Internships

Taichung Experience

The international business class was a really great experience. I learned a great deal about the history of Taiwan, China, and other Asian countries. Learning the basic knowledge and history was key to diving deeper into the past issues and why they affect relationships today. The fact that the knowledge is coming from someone who has spent a great deal of their life in Asia made the depth of the information much greater and more thoughtful. When we finally began to deal with the modern issues, all of the previous classes helped us understand where the issues were coming from. It also granted us a different perspective to look at issues, which is really important for bringing information back the United States. We not only learned about what issues exist and why, but better yet how to begin solving them.

The Chinese class was a real joy and very informative. Our teacher helped us to learn so many words in such a short time. Chinese is extremely difficult, so this was pretty impressive. She was also completely open to stopping class and helping someone learn a word, or about a topic other than what we were learning. The class was also a conversation which was very refreshing. We were teaching her and Mafana words and phrases in English, as they were teaching us Chinese.

I believe that the out of class experiences are just as important as the in class work. To understand this culture and country, you need to get out there and live it. Making mistakes, getting lost, trying to talk to people in Chinese, and many more things are part of what working in other countries is going to be like. The other thing that you will see as you make those mistakes, is that most people here are more than happy to help you and genuinely seem to enjoy that you’re trying to figure out Taiwan. Overall your integration into Taiwan isn’t complete without diving into the culture of Taiwan, and learning about its people.

Rhett’s Experience At Nexcom

Because we were able to fit a significant amount of information and experiences into the short three weeks, I feel prepared for the internship. I believe that there will be a huge amount of new lessons that I must learn, but I’m confident that I can handle it with the preparation I’ve received. I look forward to the challenges and adventures that this program and country have to offer.