Yes, my "blog" is up but it's more about my personal growth than anything. LOL
Due to my poor planning I didn't really get to prepare (nor save) for China so I didn't really get to go anywhere "fun" and touristy.
I did LUV my experience and have not been able to go back. Every time I hear anything China-related my heart melts and flutters a little. I miss it a lot and want to go back badly but sadly I know when and if I do it won't be the same ppl the ppl who made my experience what is was are no longer there (other international students). BUT that doesn't mean I still can't go.
I teach Chinese for our summer program (since summer of 07) so I get some time to "get into it" again and "relive" it as well as maintain what little Chinese I have now.
Oh lucky you. The semester I went abroad there were 5 of us (from the like 120 students going every where else: Germany, England, Mexico, Australia, France, etc) who were going alone in our programs.
I don't regret going alone though. I know it would have been a very different experience had I gone with others (friends or not). Going alone I feel made me a much stronger person and it made me take more risks and allowed me to be more open to things. I know if I had other ppl with me I'd do whatever they wanted or would have been easily swayed to do/no do things.
Thankfully, the program I went through was specifically designed for American students from certain colleges around the U.S. Because of that, the curriculum was pretty easy and as a part of our learning, we traveled to different parts of China (all paid for with our tuition money). We traveled to Quanzhou, Xian, Beijing and Shanghai so I got to see a lot of the tourist sights. My best friend and I were lucky enough to be able to extend our plane tickets home (free of charge, thanks to China Airlines) and got to travel to the Yunnan Province afterwards.
You are correct in your assessment. I went back in 2011 (nine years later) and it wasn't quite the same. The campus was as beautiful as ever and looked almost exactly the same. However, not having the same people who I had shared my first experience there with made it feel very different.
My Chinese still sucks.
Wait wait sorry. Haha got my sister's mixed up. The one that went to China was actually doing an internship in Beijing. It was the one that studied abroad in Japan that won the Gilmann award. She was in Osaka.
Alas, I bailed out on my chance to study abroad during my Freshmen year in college. I'm planning on visiting Japan in the Spring to finally see what it's like there.
lol. Your sisters are quite lucky. How did they like their experience?
If you have a layover in Taiwan during your trip, let me know.