I'm at Shida.

And this is a

Sunday afternoon,

so it is pretty quiet

and dead

on campus,

but

we're going to try—

well, I'm going to try

my best ability

to find any

leftover—

not leftover, but

hardworking foreign students

that are still on campus.

Let's go!

FYI, Shida

is known as the

National Taiwan Normal University.

I used to study in Shida when I was studying Chinese.

Oh wow!

Oh so I guess you end up staying here.

I'm working here.

You want me to look at you or the camera?

No—anything!

Okay!

Well, when I came here

for the first time,

I came because of the language.

Actually I was already working in Spain and so-so (so on)

so I had no expectation at all

I heard about Taiwan because I had a friend who is Taiwanese

and I knew

quite a lot about it

but I wanted to come here without any kind of expectation.

I wanted to come with my paper completely white.

When I started to study Chinese

was really hard

because usually they don't

speak any English

and I could not read at all,

write at all,

and no I could not understand.

There is no connection between my language and Chinese

so was quite difficult,

but I improved quite fast.

The way of teaching is quite different too.

I mean,

like the power is in the teacher,

there's not much connection between students and the teachers.

Not that much.

But

it's interesting because—at least me—

I think you have to work on your own a lot

at home,

to study quite a lot.

And the

the language is beautiful.

I think it's super beautiful.

And the writing I think it's really awesome.

So

it's very nice.

The more you learn—

I mean this is my...

I'm here for more than two years—

you are part of the culture

and people much more

as soon as you understand Chinese

and the culture and the people.

Shida and Taida,

and—how are they

because they are having difficulty deciding between—

Yeah, umm...

(preferably) I've studied two semesters now

and

at Taida

at two schools there...

Umm...

One intensive course and

one normal course.

Yeah, it's pretty good.

A lot of people went there for schools—

I mean Shida is the teacher's college here.

I think that's one reason people choose to go to Shida.

For Chinese?

Yeah, exactly.

And what about Taida?

What are they known for?

Being in the top college I guess.

Oh being the top college!

I guess that's the reason why.

So was the the reason why you chose Taida over Shida?

Kinda.

Are you studying Chinese in Taida?

Yeah.

Wow, and how are the professors?

It's good, it's good.

Actually a lot of the teachers might actually have studied here

since this is the teacher's college.

I would love to try it here also

to get a mix,

so I'm not sure, we will see.

I came here first for study Chinese

from Hong Kong.

I worked in Hong Kong and I came here to study Chinese

for one year.

And I've stayed here.

What made you want to settle here after that?

After, I think, I was done with Hong Kong.

The people here are quite nice,

and the environment here is better,

and then I got a good job,

so I stayed here.

Awesome! And how was it like learning Chinese in Shida?

It was good.

The teachers are very good,

and there is a very good...

how do you say that...

academic environment,

the atmosphere,

And the students were very friendly?

Yeah, at the time we had a very big group of friends.

It's unfortunate that we couldn't find any

current students

on campus,

but hey, we've got alumni

and students who are going to a different school,

so now you know.

Your options are wide open.

'Cause now you've been here 5 weeks,

and was there something you didn't expect

before moving here?

At school or in general?

At school.

Well I think the lessons are kind of intense.

Uh huh.

And if I compare it to my Chinese lessons in the Netherlands

I have to do a lot more,

but you also learn a lot more

because everyone speaks Chinese here.

So you learn a lot faster.

Yeah, yeah.

And are the professors helpful?

Yeah, they are really helpful,

and really kind

and it's also,

and it's nice to see what you learn

you can actually put it in practice

on the streets.

Do you live on campus? On residence?

Yeah.

Wow, do you like living on residence?

Uhhh yes.

It's convenient.

I was hearing that the residence here is pretty old so——

Yeah,

I expect(ed) it to be a little bit more modern.

The pictures look a bit better,

and when you go

you should really bring bed bug spray.

I suppose I spoke too soon.

I was able to find

current students at last.

Now,

do I get an A+

on this video?