On being a Vietnamese student in Taiwan

On a map, Taiwan is close to Vietnam: a short flight, a similar climate, rice and noodles on every corner. It is one of the reasons many Vietnamese students choose to study here. Yet living somewhere is different from visiting it, and the closeness is a little deceptive.

Close, and not so close

Much feels familiar. The lunar calendar, ancestor altars, scooters at traffic lights, the habit of eating out often and cheaply. Then there are the things that remind you every day that you are a guest: a language you speak only partly, rules that everyone seems to know without being told, a pace of work that is careful and quiet.

My Chinese is limited, and I have come to accept that I live here in two layers. At the university, research happens in English. Outside it, in shops, offices and conversations with neighbours, I rely on simple phrases, patience and the kindness of people who slow down for me. That kindness is real, and it is easy to take for granted.

What helps

• Small routines. The same breakfast place, the same route to the lab, the same day for groceries. Routines make a foreign city feel like yours.
• Community, but not only community. Vietnamese friends are a support, especially at Tết. But it is worth stepping outside that circle too.
• Learning a little more each term. Not fluency, just enough to read a menu, a notice or a bus sign without help.
• Calling home without guilt. Distance is easier when it is acknowledged.

A second home, slowly

I do not think one place replaces another. Vietnam remains home in the deepest sense. But a city starts to belong to you through repetition: the streets you walk twice a day, the people who recognise you, the evening light at the same hour.

For anyone considering studying abroad, I would say this: expect the first months to be harder than the photos suggest, and the later years to be richer.

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Photos: philippsaal, hugo_ob, 4601460 on Pixabay, used under the Pixabay Content License. These are not my photographs.