International community

By Ekaterina, Class 2022

There is a famous Russian proverb: "Tell me who your friend is, and I will tell you who you are." I cannot but agree with this statement. We choose our friends and the society that surrounds us.

International community
International community

Community: people from all over the world

In Taiwan, I met many people from all over the world. When you meet people who were not raised in the same cultural environment as you, you begin to realize that what you know only scratches the surface of a vast spectrum of global cultural experience. When you learn about regions of the globe from the people who actually live in them, you are given the opportunity to challenge any stereotypes you may not have known about. Of course, you don't always become close friends, but you can definitely learn something from each person. Especially people from people who, like you, left home to realize their dreams and develop.

International Students

There are a lot of international students in our global MBA program. I had classmates from European countries, Indonesia, Vietnam and so on. Each is unique in its own way and can tell a lot of interesting facts. For example, I never knew that Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, has the highest level of traffic congestion in the world. And also that they have a choice of taxis in the form of scooters.

At school, often during presentations, when information about the country from which a classmate comes from, you can directly confirm or refute some fact. And when we meet outside school hours, it's very interesting to try new things and discover Taiwan from different sides together. And the most interesting thing is that everyone has their own reaction. What may like something, another person might totally hate. With many of classmates, we really became close friends and are ready to help each other in any situation.

So excited in GMBA, NYCU

Also, I met many people during trips and travels. I could not even imagine when I was going to go to Taiwan that the international community is so developed here. I made very close friends from the Netherlands, Ireland, America, England, South Africa. Each of them works in completely different professions: someone is an engineer, someone is an English teacher, someone is a dance teacher. And hearing the background of each is very exciting.

Sometimes, you are literally amazed by unusual stories from life and you understand that the world is huge and beautiful. For example, in the first two weeks of my stay on the island, I decided to go to an electronic music festival. There I met a professor at the University of San Francisco who specializes in computer science. This man has already traveled to more than 109 countries.

During the pandemic, he was able to visit more than 15 countries. Now he works as an exchange professor in Austria and travels around Europe. Sometimes we correspond and he tells stories from his travels. He often works on the road and writes scientific papers. The following year, he was invited to perform in Dubai and Japan. Such stories are very inspiring and give an understanding that all the limitations are only in the head.

My Opinion

In the end, I would like to say that the society that surrounds you can teach you a lot. In my opinion, especially if they are from different countries and communities. You need to be open to the world and the world will open to you.