Welcome to Taipei, where the weather is literally the opposite of where I live in Canada.
For the Americans reading this, 47 degrees Celsius is 116 Fahrenheit. I’ve come to Taiwan during the hottest season. Oddly, I don’t really mind the heat. I definitely prefer it to the -20 (or colder) temperatures I get back home in the winter.
I’ve been in Taiwan for 11 days now. My main focus while I’ve been here is to maximize the number of people I interact with.
This is so that I can rapidly increasing my confidence and fluency in Mandarin. I’d also like to improve my character recognition and ramp up my vocabulary. Here are the strategies I use to make sure I have lots of people to speak with. I should mention that I did already have an intermediate level prior to coming to Taipei. My learning strategies would likely have been different if I had a beginner level.
#1: Attend language exchange events.
Most major cities I’ve visited have language practice events on https://meetup.com . In Taipei, there are usually 2-3 events per week with a mix of foreigners looking to practice Mandarin and locals wanting to practice English.
#2: Add new friends I meet at language exchange events on social media and invite them to hang out.
I inevitably end up getting along with at least a couple people at each event I attend. To make sure we can stay in touch, I add them on social media (usually Instagram). The next day, I send them a text saying it was nice to meet them and ask if they want to meet up again to do something I think we’d both enjoy.
For example, last week I met a Taiwanese person who had recently moved to Taipei from another city. Since we both had just arrived in the city, we agreed to go explore a couple of touristy places together.
#3: Ask my current network if they know anyone who would be willing to show me around.
One of the instructors at my business, the Calgary Language Nerds, is Taiwanese. Prior to my trip, I asked her if she could introduce me to people she knows in Taipei. She was happy to do so! One of the people she put me in touch with gave me a private tour of his family’s tea shop at 貓空 (Maokong). His family has owned the tea shop there for six generations. So cool! We were shortly joined by a few other tourists.
I’ve also had Mandarin lessons from my friend’s friend every day. I teach her English for 1 hour and she teaches me Mandarin for 1 hour. Our classes are partially conversational and partially focused on improving my reading ability.
#4: Sign up for lessons
I always sign up for lessons when abroad because I meet lots of people (foreigners and locals alike) through the school. During this trip, I will be taking four hours of private lessons a week starting this upcoming Wednesday. I’m taking lessons at LTL School. As a fun fact, I was one of their first students when they opened their Taipei location. It’s cool to see how much bigger the school is now 4 years later.
#5: Talk to strangers
When I’m in public, I try to pay attention to the people around me and look for opportunities to strike up a conversation. It is a little nerve-racking, but sometimes there isn’t another choice if I don’t have any plans on a particular day. Another alternative to this that I’ve used in the past is to attend the same restaurants at the same time, every day. That way I can get to know the staff and befriend them.
#6: Live with a homestay family
This is a picture of the homestay family I stayed with in 2019. I am staying with them again this time around. Living with locals ensures an even more immersive experience than staying alone or in a hostel with foreigners. I usually find homestay families on https://homestay.com or AirBnB. Alternatively, many foreign language schools will offer to arrange a homestay for an extra fee. That’s how I initially met this family.
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I look forward to the remainder of my trip! On another note, if you haven’t checked out my new project, Azren’s Top Language Learning Tips, go do so now!
The best strategy to beat the Taipei heat is to walk closely next to stores' automatic doors, so that they open up and you get a solid blast of cold air, haha! I'm enjoying reading about your journey!