Bumping this thread. I'll spend the summer there and I'm also curious about opinions.

>>1120462
Which school, OP?

Do you have any specific questions?

>>1120462
I spent a month there last year, and will be returning soon

if I could ask some advice from knowledgeable anons in terms of applying for scholarships such as: what kind of criteria would they select me on? I already speak 3 languages and am intermediate in chinese, would I demonstrate my ability via the HSK in order to win a scholarship? is that the only way? the application criteria doesn't mention the HSK at all.

as for OP, they're probably the most english fluent region in east asia. that doesn't mean most of them can do more than their job though. there are a fair amount of expats, but as with the rest of asia, ther's a stark divide between the bankers and the losers. they're probably the most friendly/outgoing as well. it's like a mini-japan, although suburbs can still be a bit commiebloc and rural areas are not as nice as europe.

the nightlife is decidedly east asian in flavor. they're still not as outgoing as euros, and only a "bad" girl goes out clubbing/drinking. so a lot of people are effected by how "closed" they are. to get the most out of social life you do need mandarin, hokkien, etc.

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>>1121646
>if I could ask some advice from knowledgeable anons in terms of applying for scholarships such as: what kind of criteria would they select me on? I already speak 3 languages and am intermediate in chinese, would I demonstrate my ability via the HSK in order to win a scholarship? is that the only way? the application criteria doesn't mention the HSK at all.

You mean to a specific school or one of the national scholarships (by the MOE)? If you mean by school, each program will probably have its own criteria, so it's hard for anyone to say.

OP, get ready to see one of these every 50 feet.

>>1121655
I was going to apply for the national scholarships first. I'm still debating studying language at university vs. an intensive immersion school. the immersion schools are xpensive, but if I get a national scholarship it would be best, I think. university classes move slowly and focus on literacy, rather than speaking proficiency.

if anyone knows about the selection criteria, I'd be very grateful. I'd prefer to maximize my chances if I could, and I'm a standout in this category, so I'd just like to know how I'm suposed to convey that.

>>1120462
English is really good. Youth culture depends on the crowd and the school. Shit schools have more party kids and sluts. The good schools are mostly goodie two shoes with some exceptions. You can find stuff to do but for more "rebelious" stuff find expats or more international minded taiwanese.

>>1121646
Depends on which scholarship. The big government ones are the Huayu Language one and the Taiwan Scholarship. Huayu is for anyone that wants to learn Chinese at a university. Generally lasts from 3 months to a full year. Taiwan Scholarship is to pursue undergrad or grad studies. It comps tuition and you get a stipend.

This is Taiwan, they don't do the HSK, they do the TOCFL. It's a separate Chinese test. In terms of getting the scholarships just have a decent resume and you're almost guaranteed for either. Most people go to Mainland China so in a lot of places they struggle to fill scholarship spots.

Regarding universities themselves, if it's an English taught program usually no TOCFL requirement, if it's Chinese taught I think usually they require at least a level 4. Not sure if you can sub the HSK or whatever for it.

>>1121665
Go to a university to learn chinese and supplement for speaking by joining clubs, making friends, getting a girlfriend or whatever. Maybe do Huayu first to do just Chinese for a year then apply and do the Taiwan scholarship. The people at the various embassies allocate scholarships from their education department, if you do well with the Huayu they'll remember you and fast track you for a Taiwan scholarship. Selection criteria is basically do well academically and show a real interest in Taiwan and Taiwanese culture.

>>1121665
Also, to clarify regarding learning Chinese. The best schools are NTNU, NCCU, and NTU. NTU has two options, the Chinese language division and ICLP. ICLP is a separate crazy immersion program, super intense and super expensive. It kind of ruins the experience because it's so intense, but you'll see results.

At the other schools you'll be in a class of 5-10 and go through the usual textbook for about 3 hours a day plus homework. All schools will involve writing and reading to varying degrees, that's a good thing. If you can't read and write(type) you don't actually know Chinese. They all move reasonably quickly.

For people coming to Taiwan to study Chinese I don't recommend the private schools, they're usually crap and the classmates are not on the same level. I usually suggest attending the normal 3 hour class, studying the reading and writing a lot in class and an hour or two a day after class, and then using your free time to speak as much as possible.

Plenty of people will claim they speak decent Chinese but learning from the textbooks and using those patterns and proper grammar in conversation will make you a better and more respected speaker compared to someone who only speaks casual bar/nightclub Chinese. Don't discount literacy, you'll end up wasting an opportunity if you don't put some effort into learning proper grammar, composition, etc. Also, when you do talk to girls, they'll be a lot more impressed if you speak like an adult when most of your peers will be the opposite.

>>1121688
I already graduated, so I'd either be applying to an undergrad program a second time or... I'm not sure.

I graduated with excellent grades, but never took a chinese class.

what do you mean by resume? I barely have any work experience. my main strength is that I learn languages incredibly fast. I'm not sure having straight A's is quite representative of just how fast I learn.

I suppose I could apply primarily for the taiwan scholarship for graduate study, and pursue chinese study at the same time.

