souvenir shops. There is a beautiful bridge in fisherman's wharf called the Lover's Bridge. The atmosphere in the fisherman's wharf is very slow-paced and laid back. You can see a lot of street performances as well.