#go abroad
I know I haven’t written here since June yadda yadda yadda. I know its been a while and I have been MIA. Check out my other blog here in the meantime. Get up to speed.
So I am still writing on this blog, but more of my personal stuff will go here.
Anyway
It’s been an absolute STRUGGLE since I got to Taiwan. Everything I’ve been doing has been a waiting process. From traveling to Taiwan and obtaining my visa in Hong Kong: but realizing that I had the wrong one and holding off my travel plans till now, it’s been rough.
My last trip was back in August when I went to Hong Kong then to Hualian and those trips were so much fun! And that is that fun ended (well not really).
I’ve been wanting to go somewhere out of the country since then, but with troubles with my visa and learning to be a responsible adult prevented me from doing anything else if otherwise. But if you think about it, I don’t necessarily have to have this particular visa to not travel anywhere, but just in case if l don’t leave the country as often as I should, I could get in much messier situations in the long run. (Read more of info about why under My Story)
So when I got back in August, I didn’t find out till September that I had to change my visa. So I waited till October and that’s when I visited the hospital for my health check. Waited one and a half week later and received my documents. During this time, I also took new passport photos. The same day I picked up my health check, visited Counselor Affairs and applied for the Resident Visa. Waited another week and a half and picked up my passport. The same day, I went to the Immigration office and applied for the Alien Resident Card. From there, I have to wait 2 long weeks. After I receive this card, I can travel in/out of the country as I please.
So now you think is a good time to travel? Hah, think again. This time is around the same time the tuition payment is due. Can’t afford them all. Super bummed.
I hope by December I will have it all together to go somewhere. Even if it’s for a weekend, I don’t care. I just wanna get out of Taiwan for a bit.
A few weeks later, but your girl has finally graduated! I made it. School was frying my brain and I was sick and tired of the administration, the people, the faculty…beyond over it. I was ready to leave as soon as I got back Fall 2016. But beyond that fact, I grew as an individual and picked up new skills and met tons of people in the past two years of undergrad, which I will never regret. Hopefully someday curate into something big, something cool. But nevertheless, its over, and I am very hype for the next chapter: T A I W A N. Click that link to see my new blog and read more on what I am doing there.
I will still be posting here, but I will dedicate this blog more to personal stories along with other random posts I decide to write along the way.
So get ready, for another long written post of adventures to come. I have exactly 3 weeks until departure and here are some things I need to accomplish before I leave:
Build a computer for my mother- VisitArtechouse
- Attend a Bicycle spinningclass
- Visit the Doctor
- Visit the Dentist
Visit the Eye Doc- Obtain my Driver’s License?
- Backup my files
- Create Hair Product Mixture
- Invest in Travel Credit Card?
- Buy a new camera?
Update Website
I got the scholarship! I am even more hype for my summer plans in Taiwan now.
I received the Global Ambassador Scholarship which exposes students to Taiwanese Culture and Language through cultural excursions, to home-stays, and even a language buddy. There’s still some time to apply. Applications close on March 31st so get yours in as soon as you can. This scholarship program is only eligible for US citizens. Also, if you don’t have a passport, go ahead and get one right now. Especially if you do hear the good news, you need to give yourself at least 6 to 8 weeks to get your passport in on time before departure.
In other news, I’ve also submitted my Taiwanese Huayu Enrichment Scholarship scholarship by mail. There’s still time to apply for this scholarship as well. Check out the online guidelines for details. The deadline is also March 31st and for this one, you have to mail in your documents. I am pretty sure the items have to be in their office by this date, not mailed by this date. Once you send in your items, wait a week and give them a call to make sure that they received your documents. Especially if items are coming from separate locations. They have a general info website here and if you’re applying from the US, you can learn more about the scholarship info needed here.
Good luck to everyone during this application season.
So next year I’ll be graduating in April and I’ve already started preparing for what I’ll be doing right after. I’ve compiled a list of programs that I will be applying for and my summer plans will depend what additional things I have to do for these programs. Here it is below:
- Chinese Government Scholarship
- Taiwanese Government Scholarship
- EPIK Teaching Program
- Freeman Asia Scholarship? (not sure of legibility)
- Taiwan-United States Sister Relations Alliance Ambassador Summer Scholarship Program
I may push some additional applications but I am pretty set on what I already want to do. Pushing out more applications on things I don’t really have in mind would be counterproductive to my plan, but also it would be good for a backup if all else fails. But at the same time, when I want to do something, I set my mind to it and I make it happen no matter what. So I know it will work out…but it all depends and anything can happen. Either way, I hope that I hear good news from at least one of the programs and expect to be out of the country by August. My first choice out of them all is Taiwan for I want to continue studying Chinese, but I don’t want to study and/or live in China long term again (I have to think about it). But I am applying to the same Chinese Government Scholarship Program again nevertheless.
If you’re not familiar with what I am talking about here, read more about how to for free here.
Major difference between applying for the Taiwanese vs the Chinese Scholarship is that you have more leeway in choosing the time of the year and length you want to do in terms of the language programs when it comes to applying for the Taiwanese Government Program. You can specify but the scholarship committee will choose which one you’ll get based on your application. Also they give more money to the student to use at their expense. BUT in turn, students have to use a part of the scholarship money to pay for their tuition so technically they give you money for personal funds, tuition, AND to get an apartment. They don’t pay for it up front only because certain schools cost more and may require students to pay out of pocket (be on the lookout for that if you’re interested in applying) and it also gives more freedom for students to choose where they want to live.
One other major thing to keep in mind (if anyone gets accepted and decides to go through with the program), Both the Taiwanese & Chinese government waits till a month after to give the scholarship stipend after you arrive meaning that you somehow have to have some kind of money to pay for everything in the meantime. And its not so bad! I saved like around $1000+ for my first month while in China and it lasted me up until I got my money so I couldn’t complain. You just have to make sure you set up all the necessary requirements to get your money in time.
