A Weekend in Yilan

Guest Post by: Foster Information Systems and Marketing junior, Tina Liu. Tina is currently on a Foster Exchange at the National Chengchi University in Taiwan.

In the rice field!

While you’re here on campus, don’t hesitate to get involved in one of the various student organizations and clubs. Near the beginning of the semester, they will hold a club fair where you can get information and sign up to join their kick-off events! One of the first clubs you may come across as an exchange student is NCCU International Youth.

International Youth (IY) organizes a 2-day trip every semester, which is open to all international students. This semester, the destination was Yilan County, which is just South-East of Taipei. The highlight of the first day was the National Center for Traditional Arts. There, we saw some historical buildings, a Taiwanese theater performance,and even dyed our own indigo scarves to take home. In the evening, we visited Luo Tong Night Market. Yilan is famous for farming scallions, so be sure to keep an eye out for their delicious scallion pancakes at this night market. Personally, my favorite night market item is papaya milk, which I got here for only 30 TWD ( just under 1 USD)!

On day two, we visited a rice farm where we learned about the history of rice farming in Taiwan and how the industry has changed today. We even went calf-deep in mud to plant some rice of our own! Finally, our last stop was Waiao Beach, where the warm waves crash on a long, dark-sanded beach. Even though it was cold and cloudy, it was still very beautiful. I look forward to visiting again on a sunny day.

Getting involved in this 2-day trip and other events held by IY are great opportunities to learn about Taiwanese culture, travel Taiwan, and get to know some local students. If you decide to go on exchange at NCCU, be sure not to miss out!