NCKU welcomes young American ambassadors with authentic Taiwanese experiences
Tainan, Taiwan, July 1, 2015
National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), Tainan, Taiwan, hosted an opening ceremony of the Taiwan-United States Sister Relations Alliance (TUSA) Summer Scholarship Program on July 1 to welcome the students coming from America. Most of them are first time to Taiwan and eager learners for Mandarin (Chinese) and Taiwanese culture.
A total of 55 American students from 31 states with 41 universities participate in the TUSA program from July 1 to August 22, according to Prof. Yueh-Min Huang, Vice President of Office of International Affairs who on behalf of NCKU President Huey-Jen Jenny Su extended a warm welcome to all the guests and students.
Prof. Wei-Yung Wang, Dean of College of Liberal Arts, NCKU, also attended the ceremony said, “I’d like to congratulate all of you as one of a group of 55 selected from more than two hundred candidates.”
Min-ling Yang, Director General of the Department of International and Cross-Strait Education, Ministry of Education, said, “on behalf of the ministry, I would like to express my warm welcome to all the distinguished quests, especially so many young Americans here in Taiwan.”
“Through this ambassador program, we’d like to invite young Americans come to Taiwan to experience our culture, learn Mandarin and to interact with local friends here in Taiwan,” Yang said.
One of the TUSA members George Bradford from Louisiana State University said, “I’ve always been very interested in Chinese culture and history so I thought learning the language will put me a little bit closer and help me understand something that I’m interested in for such a long time.”
Anthony Cruz from University of Pennsylvania visits Taiwan for the very first time said, “I heard the weather in Taiwan is very hot and I agree. It’s very humid. It’s very westernized which is very interesting for me. I also heard that Tainan is a more rural area comparing to Taipei. I like that experience because it gives you more authentic experiences.”
Juan Hernandes who just graduated from MIT studying in material science and engineering said, “I think Chinese is amazing. I’ve been to Taiwan once before and I love the people, love the places so I want to come back and learn some more.”
“I really want to talk with local people and pick up the accent a little more and not do the r like [rrrrr] which why I take classes,” Hernandes added.
John Terzi from University Maryland is also first time to Taiwan. Terzi’s major is Linguistics and he loves learning Chinese. He said, “It’s going to be a lot of opportunities in the future after learning Chinese, and I’m not talking about just business opportunities, also cultural opportunities and general research opportunities.”
“The people here are unbelievably nice which is amazing,” according to Terzi.
Anne Twombly from Johns Hopkins University said, “I’ve been studying Chinese for about 4 years now and I really want to have higher level of fluency. I would really love to sit down with somebody and have a normal conversation.”
Twombly has been traveled in Taiwan for about a week in January this year and when talking about her impression of Taiwan she said, “The air is so clean. I love the air, the people, and the food. I really enjoy the vibe here!”
NCKU is officially ranked as one of Taiwan’s top two universities. It has a renowned Mandarin Chinese Learning Center with extensive experience running summer programs.
To create closer friendships and understanding between the people of the United States and the people of Taiwan, the 55 students from the states will participate in a series of Mandarin (Chinese) language class, cultural learning, cultural tours, and lectures.
Upon returning to the United States, students will be expected to act as ambassadors of good will for both the United States and Taiwan whenever the opportunity presents itself.
NCKU is located in Tainan, an ancient city full of cultural richness and a favorite city for visiting TUSA students in years past.
The TUSA program will cover language classes with a total of 120 hours, according to the Chinese Language Center at NCKU.
Also, the students will participate in 14 cultural courses including Taiwanese culture introduction, Chinese painting, calligraphy, Chinese Opera, Chinese cuisine, seal engraving, paper cutting and tea ceremony.
Trips to historical and ecological sites in Tainan, the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Tzu Chi Senior High School in Hualien, and Kaohsiung are also included.
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National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), Tainan, Taiwan, hosted an opening ceremony of the Taiwan-United States Sister Relations Alliance (TUSA) Summer Scholarship Program on July 1 to welcome the students coming from America. Most of them are first time to Taiwan and eager learners for Mandarin (Chinese) and Taiwanese culture.
A total of 55 American students from 31 states with 41 universities participate in the TUSA program from July 1 to August 22, according to Prof. Yueh-Min Huang, Vice President of Office of International Affairs who on behalf of NCKU President Huey-Jen Jenny Su extended a warm welcome to all the guests and students.
Prof. Wei-Yung Wang, Dean of College of Liberal Arts, NCKU, also attended the ceremony said, “I’d like to congratulate all of you as one of a group of 55 selected from more than two hundred candidates.”
Min-ling Yang, Director General of the Department of International and Cross-Strait Education, Ministry of Education, said, “on behalf of the ministry, I would like to express my warm welcome to all the distinguished quests, especially so many young Americans here in Taiwan.”
“Through this ambassador program, we’d like to invite young Americans come to Taiwan to experience our culture, learn Mandarin and to interact with local friends here in Taiwan,” Yang said.
One of the TUSA members George Bradford from Louisiana State University said, “I’ve always been very interested in Chinese culture and history so I thought learning the language will put me a little bit closer and help me understand something that I’m interested in for such a long time.”
Anthony Cruz from University of Pennsylvania visits Taiwan for the very first time said, “I heard the weather in Taiwan is very hot and I agree. It’s very humid. It’s very westernized which is very interesting for me. I also heard that Tainan is a more rural area comparing to Taipei. I like that experience because it gives you more authentic experiences.”
Juan Hernandes who just graduated from MIT studying in material science and engineering said, “I think Chinese is amazing. I’ve been to Taiwan once before and I love the people, love the places so I want to come back and learn some more.”
“I really want to talk with local people and pick up the accent a little more and not do the r like [rrrrr] which why I take classes,” Hernandes added.
John Terzi from University Maryland is also first time to Taiwan. Terzi’s major is Linguistics and he loves learning Chinese. He said, “It’s going to be a lot of opportunities in the future after learning Chinese, and I’m not talking about just business opportunities, also cultural opportunities and general research opportunities.”
“The people here are unbelievably nice which is amazing,” according to Terzi.
Anne Twombly from Johns Hopkins University said, “I’ve been studying Chinese for about 4 years now and I really want to have higher level of fluency. I would really love to sit down with somebody and have a normal conversation.”
Twombly has been traveled in Taiwan for about a week in January this year and when talking about her impression of Taiwan she said, “The air is so clean. I love the air, the people, and the food. I really enjoy the vibe here!”
NCKU is officially ranked as one of Taiwan’s top two universities. It has a renowned Mandarin Chinese Learning Center with extensive experience running summer programs.
To create closer friendships and understanding between the people of the United States and the people of Taiwan, the 55 students from the states will participate in a series of Mandarin (Chinese) language class, cultural learning, cultural tours, and lectures.
Upon returning to the United States, students will be expected to act as ambassadors of good will for both the United States and Taiwan whenever the opportunity presents itself.
NCKU is located in Tainan, an ancient city full of cultural richness and a favorite city for visiting TUSA students in years past.
The TUSA program will cover language classes with a total of 120 hours, according to the Chinese Language Center at NCKU.
Also, the students will participate in 14 cultural courses including Taiwanese culture introduction, Chinese painting, calligraphy, Chinese Opera, Chinese cuisine, seal engraving, paper cutting and tea ceremony.
Trips to historical and ecological sites in Tainan, the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Tzu Chi Senior High School in Hualien, and Kaohsiung are also included.
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