{"id":4051,"date":"2024-11-04T13:15:03","date_gmt":"2024-11-04T18:15:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/owltopia\/?p=4051"},"modified":"2024-11-08T11:48:58","modified_gmt":"2024-11-08T16:48:58","slug":"taiwans-your-home-come-back-anytime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/owltopia\/2024\/11\/04\/taiwans-your-home-come-back-anytime\/","title":{"rendered":"Taiwan’s Your HOME, Come Back Anytime!\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I’ve been studying Mandarin Chinese for nine years now, starting in middle school. Ever since high school, I\u2019d often hear about the Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) program\u2014a two-month opportunity to immerse oneself completely in a target language abroad. Last year, I decided to apply, and this past summer, I found myself studying Mandarin in Tainan, Taiwan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My Mandarin improved significantly over these two months, thanks to the incredible teachers at National Cheng Kung University. However, the most impactful part of my experience wasn\u2019t just the language learning, but the relationships I built with my host family and friends. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I say family, I\u2019m referring to my host parents, who truly came to feel like my mother and father during my time there. From helping me with everyday tasks like taking out the trash to making me breakfast, they made me feel completely at home. I especially can\u2019t forget the lively political debates my host mother and I had in the evenings! My host brother, meanwhile, introduced me to his circle of friends, showed me the vibrant nightlife of Taiwan, and took me to my favorite spot\u2014an organ meat restaurant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Our conversations happened entirely in Mandarin, thanks to the language pledge we all took, which forbade us from speaking even a word of English. Although it was frustrating at times when I couldn\u2019t find the right words to express myself, those struggles made my Chinese improve rapidly.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When I say family, I\u2019m referring to my host parents, who truly came to feel like my mother and father during my time there. From helping me with everyday tasks like taking out the trash to making me breakfast, they made me feel completely at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Massin Larbi<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

By the end of the program, I was even able to help my host mom with her English lessons by explaining tongue positions and pronunciation in Mandarin. I had reached a point where I could joke around in Chinese and express my personality in a way that brought me closer to my host family and the community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might be surprising to hear that when I first received the scholarship, I wasn\u2019t thrilled about living with a host family or having a language partner. I\u2019ve always valued my personal space and preferred to be on my own. But all of that changed the moment I met both my host family and my language partner. By the end of the program, I was in tears as I boarded the bus to Taoyuan Airport, leaving behind people who had become family to me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Since returning to the United States, I\u2019ve been focused on my Fulbright application, hoping to return to Taiwan. This country and its people have left an indelible mark on me\u2014not only changing how I see the world, but also how I view myself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On my wall, I\u2019ve hung a letter my language partner gave me before I left. It says, \u201cTaiwan is your HOME, come back anytime!\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u5f53\u7136\u53f0\u6e7e\u7b97\u6211\u7684\u5bb6\uff0c\u522b\u62c5\u5fc3\u6211\u80af\u5b9a\u56de\u6765\u3002<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Story by Massin Larbi
Political Science and Chinese majors
Photos courtesy of Massin Larbi<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Massin Larbi writes about his summer experience in Taiwan honing his Mandarin skills through the Critical Language Scholarship program.<\/p>\n

3 MIN READ<\/p>\n

Continue ReadingTaiwan’s Your HOME, Come Back Anytime!\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":36348,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[131,61],"tags":[154,199,197,14,76,198,196,149],"class_list":["post-4051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","category-student","tag-blog","tag-chinese","tag-critical-language-scholarship","tag-education-abroad","tag-global-engagement","tag-mandarin","tag-scholarship","tag-taiwan","ratio-16-9","entry"],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Massin Larbi","author_link":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/owltopia\/author\/tuo56410\/"},"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/owltopia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4051","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/owltopia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/owltopia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/owltopia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36348"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/owltopia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4051"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/owltopia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4051\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4096,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/owltopia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4051\/revisions\/4096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/owltopia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/owltopia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.temple.edu\/owltopia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}