Living abroad is a great opportunity for people who are seeking to gain a lot of useful experiences and valuable knowledge. Nevertheless, living in a foreign country can be exhilarating, but also a daunting experience.
During this period of time, these will not be ordinary days, but new experiences and memorable days. There will be ups and downs, smiles and frowns, but in the end, it will be a remarkable experience that will never be forgotten.
From Siberia, Russia
My name is Ekaterina Khamyshkeeva. I was born and raised in Siberia, Russia. I moved to Taiwan a year and a half ago, enrolling in the Global MBA program. Before that, I had already lived in Canada and the United States. Also, I have already received two bachelor's degrees: Russian and American. In fact, I have some kind of background of travel and life experience abroad.
Moved to Taiwan
That is, in theory, moving to a new country should have been easy enough for me. But in reality it is very difficult to predict anything. I will not reveal new information saying that each country has its own way of life, mentality, culture, food, and so on.
Also, I believe that it is very important at what age you move, because most people every year become "less flexible", acquiring material benefits and more and more getting used to the comfort zone. Therefore, I would like to share my experience and impressions of moving to Taiwan, maybe it will be useful to someone or just interesting.
Jumped into a new life
I'll start with the fact that in Russia I had a fairly good life: a well-paid job in my specialty, an apartment, a car. Before coming to Taiwan, I knew very little information about this country. Even on the Internet it is very difficult to find true or useful information about life here in general, except for tourist locations. So, in essence, I jumped into a new life just hoping it would be good.
Hope for the best, prepare for the worst
In many situations, I am often guided by the saying: «Always hope for the best, but prepare for the worst». And so, it happened this time from the best side. Taiwan impressed me with its uniqueness. Somehow this island was able to bring together a mix of Asian, American and European cultures. In each area of life, the percentage of these cultures is different, of course, Asian culture prevails.
People are very kind, nice and always ready to help
I would like to share my experience, perhaps the most important of all spheres of life is people and society. Overall, I believe that the level of society in Taiwan is very high.
People are very kind, nice and always ready to help. Since I am getting a degree in business, it is very important to note how relatively easy and accessible it is to meet people who occupy very high positions in various industries.
That is, you can get invaluable information and experience from primary sources. People are open and ready for dialogue. Honestly, I believe that there are not so many places in the world where this is possible if you no longer communicate in a certain circle of people.
Study together
Also, I became very close friends with most of my fellow classmates. We often spend time together doing school projects, but we also meet outside of class time. We even travel together sometimes. If I have any problem, I can always ask for help and get it. In addition, my Taiwanese classmates introduce me to their culture, food and traditions.
You will never know until you try
Summarizing all of the above, I would like to say that I am very glad that I decided to come to Taiwan. Of course, during my time spent here, different situations happened, both pleasant and not. And I still discover a lot of new things for myself.
However, I can say with confidence that by deciding on this step to come here I grow every day as a person and a professional. This is an unambiguously invaluable and amazing experience and the expression “You will never know until you try” is absolutely true for me.
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