Agata Kondrashkina

A Perfect Place for Mandarin Studies

I am interested in doing research in Mandarin linguistics. Mandarin was my major in the university back in Russia, so when I arrived, I already could speak Mandarin pretty well. I would say that in Taiwan my level of Mandarin is becoming better and better, thanks to the language environment, I got to know a lot of new vocabulary through conversations with native speakers (I didn’t have enough opportunities to talk to Mandarin speakers back in Russia).

I’ve been in Taiwan on summer courses before I decided to take my master program here, so I already knew what to expect from life here and already liked Taiwan very much. Other important reasons is Taiwan scholarship and opportunity to pursue my academic goals in a very decent university.

What I Like About Studying in Taiwan

Total safety is a thing I love most about life in Taiwan. I also enjoy doing sports, mostly dance, I take dance classes outside the campus and attend the dance club (熱舞社) in Tsinghua. When I have time, I love traveling to new places in Taiwan.

As for my academic life, I love that I have access to different materials on my research topic and, of course, important thing for me is an ability to communicate with great professors. I also like the two libraries on campus (the Main Library and the Library of Humanities).

As for challenges, it is difficult to make friends with Taiwanese, especially when it comes about really close friendship. I am still overcoming this challenge, so for now I don’t have any tips how to solve this problem.

Experiencing Taiwan

I would say studying in Taiwan is to experience Taiwan. I would recommend this place for those who want to improve their Mandarin skills, get a great education, and live in very comfortable and friendly environment. It is the best choice for me because Taiwan is a place where I can be independent and develop my best strengths.

I am thinking about getting a PHD degree, it would be great to continue my academic path here in Taiwan, probably in Taipei. Or working here would be nice as well. If I had a choice, I would live in Taipei or Kaohsiung (I love Kaohsiung very much).