CGU - Mai Thi Phuc from Vietnam

Hi all, I come from Vietnam. Currently, I’m pursuing my Ph.D. degree at Chang Gung University (CGU).

To be honest, I enjoy living in Taiwan a lot for many little but meaningful things. First of all, the university where I’m studying is a good place for enhancing my specialized knowledge. Professors are professional, kind, patient, helpful, and truly care about my study as well as my life in Taiwan. My advisor always supports me not only in doing research but also in my finance for living. In addition, I have to say that I very much like the staff of the academic affairs and international affairs, they are nice and supportive more than I can imagine, always provide a quick response and give a hand.

Although most of the courses at my department are taught in English, some interesting academic courses are taught in Chinese. Therefore, if you don’t speak Chinese, you might miss something that you are interested in, not only in studying. Otherwise, if you’re good at Chinese, that will be another story: you could obtain more knowledge, comprehend more about the culture and people in this amazing country, and your journey will be more enjoyable. That’s why I’ve been studying Chinese from almost zero since I came to Taiwan. Fortunately, my Taiwanese roommate is a cute girl, she teaches me Chinese, so my Chinese quickly improves every single day.

At my university, safe and available well-equipped dorms are free for all international students. The surroundings are green and pure; I love to take a walk or go on a picnic on weekends at a large park in front of the school gate with my friends for releasing stress. Besides, the working hour in Taiwan is later than that in Vietnam, starting from 9 AM. In Vietnam, I usually begin working at 7 or 7:30 AM. Thus, I feel more comfortable when staying here where I can get up later and enjoy my breakfast leisurely then. I also do a part-time job at the school canteen, learning Chinese as well as saving money on shopping and traveling. I love traveling in Taiwan because public transportation is convenient and safe, the food is good, people are friendly, and just the hotel is quite expensive, haha.

Come to Taiwan, you will get a good education and consideration of a reasonable sum of money. Nevertheless, consider getting a scholarship like me in case you want to support your education without many financial stressors. When you study abroad, homesickness is a real thing, and it can be stressful for international students. Fortunately, Taiwan is not very far from Vietnam, it just takes about 3 hours for a flight, I can go back to visit home 3 to 4 times each year. However, because of the epidemic, it’s harder to do that now. I hope that this situation will be well soon.

In my opinion, one important thing is that Taiwan is a very friendly local culture. You can have the best education in most places, but friendly culture is very limitedly found in the world.