Two months in Taiwan

Hello Everyone, welcome, welcome back and 歡迎

I moved to Taiwan August 15th 2025 and now that I feel completely settled I can tell you what it has been like and what I have observed so far! I am still just a newbie and there are many things I still have to experience but I wanted to make a list of my observations and tell some stories.

Thank you everyone back home for the support and encouragement to go abroad for my masters. I can't stop going on adventures it seems. If you don't know me, I am getting my masters at National Tsing Hua University in Hsinchu Taiwan. My department Taipei School of Economics has a great international staff and student body with many scholarships!

1. People In Taiwan are so nice and helpful

   I have felt so at home and smiling at so many interactions that I have had. The local breakfast place Charlie and I frequent know us well. I've been greeted by multiple aunties and uncles and talked to about where I'm from and welcome to Taiwan at least 2 times a week. The guard of our building always greets me in Chinese, saying hi and bye as I come and go. She's got my back.

2. I don't use Chinese as much as I thought I would, and that's good and bad

It is way easier to get around than I thought, menus in english, many people speak to me right away in english so I don't have to struggle BUT I wanted to be able to practice my chinese speaking and sometimes when people go english right away I also get lazy and speak english. I am in Basic Mandarin now and improving day by day. I can recognize more characters, introduce myself, and discuss my likes, dislikes, and hobbies. I really enjoy learning Mandarin. I think it's also easy to see my progress, which makes me feel accomplished.

3. The food is great, but way less spicy than I imagined

As all my Asian experience has been in Korea and Thailand, two of the spiciest cuisines in Asia, I imagined Taiwan would be the same. I actually find the food that is labeled spicy to be lacking in spice. Lots of foods are herby with rich, earthy flavors or sweet. A lot of things are sweet. The sesame paste noodles are my favorite because they taste like peanut butter Asian noodles. We also love the great soup noodles and dumplings. Oh my, we eat at least 40 dumplings per week!

4. Public transport is so nice but not as good as it was elsewhere

I love taking a nice bus around town or trains over the country. So far, Charlie and I have made a few weekend trips, and the train system is absolutely amazing and fast. We are only 15 minutes from the train station, so it is easy to get around the island. Getting around Hsinchu is another story. Most of the buses are once per hour and don't show up when Google says they will. You can use this other bus tracker app, but it's not as user-friendly. To get the most accurate information, you'll need to use Google Maps and the app together to find out which bus you need and when it's actually arriving. Overall, I am able to get around really fine, but sometimes I wish I had a scooter so I could go to more off-the-beaten-path areas.

5. For being a big city, there is a lot of green

   I love the abundance of nature around, including parks, trees, and even the potted plants that everyone seems to have on their balconies. There are life and plant lovers all around. Many alleys, instead of being covered in trash and dark and scary, are lined with families' outdoor plants.

6. Mornings are not alive

If you want to be a morning person in Taiwan, you have a bit of trouble. I am a morning person, I like to go places before they are busy and walk around in the chill of morning. In Taiwan, I have yet to find places truly open before 10 or even 12. Of course groceries open at 9 or 10 and there are amazing breakfast places around the country that feed all the workers that open at 4 am. But these aren't places one can just hang out in, or are quick stops. I was imagining a cafe that opens at 7 am to study before noon, but I have found absolutely zero cafes open before 10 am. Surprisingly most coffee places seem to be for afternoon or even dinner coffee breaks which really surprised me! Maybe it's my location, but I also struggled with this in Taipei.

Overall...

I am loving it here in Taiwan. It's been a rainy week, and the temperature has dropped quite a bit. I am participating more at school, you are looking at the new Junior Student Council Rep for TSE!!! Moving here was good for me as I expand my knowledge and feel like I'm finally becoming an adult.

Check out my blogs in the next few weeks as I am going on some hiking trips in Maoli County.