Pre-Departure

It is now exactly a week until I will leave for Taiwan to study abroad. It seems like a long time that I can’t actually believe its happening and I will be leaving for 3 months. It all started 2 years ago when a friend thought it would be a good idea to study Chinese because according to her teacher at the time, who would eventually become my teacher Chinese could be paired with any degree. Being an engineering student I didn’t believe it but I attended the class and thought it was interesting. So for the past 2 years I have been studying the Chinese Language in hopes of traveling abroad to gain the experience of living and learning in a different country. So now I am going to meet one of my friends that is already there studying the language.

When I first started studying this language to get better accustomed to hearing I was advised to listen to Chinese music and TV, so I decided to start with Taiwanese artists that sang in Chinese. At the time I thought it was weird listening to songs I couldn’t understand but once I listed to them enough I eventually picked up on some of their sayings. The same with TV but once I got out of the initial “this is weird” stage I began to accept that the shows were funny and helpful to learn how to pronounce words and how it was used in sentences. Now I even like to sing in the car to them!

Now looking back to what started this journey of me traveling abroad, I am glad I did not give up on something that I initially thought was unusual to study the Chinese language. But looking toward my coming adventure with packing and getting ready, I am feeling nervous and excited to travel somewhere I have never even thought of going before. I am also not exactly sure what to expect but I know it will be fun! I will miss my family but luckily there is skype so we can actually see and talk to each other!

More to come when I arrive in Taiwan!!