A:Yes, I have experienced a lot of culture shock especially the first 2 months. Everything is different, such as the way of living, nature, food, the way people act and the language. I knew it was going to be difficult but I knew I could handle it. This was also a reason for my exchange. Before going to Taiwan, I prepared harder than the other countries I could choose from. This is especially because of the language barrier. Mandarin Chinese being so different from what I know makes it much harder to learn. I believe there are several reasons for this. For example, the word doesn’t sound anything like other languages that I know. I think if you are from any part of Asia and start studying Chinese, it will be easier for you than if you are from Western countries. It's the same if I want to learn Finnish or Swedish, it will be easier for me because it sounds like what I'm used to. However, these are all bad excuses, and I believe I can still learn Chinese well!