Hey guys, it's been a while! For those of you who don't know, and don't want to scroll back, my name is Maya Kinsman, I'm currently a sophomore (oh gosh!), and this is my second year writing for the MacBlog. But - I actually haven't been back in New York for even a week yet. I am in the Chinese Flagship program, and this summer many of us went to Taiwan for two months to further our studies. Last Wednesday I landed at JFK before customs opened, back from almost 3 months abroad in Asia. I really enjoyed my time overseas, and though I have traveled pretty extensively with my family, I've never studied abroad before or traveled alone/with friends overseas. School in Taipei was pretty rigorous and although we had our ups and downs, overall it was so worth the experience - I really recommend studying abroad, even if you aren't a language major.
Other than studying, of course we took advantage of being in a completely different country and explored quite a bit! Right out of the park, we went to a restaurant that is toilet-themed! The food is served in urinals, toilet bowls, squaty-pottys, and all the decor is bathroom-related. Although it wasn't amazing food, it was a fun experience! Especially for all the puns my friend was able to use.
Towards the end of our time in Taiwan, a few of my friends and I climbed up a mountain called Elephant Mountain, which has a great view of Taipei 101, and took some pretty silly photos.
However, our campus itself (National Taiwan University located in Taipei) was really gorgeous and a real change from Hunter, itself. It was definitely something to get used to: having to walk 15 minutes across campus to your other classes.
After Taiwan, a few of my friends and I traveled for the majority of August through Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Hong Kong. Don't ask me what my favourite place was!! I really don't have a favourite or a least favourite for that matter, mainly because they are quite different places and we had quite different experiences in each of them! They were all so exciting and interesting, whether we went to cultural and historical sites or just made friends from around the world at our hostels.
In Singapore, we went on the tallest ferris wheel in the world (called the Singapore Flyer) which has a spectacular view of the city, night and day. We also went to the only Night Safari in the world, which was pretty much a zoo at night with a amusement park/zoo-like safari ride included. And I bought a white tiger key chain from there, which is adorable!
In Malaysia, we met up with one of my Chinese tutors from Hunter (who is Malaysian) and got shown around parts of Malaysia we wouldn't have seen otherwise (like her home village outside of Kuala Lumpur). We also went on a snorkeling trip on the other side of the country, which was really fun.
In Thailand, we visited two places - Phuket and Bangkok. In Phuket, we managed to have a few days just to relax and also to visit James Bond Island where The Man With the Golden Gun was filmed. In Bangkok, we spent a few days doing guided tours to the floating market and Attuhaya (an ancient Thai capital), as well as showing ourselves around the particular part of Bangkok we were staying in. We actually happened to be in Thailand for the Queen's birthday, which is also Mother's Day in Thailand, and is a National Holiday, during which alcohol is not allowed.
After Thailand, our group shrunk a little bit and three of us went to Hong Kong. I was born in Hong Kong, I lived there until I was five, and I go back every three years, so it wasn't quite as exotic and different for me, but it was still a really fun trip. We stayed in an apartment in a village in my old hometown, and I even managed to fit in a haircut at the same place I got it cut there three years ago!
I loved traveling, even studying, abroad and I can't wait to be able to do it again. However, right now, classes have started up (though we do have quite a long weekend after today, especially as I have Mondays off) and I need to get back into homework mode. Sad as it may be, I am glad to be able to see all the people I've missed since being away! Next week I'll hopefully be able to talk a little more about how my classes are going, and maybe my dorm room will be set up enough to post a picture (right now I'm still practically living out of my suitcase, as I haven't had time to even go back to Westchester yet to get my fridge or even a fan!!). And, just as an addendum, if you have any questions about studying abroad or traveling abroad on your own/with friends, feel free to send me an email or post a comment; I would totally be willing to talk about it more.
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