Blog Entry #6

 9/9/26~9/12/26

Hellooo! 

This is officially one of the last blogs we will ever be doing for our Design Taiwan study abroad program… The last few days of our program have been so wonderful, filled with amazing memories I will cherish forever. 

Day 18 - Lecturer & Tainan Old City Tour

On day 18 of our program, we woke up bright and early as usual and headed to the classroom for project preparation. When we arrived, our lecture ended up being changed and we instead received a critique from professor Meichun. The critique overall was very helpful and we received many good feedbacks to help our project become more polished for the final turn in. Although there were struggles when it came to clarifying certain aspects of the Circular Design segment of our project, we were able to figure out a suitable solution to use for our project. 

After our critique sessions and working time, we headed to a tour around the old city in Tainan. Although the weather was very hot, I really enjoyed seeing many new places that I had not yet explored in the city. One particular location that I enjoyed was the Hayashi Department Store. This specific department store has multiple Japanese influences and was one of the very first stores to have an elevator in it during the time it was first built. I really enjoyed seeing the structure of the building and being able to experience each floor which sold many niche items for souvenirs. Another aspect that I enjoyed was the shrine at the very top of the building. The view from the roof top of the building was very beautiful and we could overlook many locations we had visited during our tour. The shrine which was located at the roof top reminded me of one of the Japanese animations I had seen where it brought a very spiritual feel to the atmosphere of the building. Overall, although the tour was very long and we did exceed the expected time, I really enjoyed learning so much about Tainan’s old city and its history in great detail. 

Rooftop of Hayashi Department Store

After our tour, Maya, Alexa, and I rode on the backs of our NCKU groupmates, Alisa, Tracy, and Celine’s motorcycles to head to the beach to catch the sunset. The ride from where we ended our tour to the sunset viewing location was one of the most fun experiences I had ever had. Since I had previously never been on a motorcycle before, it was such a new experience to me and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the ride. Tracy, who was the one that drove me, was so kind and I am so grateful for her for driving me so far just for us to view a beautiful sunset. Seeing the sunset with everyone was such an amazing moment for me and I will forever cherish that memory in my heart. 

Sunset with friends!

Day 19 - Tea brewing & Project preparation 

Day 19 started off a little bit differently with all of us immediately heading to a tea shop to experience tea brewing. The entire experience was very relaxing and I enjoyed the incredibly delicious sweets that they had prepared for us. Being able to taste the different types of tea and also listening to the poems made by the main tea brewing master was such an amazing experience for me. As one of our last ever field trips/activities we did as a collective group, I was very satisfied and enjoyed the moment a lot. 

Tea & sweets

Once we arrived back to the classroom, everyone immediately focused on working on their projects since our presentation was being held the next day. While there were many fun things that happened including receiving the bamboo weaving notebooks we made, most of our evening time was spent locking in and being laser focused on our projects. 

Day 20 - Final Presentation & Dinner

Finally! Day 20 had arrived and it was the day where each group would present their final projects. When we arrived in our classroom, our NCKU friends had finished printing our prototype which made all of us so excited for the presentation.

Once we arrived at the main hall, seeing everyone's works being so polished was very astonishing. I was so amazed by how far everyone has gone from ideating to having a final prototype and product in just a few weeks! I really enjoyed seeing everyone's final presentations and I felt very proud with everyone's work from coming so far. 

Final presentations!

At the very end of the day, we met with some people from the program and headed to the bar that was recommended by some of our NCKU friends. It was my first ever time going to the bar with my friends and I had such an amazing time! 

Day 21 - Last day & Farewell  

Day 21. Today was our last day of our program and I was very sad that our program was coming to a close. After we discussed and had a reflection meeting, Alisa, Celine, and Tracy came to visit us one last time before we left. I had so much fun spending so much time hanging out with all of them and was really sad about leaving and maybe never seeing some of them ever again. Although there are still possibilities that we all see each other again, I was still heartbroken that our adventures will not continue again for a very long time. 

Overall, looking back at our program and the things I had done, I am very grateful and satisfied with how the entire trip turned out. While at first, I was very unsure and worried about how the program would be structured, I really enjoyed being able to explore so much of Taiwan and also meet so many new people that I had never met before. In the end, I am very glad I was able to attend this study abroad program in Taiwan and I had such an amazing time! 

Thank you so much! 謝謝 ! :D

My lovely & awesome teammates <3