Written by Isaac Frank (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), Student Correspondent for CET Taiwan, Spring 2025
“台灣最美麗的風景就是人心“ – Taiwan’s most beautiful scenery is the hearts of its people.
This is a Taiwanese saying that a new local friend shared with me yesterday on our hike in Taoyuan, my local CET roommates’ hometown. Before coming to Taiwan, I read about Taipei being known for its friendliness, but for some reason I continued to carry doubt until my experiences proved the saying true. From store owners giving us free milk tea, to Uber drivers teaching us Chinese phrases, to strangers helping us find our destination, I don’t feel that I’m in a foreign land, but rather that I’m returning home.
Welcomed…
…Into The Night Markets
Our local CET roommate, Mike, took us to New Taipei City to show us around 樂華 (Le Hua) Night Market to eat famous Taiwanese street food for (a CET-reimbursed) dinner. He constantly answered our questions, whether it was about candied fruits or stinky tofu, how to order or how to pay, or simply telling us what was spicy and what wasn’t.
…Into My Internship
My CET-coordinated internship company, Oen Tech, is a growing tech startup with an awesome company culture. On my CET friend Nico and my first day, they showed us around the office and introduced us to everyone despite the language barrier. The CEO came out of a meeting to chat with us and offer us “whatever kind of work we wanted to do” because they were “there to help us learn”. Then, they handed us free drinks, snacks, and all kinds of merch.
…Into Local Restaurants
Above is a picture a 55 NTD (~$1.65) Taiwanese pesto and pork noodle dish served by a kind woman at a tiny local restaurant with no inside seating area. Nico and I talked with her in Chinese for a bit, and right as we were about to leave, she told us to wait a second and then reached inside the store fridge. She brought out two milk teas and gave them to us, and as we reached for our wallets to pay she refused pay and smiled warmly at us. Since then, we’ve continued to go back, and the food just keeps getting better. Safe to say, Nico and I are going to be going back there regularly the rest of this semester.
…Into The Cultural Scenery
My CET local language partner took my roommate John Mark and I to a Buddhist temple with this beautiful waterfall around it. He explained much of the religious and cultural blending of eastern religions and philosophies in Taiwan to us and answered many of our questions.
…And Back to The Night Markets
I seriously cannot stress the night markets enough. Pictured above is deep fried octopus in ball form, which was recommended by our local roommate.
When I look at the short time that I’ve been in Taiwan so far, despite all the beautiful scenery and amazing food, the people truly have been the most impactful part of my experience. From CET-coordinated local language partners and roommates to food workers and strangers, I wholeheartedly agree with the saying: Taiwan’s most beautiful scenery is indeed the hearts of its people.