Reminiscing on the last 6 Months

Samantha gave me the idea about two months ago to write a post about how I think Taiwan has changed me. I shared a bit with her at that time, but I'll share the rest with you guys here.

Before I came to Taiwan, I was someone who found it hard to open himself up to other people. I remember how much I had to force myself to talk to those around me because I knew that if I didn't, it would only make it harder for me to grow closer to these people. But as I made more and more friends in Taiwan, I slowly began to change as well. I feel like most of the people I met on this half-year journey were vital in making this happen, so I'm really thankful to all of you guys :).

As most of you guys know, I've also done quite a bit of traveling in the past half-year. It was a new experience for me, but it has taught me so much on how to prepare for future excursions. Although time consuming, I've learned how to prepare an itinerary (because I was terrible at doing it before). Also, I finally discovered that something called Airbnb existed and decided to use it to save money (and meet new people). After going to Korea, Japan, Penghu, and Canada, I can honestly say that I enjoy travelling a little too much now. Time to travel the world!

My Chinese has improved! I would've felt like crap if I had known that living in Taiwan for 5 months did nothing for my Chinese. I noticed how much easier it is to talk to my parents in Chinese now (without making the same grammar mistakes as I did before). It's still far from perfect, so I'll be taking more Chinese courses at UCSB over the summer! 希望會幫助。

I can't say that going to Taiwan has taught me to be a better student because I know it isn't true. But there is a possibility that it might have changed me for the future... We'll have to wait and see about that. Haha!

I think that is pretty much it! I've definitely had my ups and downs throughout the semester, but I overcame them with the help of my friends and family. Thanks guys!

-Jeffjeff