Delivered at Taiwan Scholarship Farewell Party 2011
Adriana S. King （金艾潔）
MingChuan University （銘傳大學）
St Vincent and the Grenadines (聖文森和格林納丁)
MingChuan University （銘傳大學）
St Vincent and the Grenadines (聖文森和格林納丁)
My first year in Taiwan was spent learning Mandarin Chinese at The Mandarin Training Centre in Shida, and this was not an easy task. For many of us this initial period was filled with long days listening, writing and reading Mandarin Chinese and of course the anxiety that we were going to lose our stipend. However, I am sure that that those of us who studied Mandarin, can all recall that first moment when we were able to eavesdrop on a conversation; for me, it was that moment of clarity that gave me the confidence that I would actually survive my first year in MTC.
As my Mandarin improved I became bolder and I began delving deeper into the culture of Taiwan. I began trying new foods, as I was armed with the phrases “Wo bu neng chi zhu rou” (I cannot eat pork) and “Wo3 dui4 cao3 mei2 guo4min3” (I am allergic to strawberries) . I soon fell in love with stinky tofu this confused my roommate Vikki greatly but it is still one of my favourite dishes here. I have been fortunate enough to experience many of Taiwan’s beautiful festivals, the lantern festival, the dragon boat festival and thanks to my classmate Jelly traditional Chinese New Year activities. As much as I enjoyed learning about Taiwan I tried always to share whatever I could of my country with my local friends and I am quite pleased to say there are now a few Taiwanese walking around referring to themselves as Vincentians.
I knew that coming to Taiwan would be a beautiful experience but nothing I could have imagined was comparable to what I actually met here. Despite the odd stares on the trains or on the street I have never felt safer in any country. I have met friends from around the world. I have been blessed with lecturers at Ming Chuan University who did their very best to ensure that my classmates and I were comfortable, in every sense, in fact one of my lecturers Dr. Rolando Chang acted as a chauffeur taking two classmates and me to class in Taoyuan for an entire semester. Thank you Dr Chang.
Amongst us foreigners there is a common phrase “Taiwan is the land of good byes”, however you can never truly say good bye to a place that would forever be in your heart. So, now as I say “see you later” to Taiwan, I must also say thank you. First of all to the people and government of Taiwan for granting us the opportunity to study and to grow here and then to the staff of our various Universities who would have helped us along the way. To you my fellow scholarship recipients I say; “job well done”, our faces are all different but we came here with a common purpose and have succeeded.
Ni men Jia you! (Good luck)
A video of my presentation (please excuse the grammar point error)
A video of my presentation (please excuse the grammar point error)
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