Done my 8 weeks time to travel in Taiwan!

Well, I've finished up 8 weeks of intensive Mandarin. My classes were 1 on 1 except 1 week of group classes. I studied a ton and went to a lot of language exchanges. I still need to keep the momentum, as I feel I could easily start forgetting but I also feel I am just about at B1 level which is HSK3. Chat GPT would explain that this would usually take 18 months in University. One caveat being my reading ability is a bit behind as I focussed a more on speaking (using pingyin). I also feel I struggle a bit with listening, but this doesn't concern me too much I am just working on getting more input (podcasts and speaking with locals).


The textbooks we and most schools use in Mandarin is from Taiwan Normal University. There are 4 levels, each with 3 books - I am starting level 3! I am now setting off to travel in Taiwan, although people do speak English in many places, I do feel a lot more comfortable having some Chinese as backup. 

I also finished my 10 pingpong classes and definitely improved. The women on left asked me to play, when I initially showed up, I couldn't get back anything (she put lots of spin on). Sadly when I asked to play she got someone else to play me instead, WTF!?


Top right is the Queen's head landmark msuhroom rock formation in Yeliu Geopark. This was part of a day tour.

 

Top left is Shifen waterfalls, also part of the day tour I did with get your guide. And a market through Jiufen. This place was great because unlike most night markets where it is so hot, this was covered and lots of places had air conditioning. Ideally would go with a group of 3 or 4 so you can share snacks. They sold lots of tea, same script I've heard a million times, good for blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes.

Once you turn 30, it's time to run. I did join a Hash group for an 8 km run. We got rained on... HEAVILY and got lost so was more like 10 km but really fun. The bottom right is one of these spas that people often go to at night, first you soak your feet, then a foot massage with some tea.


They have an amazing bike system, and they have some electric ones that are SWEET. Bottom right was a note from one of my classes, educating me on how to order bubble tea.



I am now setting off to Taichung as I start going through a variety of cities that I learned about in my class!

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