Navigating Studying Abroad in Taiwan as an Introvert: Don’t Let Yourself Sit Still

Written by Niklas Gamble (University of Minnesota), Student Correspondent for CET Taiwan, Summer 2024

I am an introvert. Back home in the States, I am a creature of habit—not particularly good habits, mind you. Over the Covid pandemic, I became more withdrawn than I have ever been. Deciding to return to college and, ultimately, to study abroad was a huge leap out of my comfort zone. I’m not exaggerating when I say that I was practically a recluse from 2020 to maybe 2022. I did my due diligence to get the therapy I needed, though it’s difficult to put changes into motion. To this day, even though I somehow worked up the gumption to leave the house to attend classes, I still have strange and irrational fears about going out and doing simple things, like shopping or attending holiday gatherings.

I think that I am healing faster in Taiwan than I was in the U.S. Now, I don’t mean to say that I absolutely cannot leave the house. As I said, I do leave to go to classes at my home university, and I also make a concerted effort to go to regularly scheduled game nights with friends once every other week, but it’s not enough. In Taiwan, I have school daily, whereas at home, I might have classes two or three days a week. I also make plans regularly here, even when there is a little irrational part of me that is afraid to take risks and go somewhere new.

It is honestly the best thing that could have ever happened to me, and I find that my mood has lifted considerably. I feel like the very nature of being in a big city like Taipei necessitates that you get up and go somewhere regularly. You can have your time to wind down, of course, but there is rarely, if ever a day, that you will see absolutely nobody—at least with this sort of program. I’m sure for people who grew up here, you might be able to hide away a little longer and more consistently.

I will say, I have had one or two days where I was totally alone. I was holed up in my room, with no plans, quite possibly hiding even from my own roommates. Those days, I felt a little miserable. Though I very much need and appreciate my recharge time, I find that I would almost always rather be out doing something I’ve never done before. So far, I’ve walked up the many, many stairs and winding paths of Xiangshan. I’ve gone to batting cages and a baseball game. I’ve explored museums and parks. I’ve gone to multiple restaurants, bars, and clubs. And I’ve done all this with people I met more or less in the last month or two. People I would have been fearful to meet, once upon a time. Yet, I feel like I’m making real connections here among my fellow CET peers and locals.

(Left) The Taipei Confucius Temple during an impromptu visit with my roommates and local Taiwanese friends. (Right) We had a quick rest at the Taipei Confucius Museum. It was a very hot day!

I said in my previous blog post that it’s never too late to study abroad. I think this can be as formative an experience for someone who’s experienced several years of independent adulthood as it can for students fresh out of high school. These habits, getting up and out of my literal physical comfort zone and out there into the real world, have certainly influenced how I intend to go about my life when I get back home. I am extremely optimistic about the future, and I have Taiwan to thank for that.