I must start by apologising for my inactivity in recent times. It has been a while since my last post so I figured I should begin to explain how I’ve been spending my summer away from University.
After finishing my first year which was a huge milestone for me, I dove straight into an incredibly unique and out of this world experience. This involved my two-week summer school trip to Taiwan. Baring in mind that I had never been abroad or on a plane before, yet I was about to embark on a 12,000 mile round trip by myself. Some would call me courageous whilst most would think I was ABSOLUTELY bonkers.
I had absolutely no idea what to expect and I think that is what helped benefit my experience. I was deeply out of my comfort zone (such as taking a week to pluck up the courage to use chopsticks) but oddly enough, that was okay. Everyone that I met was so friendly and welcoming which was reassuring at this point. I felt that I could be more involved than I normally would be, in which was a very busy two weeks.
The two weeks ultimately flew by, with it taking a week for me to adjust to the dreaded jet lag and coping with the humid climate.I remember climbing Huoyan mountain and being so dehydrated I could not eat. Which for me, who nonstop eats is obviously very significant! But once I had adapted and stumbled onto Super Supau (an AMAZING Taiwaneese isotonic sports drink) I seemed set for the second week.
What I loved most about the trip was the amount of food and drink available at such a low cost. I remember getting a huge McDonalds breakfast the one morning for 99 Taiwan Dollars which roughly converts to £2.21. Whilst other mornings breakfast could cost as low as 62p. Because of this almost every meal I had was in a resturant of some sort, which was convenient and alleviated the worry about how I’d fuel myself each day.
The days involved a good mix of culture enrichment and adventure tourism. Rock climbing and bouldering seemed a popular choice there but for me it was river tracing and cliff jumping that captured my attention! Whilst it was also fantastic to experience another culture and well they look after public areas like parks and museums.
My days there were challenging in many different ways but I will never forget my experience in Taiwan. I couldn’t imagine a more positive first time experience abroad, where I was well looked after by the amazing people I met. Two weeks was simply not enough as there was so much more to explore. Visit if you ever get the chance!
lifeistoo.sport.blog 
It definitely sounds like you had the adventure of a lifetime. Was this something that was directly offered by your school? Did other students travel with you? If I was you, I would definitely take advantage of every opportunity you get as far as traveling goes. Once you get out of college, it can be difficult to scrape up the days off work to travel to a far away country for a couple weeks.
I bet the Taiwan McDonald’s is vastly different than any McDonald’s that I have ever been to here in the United States. It definitely sounds like you really benefited from the currency conversions, given how cheap your meals were.
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They offer a range of study abroad options! This was one of their short summer school options that was excellent for me. It allowed me to go away for two weeks a few weeks after finishing my first year at University.
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Nice to see that you’re coming back to the blog even after a hiatus. Every time I have ever tried to blog, I’ve just lost interest quickly and never gone back to it. I wish that I could stick to it.
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Yes it can be tough I bet but it is good to be open and keep writing about things that you love. If you are doing what you love then it doesn’t feel like a chore. In fact it is very enjoyable!
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