Nathan Shortridge, who would be a junior at East Noble this year, is currently studying abroad in the city of Pingtung, Taiwan. His stay lasts for ten months, until next June. Pingtung is a city that is roughly the size of Fort Wayne in population, with around 250,000 citizens, however, it has a smaller square footage area. With less land space, the city grew up instead of out, so it features taller buildings with less space between them. “It’s so much noisier in a city,” says Nathan, who grew up on a small farm in rural Kendallville. Going from the quiet countryside to a bustling city was quite a change for him.
Have you ever tried to talk to someone who speaks a different language than you? It’s not easy, even if they do know a bit of your language, and you know a little of theirs. That’s what Nathan is going through every day in Taiwan. “I understand about one word out of every two hundred, but my listening is better than my speaking,” says Nathan. He goes to Chinese lessons every Wednesday evening with the other exchange students in Taiwan who are trying to learn Mandarin as well. They haven’t gotten very far yet, because the exchange students all speak different languages, so it’s hard for them to communicate with each other. Nathan’s learning a little bit of a lot of languages, not just Chinese, and he’s making tons of new friends who come from all over the globe.
For the high school he attends, Nathan has two uniforms: a formal uniform worn only on Wednesdays for a school assembly, and a more comfortable outfit that is called a sports uniform worn on all the other days of the week. On a common school day, Nathan goes to four classes in the morning, takes a break from studying to eat lunch and enjoy an hour long nap, then hits the books again for four more afternoon classes. Taiwanese students spend their time participating in extracurricular activities or playing on sports teams. Most activities meet or practice during school, which lasts until 5:20 p.m. His high school has soccer, basketball, volleyball, baseball—all the sports we have here. Nathan practices with the basketball team every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon. The school also has some pretty unique non-athletic activities like guitar club, debate, and a coffee-making club. “They meet once a week and all they do is make coffee just because they can.” Who wouldn’t want to join a club like that?
Nathan has had some great experiences in Taiwan already, after just two months. He went to a barbeque with his host parents where he let a giant snail crawl all over his hand and arm. He’s been mountain hiking and sightseeing. He went to a beach with his host family, where he saw the ocean and befriended a crab smaller than his pinky fingernail. He’s even attempted hang gliding, but the real experience for him is in the everyday life. Meeting new people, hearing their stories, and hanging out with his host family or new friends is the real difference in culture. It’s the little, unimportant things that make this an adventurous experience for Nathan.