I'm still curious what they look for. I have a feeling they don't weight extracurriculars as heavily as in the west. I have a HUEG GRE score, if they care, and nearly perfect grades.

I'm massively interested in chinese/taiwanese culture, and I was planning on basing my essay around that. should I base the essay around buttkissing or the topic of research I'm interested in doing?

thank you so much, by the way

>>1121693
You sound like you're on the right track, bro. I recommend the Taiwan scholarship for a grad program. Check out your Taiwan Embassies website, for example tw.org etc. You would apply next year for that scholarship, they finish applications in March I think. They also have the application form up on the websites as well. It's a really simple app and you also need a couple letters of rec. Maybe talk to your letter writers and let them know how you feel about Taiwan. Try and talk about why you are interested in Taiwanese culture in particular, don't mention Chinese culture as much hahaha. Also, consider attending their embassies activities and such so you can meet the people that work at the embassy. If they know you by face they'll definitely be nicer during the application process.

>>1121704
>Embassies

You mean "Economic and Cultural Representative Offices" ;)

>>1121704
okay, I guess I'll aim for that and ICLP, if I can apply for both.

what in the world is a taiwanese embasy activity? I wasn't aware they'd be interested in meeting peons like me. is it a sort of ourtreach program? I was aware they were losing their own citizens to the mainland, but I didn't think it was that dire. who would I need to get to know by face? some director of scolarships?

culture sounds generic, and I'm afraid to get lost in the shuffle. I'm interested in taiwanese publishing as well as capital allocation, but I'll just talk about culture if that's better.

this is the sort of thing I can't find on generic application guides I've been reading. I'm grateful.

>>1121710
>>1121710
Yeah. Just know ICLP is no joke. I doubt there's enough time in the day to do that and a masters program.

Yeah most of the Economic offices/embassies have a culture and education part and even Facebook pages. Maybe shoot your local one an email. Great topic btw. Def talk about the publishing. It's more concrete and interesting and its related to Taiwanese culture.

>>1121722
I wasn't planning on doing both. it just seemed smart to maximize my chances of getting into one or the other.

thanks for the advice, really. I would have assumed the embassies would have been large faceless bureaucracies that had to process everything facelessly/impersonally.

seriously, thanks. I'm a lot more optimistic than I was before. I thought it'd be a bit of a crapshoot.

>>1121725
Yeah dude no worries. That's a great plan just note ICLP is also very expensive. Whereas the other programs are dirt cheap. But if you do ICLP you will get good extremely quickly.

And yeah the Taiwan gov offices are super nice and accommodating. It's in their culture to be honest. I hope you make it to the island in the future!

>>1121727
if I could get a scholarship I would gladly cover cost of living finances for myself. I'm interested in learning as quickly as possible.

<3<3<3<3

you are taiwanese?

>>1120462
Am Taiwanese but lived most of my life in America. I still go back for extended amounts of time so hopefully my opinion helps out.

In terms of youth culture, honestly the best way to meet people your age outside of school is by getting into the social circles of subcultures/hobbies that you have interests in and connections will start immediately. If you go to the places with a higher percentage of younger people (which I'll mention later), you could literally just ask if people know of any clubs/groups and where/when they meet. People are nice there.

More western hobbies such as skating, graffiti, dance, music, etc. are your best bets to connect with English speaking people but I'm sure finding people in other places that do speak it won't be an issue. Specific places that I can think of with a lot of high school/college age people are Ximending ( 西門町), Zhongxiao Fuxing (忠孝復興), Zhongxiao Dunhua (忠孝敦化), and Shilin Night Market (士林夜市). You'll find a lot of English speaking people in New Taipei especially near Taipei 101 because of international business and whatnot.

Taipei is a lot of fun and hopefully you have the opportunity to explore the rest of Taiwan while you're there. The metro/HSR/bus systems are all extremely convenient and efficient and there's taxis everywhere. Nightlife is amazing and you'll have a great time wherever you go as long as you're willing to explore a bit and be open.

>>1121734
>hopefully you have the opportunity to explore the rest of Taiwan while you're there.
definitely this.

don't just stay in Taipei, get out and see the rest of Taiwan. the hsr makes it extremely easy!

>>1121688
If you can pass the higher levels of tocfl no reason you can't just do the hsk yourself anyway, it's not crazy expensive

I'm going there this summer, any tips on how to survive the heat and humidity? Does most places have AC?

>>1122007
>any tips on how to survive the heat and humidity?
carry wet wipes and deoderant on you at all times

most places have ac though

>>1121920
Definitely, I've also heard if you can pass the highest levels of TOCFL (same as HSK I believe, so 5 or 6) you'll quite easily pass the HSK. Jumping from traditional to simplified is quite simple.

>>1122007
It's gonna be a hot one. If you are already somewhere hot it wont be as bad, if you're currently living somewhere mild might be pretty lame for you getting acclimatized. Most places will have AC and there are lots of shaved ice and smoothie places around. Speaking from personal experience, during the peak summer times I usually hang out underground and in the malls and only really go out late at night, when it's still pretty hot.