A VERY WARM WELCOME!
Wow, it’s been a crazy week. When I first got off the plane, I felt the rush of hot steam hit and that was when I knew, we landed in Taiwan! I arrived around 4 am and I called my parents with the WhatsAPP on the phone (Thank goodness for free wifi!). None of the buses were leaving the airport until 6:30 am so I had some time to kill…except, there was nothing open in the airport. I wandered around and this security guard stopped me because she thought I was lost since I passed her around seven-ish times. We had a nice chat and she welcome me back to my home roots of Taiwan.
I was to meet the organizers of the trip in Taipei at the Train Station. The airport is located 3 hours away by bus, but it was a direct route. I am a pretty clueless person with directions though and I ended up getting off the wrong stop. Imagine- a 5’1 girl with two super giant suitcases, wandering around the big city of Taipei. I found their subway station, which the locals refer to as the MRT or 台北車站 and a few nice locals stopped to help direct me to where I needed to go. I was waiting in line with a couple elderly Taiwanese ladies and they were chatting with me- asking me why I was travelling alone, how I had so much stuff and they were simply impressed that I was from Canada. They walked me to the drop-off location because they were worried that I would get lost. I found this gesture very thoughtful and kind-as they had just met me! I met my orientation staff leader and I was on my way to Orientation at our host, Shih Chien University!
There were around 300 interns from all over the world ranging from South Africa to Canada, but dominantly from the United States of America. We were randomized into groups that had around 10 in each, and sorted onto buses according to our group letter. Many individuals were like me- we knew no one and we had no clue what we were getting into so we bonded quite well over the orientation week.
TTT provided us with a grand opening ceremony where they had students perform magic, dance talent, cultural aspects of Taiwan. During the entire week- they brought us on a sightseeing tour of Taiwan. We had keynote speeches from professors and deputy ministries; thankfully it was in English so we could all comprehend! I remember a talk from Professor Nora Chiang, from National Taipei University. She was a dynamic speaker that touched on Astronaut Families, immigrants, etc. She looked into how immigrants settled in other countries. I found that her lecture related towards what my parents went and currently still go through. I am definitely excited to connect with her in the duration of the internship!
It was not only a fun but also educational orientation sightseeing tour. We went to Taichung, Taoyuan, Lugang, Yunlin, and many other cities in Taiwan. We visited the National Canter for High-performance computing, SolarFarm Coporation, different university campuses to learn about the Ministry of Science and Technology in Taiwan. They taught us what innovative technology they were using and we got to check out what devices are in place to protect the island during earthquakes and typhoons that occur on a common basis. TTT also took us to areas that we could learn about the history of Taiwan at Lukang Old Street, the famous Sun-Moon-Lake, Shuili Snake Kiln, Gwanhsing Paper Factory, Beipu Old Street and Long-teng Bridge.
On the last day, each bus had to perform together. The difference from the dynamic of our first day to the last was ever-changing. We went from strangers to close friends and the last night, we all spent goofing together, creating dance routines and skits that we showcased to the other interns. Our orientation staff leaders were amazing and they were students from the original host university, Shih Chien University. My group leader was Christine and she spent so much time making sure we felt welcomed! She was more than just a student volunteering her time to us, she was our friend. She tried very hard to make sure we were fed, awake, pumped up and having fun. When we all departed (as not all the interns were in the same locations), our group bus had a sad farewell but I am super excited to move to Taipei and get the internship going!
Note: These photos were not all taken by me!
