Erik Reyna: Abroad in Taiwan
An Unforgettable Experience
Taiwan Pride 同志游行
Photo of me with two drag queens, the pride parade is happening in the background! - October 30th, 2022
Photo Description: Threeshot photo of three people, I'm in the middle, wearing white long sleeved sweater and am wearing a colorful black and rainbow scarf. Both of the drag queens are wearing denim inspired attire. The one standing to my left is wearing a straight red wig and red sleeves. The one to the right is wearing a bright orange long curly haired wig.
Photo of me with two gorgeous men! One has black wings with a sign saying "浮勞爾" - October 30th, 2022
Photo description: I am wearing the same outfit as the first photo. Both guys are shirtless showing off their fit musculature, the one on the left is wearing black jeans, a white cap, and has a black mask on, and the one on the right is wearing black angel wings, leather suspenders, and boots.
Photo taken on the Formosa Pride Party that happened the night of the Taiwan Pride Parade! Here is a picture of me and one of the dancing performers at the show! - October 30th, 2022
Photo description: I am inside a dark club setting with bright lights flashing around me. I am posing with a gogo boy, gogo boys perform half naked and are dance performers. The one I'm posing with is wearing black briefs and has sunglasses on.
The time that I spent in Taiwan is completely unforgettable and I won’t exaggerate when I say it was one of the best experiences I’ve had so far in my lifetime. I highly recommend anyone to study abroad whenever they get the chance to do so. I lived in Taiwan last year from May to December and I honestly wish I could have stayed longer. I’ve also made most of my friends who were outside the program I was a part of. During the summer semester, I mostly spent my time adjusting to the new lifestyle, and I have to say I didn’t experience any homesickness or culture shock. To put it simply, you can legitimately order out to eat or go to a high-quality restaurant at nighttime. There’s no tipping culture on top of the already much lower food prices. I was unaffected by the American inflation while abroad, in fact, it helped me more. There are also public bikes you can borrow to go anywhere in the city for a few cents, or you can just use the MRT (metro subway) system, which is clean, air-conditioned, and has barriers between the train and people in line, aka way better than NYC’s subway system.
I kind of felt like this was my second home away from home. I started to feel more comfortable and belonging in Taiwan during my fall semester when a very close friend I made introduced me to Taiwan’s gay nightlife. In October of 2022, I participated in the Taiwan Gay Pride festival. If I’m being honest, the event wasn’t as fun as I anticipated due to the rain. Imagine being in a crowded area PLUS every person has an umbrella. Not a fun combination. However, the Formosa Pride party that happened the night of pride was one of the best. Similarly, I was able to go to Thailand for a week to attend the 2022 Asian Circuit Festival which was AMAZING! A Circuit Festival is essentially a huge gay event filled with parties every day, and… most of the attendees that go there are attractive guys! Many famous male models and influencers also go to this event!
December 2022 hit and it was my last month in Taiwan. Not going to lie I was kind of dreading going back home because I knew it wouldn’t be until a while for me to have this much fun again. I was the truest self I’ve ever been abroad, with a few nice and understanding friends surrounding me. Always try to make a genuine connection with people, because basically, 9/10 fun experiences I had in Taiwan were because of a close friend that introduced it all to me. I love Taiwan so much that I can’t wait to be back there again this summer and see all the people I admire!
Group photo of me, my language partner to my left, and my fellow study abroad program peers from CET! We were at a fancy high mountain restuarant called Dragon Inn! - November 18th, 2022
Phot description: The background consists of a grey cloudy nightsky, everyone in the group is posing outside a patio area, the mountains appear black and you can see the distant city lights in the horizon. I am posing with five other girls. I am in the middle back of the photo and my language parter is to the left of me.
I attended a sponsored event by a Taiwanese underwear company B.Y.O. featuring two models, we all had lunch and played some fun spicy games! - September 17th, 2022
Photo description: This is a large group photo, you can distinguish me as the only foreigner on the left side of this photo, I am wearing a navy blue University of Michigan shirt and next to me is a shirtless model with a tattoo on his right arm. There are only two models in this photo. The rest are all attendees.
~ Detour in Thailand ~
I arrived at The Zign Hotel, located in the famous beach city Pattaya, Thailand! The 2022 Asian Circuit Festival event was being hosted there! I was super amped for this once-a-year gay-friendly international party! - October 7th, 2022
Photo description: I am posing in front of a huge poster. I'm wearing a gold sequin Sunday shirt and black pants. THe background is a large photo of the Zign Hotel, with a beach on the left side, adn two half naked male models on the right side, both wearing red speedos.
Photo of me with someone I met at the festival. We took a picture at a waterfall near the hotel! - October 8th, 2022
Photo description: Me and another guy are posing on top of a mini waterfall. I am wearing a bright blue Hawaiian shirt and swimming trunks, the guy is wearing a bright yellow speedo and black and yellow matching sunglasses.
Picture of me with one of the performers of the Asian Circuit Festival! - October 9th, 2022
Photo description: I am outside on the beach at night, I am wearing a salamander shirt with dark blue jeans and I am posing with a model and dance performer. He is wearing a greek inspired outfit, he has a set of white wings on his head and a white loincloth style underwear piece.
Photo of me at the Taiwan Airport with two mascots, celebrating the first flight of tourists who arrived when COVID policies were lifted - October 12th, 2022
Photo description: I am at the airport posing with two mascots. They are both shorter than me as I have both of my palms laying on their heads. They are both enthusiatically putting their arms up. The left mascot is an orange tiger and the right mascot is a black bear ewith a big orange T on it's belly. They both look like cute huggale plushies!
Erik Reyna
B.A. | College of Literature, Science, and the Arts
University of Michigan Class of 2023