Yina Xu
Prime Minister’s Scholarship for Asia, Chinese Language Study Abroad
Introduction
Kia Ora,
My name is Yina, and I have just finished my four-year conjoint degree in Commerce and Global Studies, majoring in Management, Economics, and International Relations and Business at the University of Auckland.
As part of Global Studies, I had the opportunity to pick a language to learn, and I naturally chose Mandarin Chinese! While I have an extensive informal background in learning Chinese, being of Chinese heritage, through my degree, I was able to undertake some formal language study.
This Chinese language study abroad programme in Taiwan is somewhat the perfect end to my university life by allowing me to immerse myself in a Chinese learning environment, experience the local culture, make memories with fellow students, and help make up for missing out on a previous exchange due to the pandemic. I hope to make the most of the few weeks here in Taiwan by trying as many new things as I can, and I am most looking forward to all the food and, of course, bubble tea!
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Chapter Two: Dorm Life, Uni Life, Shopping Life
After being used to single rooms, living in a dorm with someone else has been a new experience. I am grateful to have a great roommate (shout out to Tessa), and so far so good! The first good thing about moving into the school dorms was finally being able to wash clothes, especially because it…Continue…
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Chapter One: 8,765 km (continued)
Part Three: The Purpose Being a language exchange, we of course have Chinese language classes at National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), Chinese Language Center (成功大學華語中心). I was originally placed in H class based on a test done prior when I was still in NZ, but after discussing with the teacher, I decided to move down…Continue…
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Chapter One: 8,765 km
Part One: The Journey The toughest decision to make: what to pack and bring to Tainan, Taiwan? The first thing I did was check the weather, to which I was surprised to realise the beginning of winter in Tainan is like summer in NZ, sunny and reaching highs of 25°C. Naturally, I packed with that…Continue…