In this report, I share my experiences and adventures from my semester abroad at NTUST in Taipei and give some tips for students who also want to spend a semester in Taiwan. Since I had already spent a semester abroad during my bachelor's degree and had only good experiences, I wanted to take advantage of the opportunities to spend another semester abroad during my master's degree.
THE PREPARATION
The search for a suitable university or college was somewhat difficult, as there were only a few partner universities and colleges for my Degree programme that would have come into question. Starting in March, I started looking and finally chose the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (NTUST) in the capital Taipei, as it had the most courses that appealed to me and was the best fit for my e-business studies.
For the application some documents are necessary, so you have to deal with it some weeks or at best 2-3 months before the application deadline.
After the HS Niederrhein had reviewed the application documents and selected or nominated me, I was able to apply on the NTUST site in the online application system. For this application I also needed a Health Certificate, which was issued to me by a doctor. This is a certificate that I have, for example, the standard vaccinations, such as measles and rubella, and that I do not have tuberculosis. For the tuberculosis certificate, I had to see a radiologist who took an X-ray of my lungs. Not only the application itself is a longer process, but also the various vaccinations that my doctor recommended for Asia took about 4 weeks. I also got rabies, Japanese encephalitis, cholera, typhoid and polio vaccinations because I wanted to travel around Asia a bit after my semester abroad and play it safe. It was also practical and made sense, since my health insurance covered 90% of the vaccination costs (about 500€).
At the beginning of June, I finally got my acceptance for the semester abroad and I could take care of the final preparations, like booking a flight to Taipei, applying for a visa, taking out health insurance abroad.
I booked an AirBnB for the first week in Taipei with another student from the HS Niederrhein to look for an apartment on site. There are also many websites or Facebook groups where rooms are rented, but we were too suspicious, because the pictures can be many years old. We wanted to look at the rooms on site and then found a great shared apartment after 10 days, which we shared with two other Germans. In general, I can recommend living on the red or green MRT line (metro), as they are the best connection to NTUST and are close to the center.
THE SEMESTER
I landed in Taipei at the beginning of September and directly attended the orientation day, where all international students received valuable information about the university and Taiwan itself. At NTUST, the first two weeks of lectures are for orientation and course selection. You can register for courses online or attend courses you are interested in and then register for them. My course selection didn't go completely smoothly because some courses were already full or you need a code from the professor that allows you to register for the course online. I ended up taking the courses "The Strategy & Practice of International Corporate Merger & Acquisition", "Information Systems & Management" and "Social Science Research Methodologies".
The facilities at NTUST are not exceptional compared to the Hochschule Niederrhein, but there is everything you need. For the fact that NTUST is a "Technology & Science" university, I expected more extensive and modern equipment. Unlike at The Hochschule Niederrhein, and especially because many Asians speak very softly, most lecture rooms use microphones. The NTUST campus consists of the individual buildings of the various departments, as well as different small restaurants. There is also a 7-Eleven and some Taiwanese fast food chains on campus. In one of the cafeterias there are also various small food stalls, where every student can find something to his taste, for example dumplings, noodle soups, bubbletea or vegetarian buffets. At NTUST, you can spend a lot of time on campus and there are also enough retreats and seating areas for group work.
TAIWAN
When I came to Taiwan in September, the temperatures were very high. We had about 30 degrees with 80% humidity, which was a total change at first. However, as the semester progressed, the temperatures became more comfortable. In December, it even started to get cool. Due to the high humidity, the nightly 15 degrees felt more like 10 and since the buildings have no heaters, warm clothes were quite important. By the way, warm clothes are also important when touring Taiwan and hiking/driving up higher mountains.
Since my classes were on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, I usually had from Thursday to Sunday to explore the country. Whether going to the east to the beautiful Taroko National Park, to Sun Moon Lake in the center of Taiwan, to the north to swim in the ocean, or to the south to go to various small islands, every trip I took in Taiwan was worthwhile and like no other.
Short trips by plane to surrounding Asian countries like Japan or China are also quite possible for very little money. Of course, there is also an infinite amount to see within Taipei. Alone the countless night markets, which are open from the afternoon, are worth a visit. There you can find typical delicacies and you can try your way through different stalls, preferably in a group.
From Mango Shaved Ice, a super delicious and specially prepared ice cream dish, to traditional Bubble Tea or Stinky Tofu (I haven't tried it myself, as the stench is really off-putting), to Beef Noodles, everyone will find something to their liking. At first, you have to get used to the different and new smells that hit your nose from every street corner, but that is somehow part of the flair of a new culture.
One of the first things our landlord showed us was the garbage system in Taiwan. Each household is responsible for its own waste disposal and is also strictly controlled by the garbage collectors. Plastic and glass bottles, paper, plastic waste, organic waste and 'general waste', i.e. everything that does not fit into any of the other waste, is separated from each other. In the case of organic waste, there is a further separation between food waste, which is then sold to farms for their pigs, and actual organic waste, such as banana peels. In Taiwan itself, there are very, very few trash cans, and yet the country is cleaner than any other I have traveled. Everyone is very mindful of their waste and recycles dutifully, which I found really super.
The transportation system in Taiwan is very efficient. From express trains, sleeper buses, metro (MRT), regular trains and buses, as well as cheap cabs, to per-arrivals, everything is possible, although a metro network is only available in the two cities of Taipei (north) and Kaohsiung (south). In Taipei, it is also very popular to use the so-called 'Ubike' or 'YouBike', with which you can get from A to B quite comfortably and super cheaply. The stations of these bikes can usually be found at metro stations.
It always depends on your budget how fast you travel through Taiwan. For comparison, a trip from Taipei to Kaohsiung takes four to five hours by comfortable sleeper bus (and costs about 17€), while the express train can cover the same distance in about 90 minutes, but costs about 3x as much. In addition to these public transportation options, cabs can also be taken cheaply and Uber is also present in Taiwan.
The cost of living in Taiwan is comparable to Germany, but food (at least the 'western') is much more expensive. However, you can compensate these prices with the cheap food in Taiwanese restaurants and on the night markets. My rent for my shared room was a bit more expensive than in Germany, but it was worth it because I felt super comfortable. However, you can also find cheaper accommodations.
Before I started the semester abroad, I had hardly any expectations or demands on Taiwan, I just wanted to let the country come to me. Now I can say that I am very fascinated by the nature and the people. Taiwan is super green and even within the capital Taipei you are in a green oasis after a 20-minute metro ride. For me, the country felt like a small village because all the people are so warm and helpful and it didn't really feel "crowded" in any of the cities. I think I will miss the nature and the helpful and respectful mentality of the Taiwanese the most and hope that I can maintain this in Germany.
