Abby Shitara put her language knowledge to the test while studying and living in Taiwan for a year. Through her experience abroad, this finance and comparative cultural studies senior not only learned about her host country but also shared cultural notes with friends she met from all over the world. Learn what her favorite Taiwanese dish was and how this experience opened her eyes to new possibilities.
What class(es) or research did you complete while abroad and for how long?
In my first semester, I took regular classes through my school abroad. I took two Chinese classes, an intensive Chinese learning course and a regular level 2 Chinese class, as well as a culture class on Taiwanese cinema. I also took Buddhist art and global engagement classes online through NAU. For the second semester, I did a total of 540 internship hours at a company in Taiwan as a global sales manager’s assistant and took a comparative cultural studies capstone course online through NAU.
How did you fund your study abroad experience?
Living in Taiwan is much cheaper than living in Flagstaff. I lived off campus for my second semester abroad, and my rent for half a year in Taiwan was equivalent to about one month of rent in Flagstaff. Meals there were relatively cheaper as well. The scholarship through NAU and federal grants helped a lot during my year abroad. I also worked and saved money before going abroad and received support from my family.
Where did you study and why did you choose this country for your study abroad program?
I studied abroad at National Central University (NCU) in Taiwan for one year through the Interdisciplinary Global Program (IGP) at NAU. I chose the school because it was recommended by my program and was compatible with my major. I wanted to study Chinese because I thought that learning a new language would open possibilities in my future work options, especially with my business degree. I was also interested in Taiwanese culture and excited to go to a place I’ve never been to before.
What was your language-learning process? Can you tell us about a humorous language-related situation you encountered?
Although I studied Chinese at NAU before going abroad, Taiwan uses the traditional style of writing for its words, while I learned the simplified version at NAU. They also have a mild accent compared to what I was used to. For my case, I chose to take an easier Chinese class to get used to the traditional characters while I was abroad. Other than that, I also learned a lot from speaking to the local people and writing down anything new so that I could look back on them later to practice. One situation I had was that the pronunciation of the words “is” and “four” is similar because of the accent, and I had trouble telling the difference on some occasions, especially when paying at stores.
Tell us about your favorite—and/or least favorite—dish abroad.
One of my favorite dishes I had in Taiwan was beef noodles. It is a traditional and popular dish in Taiwan, and you can find it almost anywhere. The beef in the soup is very tender, and the flavor is good as well. I would go to many beef noodle restaurants with my friend to try out different stores. One regret is that I found my favorite beef noodle shop only about two months before I had to leave, which I wish I had found sooner.
How has this study abroad experience influenced your personal, academic and career goals? Has it opened up new possibilities or changed your direction?
I always wanted to work internationally using my business degree, but after experiencing study abroad, it became more prominent. I feel like the actual experience of studying abroad and experiencing life there and doing an internship abroad lets me gain the feeling of what it actually will be like working and living abroad. Communicating to people and experiencing the different cultures also contribute to that as well. This made me more excited about my possibilities in my career, and I am currently looking toward studying for my master’s to get closer to my goals.
Has this experience changed any of your personal beliefs or values?
I did experience many different cultures and beliefs while studying abroad, not only from the local Taiwanese people and their culture, but also from the other students I met that went to study abroad in Taiwan from different countries. We exchanged our beliefs and cultures in our native countries, and I learned a lot from the friends I made abroad. From this, I re-realized that people’s norms and beliefs aren’t the same even when they can be similar; when diving deeper, they could be very different. After experiencing this, it made me want to learn more about the different ways of seeing and taking in various cultures and norms.