My Taiwan Experience

Participating in Belen’s foreign exchange program was amazing. I first heard about it from Mr. Cleveland and decided to do it on a whim, and I am so glad that I did. Being a host family in February was an incredible experience; talking to someone from a foreign country about their lives and culture and how it was different from the typical Miami experience was extremely fun. I learned about the differences in our diet and that their religious practices differ from ours. From that experience, I understood that people can be connected no matter the distance/time difference as I still talk and text him and his friends regularly and I consider him a brother.

When it was my turn to go to Taiwan during our Easter break, I truly saw how different everything was. Everything was condensed in Taipei as if the entire city was an unending sea of buildings and apartments. One of the best days was visiting a Buddhist-Daoist temple inside a night market. It was three stories and showed altars of their respective gods, however, it felt peaceful and tranquil even though there was a decently sized crowd at the entrance. We visited national Parks and went through a miniature cave that had waterfalls. Being fully immersed in a different place and language was an exciting and educational experience. What stood out to me and the other students who went with me was how kind and caring these people were. Strangers would help me when I got lost or lost an important item. The biggest challenge was traversing the language barrier, as I didn’t know how to speak Mandarin. Fortunately for me, everyone there was extremely supportive and helped me learn and communicate. 

Overall, my stay was extremely fun, and I encourage anyone to give the program a chance and experience a completely different culture and language. Click here to see the photo album. For more information on the exchange program, please contact Ms. Grace Chuang at gchuang@belenjesuit.org.