Goodbye Taiwan

Traveling in Taiwan was quite an experience; I can only imagine what studying abroad there would be like. Our first stop was Hsinchu, where National Chiao Tung University (NCTU) is located. NCTU is particularly strong in Electrical Engineering and they have an impressive research facility, National Nano Device Laboratories. Their campus seemed industrial— the dormitories could easily be compared in appearance to office buildings. The students we met were very friendly and they will be studying at UIUC next semester. I would not be surprised to find that the friendships we formed with them turn out to be long lasting. When we were not exploring Hsinchu, attending classes, or going on tours, we stayed in the nearby Guest House; the accommodations were simple but comfortable.

After spending a few days at NCTU, we traveled to Taiwan’s capital city— Taipei. We visited the nearby National Taiwan University (NTU), which has a reputation as the best university in Taiwan. Their Electrical Engineering is also very strong and they are ranked first in many areas of engineering. NTU’s campus is surprisingly quiet for being so deep into Taipei and there seems like there is a lot to do. The buildings at NTU are much older than those at NCTU since NTU is over one hundred years old. It is unfortunate that we did not have more time to get to know the NTU students; we did not have that much time to spend with them.

My impressions of both universities were good. One thing that appeals about NCTU is that it is located in a Science Park, which is a grouping of many companies. A study abroad program to NCTU second semester would lead into an internship at one of those companies over the summer; I think the internship would be both a unique and valuable experience.

The most memorable moments I have from Taiwan took place in the night markets. As I understand it, there are several night markets in the Taipei area. A night market in Taiwan consists of alleyways filled with vendors peddling their goods, small restaurants, and hundreds of customers. The first night we went was January 1^st, which is a national holiday in Taiwan. Consequently, the night market was packed. A few other students and I made our way through the crowd, stopping several times to buy some of the local specialties from food carts. I spent around one US dollar for more food than I could eat. It is incredible to see so many people in one place. What was more surprising was how good the food was; I felt like I was experiencing an important part of Taiwanese culture.

That is about all for Taiwan. Now we are in Hong Kong and we will visit the first of two universities here tomorrow.

P.S. Here is a slide show of a few temples that we visited.