UBC GO GLOBAL CHIN234: LEARNING CHINESE IN A LIVING CLASSROOM IN TAIWAN
KAILEIGH CHOW
周嘉欣
ABOUT ME
My name is Kaileigh Chow. This year, I will be entering my 3rd year at UBC, studying Integrated Science with a focus on life sciences. I started learning Mandarin in my 2nd year at UBC and was so excited to participate in this program; I knew it would be a once in a lifetime experience to learn Mandarin and explore and experience Taiwan culture.
WHAT THIS PROGRAM BROUGHT ME
Participating in the “Learning Chinese in a Living Classroom in Taiwan” program has been a very rewarding experience. In addition to providing me with the opportunity to significantly improve my Mandarin skills, I have also gotten to experience Taiwanese culture and practice my Mandarin with many locals, taxi drivers, shop and restaurant owners and many more. It is a very useful to practice speaking and listening outside the structured lessons in the classroom, and test myself to construct sentences and use grammar in the “real world.” And I really surprised myself with how much I could say and express my thoughts and needs! It really tested me to put all of my skills together, grammar, vocabulary and critical thinking, to create phrases that would make sense and express myself properly.
LIVING EXPERIENCES:
师大 VS. UBC
MY LEARNING JOURNALS
WHAT I SEE IN TAIWAN
For my final vlog project, I chose to focus on exercise culture in Taiwan. Sport has always been a very important aspect of my life, so it was very exciting to have the opportunity to learn about and analyze exercise culture in Taipei compared to Vancouver.
EXPLORING TAIWAN
Practicum Day
The practicum trip was a very fun experience because we had the opportunity to use our Mandarin with locals in order to navigate the new place and ask questions when needed. The practicum trip was fun to have a carefree weekend and explore and enjoy Taiwan with a bit of a break from school. A highlight of the trip for sure was renting a scooter in Kenting and riding scooters around the island, while admiring the beautiful scenery.
我们去过高雄和垦丁，很好玩。我们看到很多名胜古迹，这些地方不但很漂亮，而且很酷。我们找到很好吃的饭馆让我们很高兴。来垦丁以前我们很怕是因为我们听说天气热死了，比台北的天气更热。可是我们来垦丁以后，觉得天气不舒服是不舒服，可是不太难受。我希望秋天再去几次，是因为高雄和垦丁都是很特别，很漂亮的地方。