Blog 4 09042026

Days 11-13

9/2

This morning we left Taichung early in the morning to head to our final destination of the study abroad program, Tainan. I slept pretty late the night before, so I slept for half of the bus ride. I woke up and we were at a rest area.

came across a "wudhu" station

 

We arrived at Academy Hotel, and it was near NCKU, our next partner campus. It was cool seeing how this hotel has a theme of tea flavored soaps; tea flavored shampoo, hand soap, and body wash. On this day, we had an introduction to our NCKU partners and split into groups to tour the campus. The campus is beautiful and I really loved touring their industrial design studio. At NTU, we didn’t spend too much time on the main campus, and seeing the campus life. So, I was excited to spend some time at the NCKU campus. During the introduction, we also learned a lot about the students’ favorite spots on campus and food + activities in Tainan. I really enjoyed listening to their introduction presentations and their recommendations. 

Later that night, I had dinner at a nearby noodle spot, and tried the grass jelly dessert with Chandaline, Erin, and Leo. That night, Chandaline and I were also working on our public blog post, and then after we decided to reward ourselves with ice cream late at night. I tried the Hi-Chew popsicle, and it was delicious. There are many unique ice creams at the convenience store, and I want to try all of them before I leave Taiwan..

9/3

On September 3, we had our first workshop and lecture at NCKU, and we spent a good portion of our day on campus. We had a circular economy workshop and started our project with the NCKU students.

I was feeling a little drained that day after the lecture, and maybe a little homesick, possibly due to the combination of the rain and the long day on campus. But, later that night, I had dumplings at Yule Street with Jani, and we also got ice cream and walked around campus. I met Jani in our first days in Taichung, and it felt nice to meet another health student in this design program. 

 

Also, I noticed that in Taiwan there are so many unique vending machines for food. It was my first time getting ice cream from a machine, and it was a really cool experience. We had ice cream and walked around the NCKU campus, and she showed me her department's building. I also learned about a funny “legend” or “warning”, new students at NCKU will be told at orientation. She said that students who walk under the statue won't graduate on time.. I also learned a lot about the different clubs and organizations on campus, and she told me has been to an Indonesian organizations’ event before. She told me many of her friends are also Indonesian, as there are many in her program.

9/4

Today is September 4, and our free time day. I woke up at 11 A.M which is the latest I had ever woken up in my time in Taiwan. I woke up feeling a flu coming, so I had a slow day today. I knew that whenever I get sick, I tend to feel super sick, so I came prepared and brought a bunch of medications and vitamins from home before I got to Taiwan. I immediately drank electrolytes, Tolak Angin (Indonesian herbal medicine), flu medication, some cough drops, and slept early that day (and it worked because I started feeling better). For lunch, I was craving something soupy- so I ended up having ramen at Yule Street. Then, I went to two cafes to sit and have hot tea. I ended up finding a favorite cafe to sit at, and relax, called Tah Tseh. The cafe has a peaceful area upstairs.