Welcome | 歡迎

August 17, 2022

Hello friends, family, and potential anonymous readers! Welcome to my Taiwan travel blog. My hope is that this blog is a way to share stories from my travels with people that I love. It will also serve as a way for me to faithfully document my trip and preserve the most important memories during my time abroad.

This fall, I will be in Taipei studying at National Taiwan University. While I haven't solidified my classes yet, I am planning to take two Chinese classes, an economics class, a political science class, and an urban entomology (study of insects) class to fulfill a general education requirement at St. Olaf. I'm also hoping to get involved with a local church (please send any Taipei church connections) and participate in ICL, a program pairing international students with local elementary schools to help students learn and practice English. This program will give me a unique way to connect with local students, and some opportunities to travel around the island. I'm also hoping to have some opportunities to travel independently around the island. I'm not sure exactly where I'd like to go--there are so many incredible options. Ultimately, I'm hoping to get some recommendations from local students.

The two most common questions I've gotten recently are: what are you most excited about? and what are you most nervous about?

I'm definitely most excited for the food in Taiwan. The country is known for incredible cuisine, especially its street food. As a self-proclaimed bubble tea connoisseur, I'm also excited to finally visit the birthplace of bubble tea! I'm also thrilled at the opportunities I will have to continue to learn Chinese.

As for my fears, there is certainly a fear of loneliness. Between my communities at home and school, I am surrounded by an incredible network of friends (all of you!). I'll have two classmates from St. Olaf, but otherwise will be alone in a new country and tasked with building community.

As I prepare to embark on this amazing adventure, my hope is to stay connected with my community in the United States while also cultivating new relationships abroad. There's a few ways I would love to stay in touch. This blog is one of them! I'm also available by email (most reliably) and most WiFi-based messaging apps. I also love receiving mail, so if you're interested in writing me a letter, let me know and I will send you my address, and certainly write one back!

And finally, if praying is something you do, I have a few prayer requests. First, for safety as I travel. For safe flights, train rides, and walks around town, and safety in the region. Next, that I would be able to find community and be present within it. And finally, that I would have an open mind and heart to absorb all my experiences, positive and negative, and use them to have a better understanding of the world and my place in it.

I'm so excited to share my adventures here with you, and can't wait to see many of you when I return!