A taste of life in Taipei

大家好！My name is Liv, a 20 year old student currently studying at the University of Edinburgh. I read Mandarin Chinese for five years during my time at highschool and can say that it has undoubtedly led me to some of the most exciting opportunities of my life so far. One of these opportunities took place this past June to July where I experienced a taste of life in Taipei working as a marketing intern for Edrington, an international premium spirits company and producers of whiskies such as The Macallan, Highland Park, The Famous Grouse and The Glenrothes. As a self proclaimed whisky super-fan, I was more than enthusiastic to learn more about the ins and outs of the Taiwanese Scotch Whisky market (notably one of the largest and most valuable in the world),  the industry and the company itself. Additionally, the prospect of putting my studies in Mandarin to good, practical use was equally appealing.

During my time in Taipei I worked with The Macallan team, who were not only extremely warm and welcoming but also very tolerant of my Chinese speaking skills (best described as a work in progress!). Throughout my two months in the city language remained a formidable but welcome challenge, with meetings and business at work conducted primarily in Mandarin. However, after the initial tough first weeks had passed, the feeling of satisfaction gained from increased confidence in understanding the language and speaking in a more accurate manner turned out to be one of the biggest rewards from my experience. 

Another of the many enjoyable parts of my internship was how it also enabled me to widen my cultural experience of Taiwan in general. Having visited as a 14 year old on a school language exchange before, I had always wanted to return someday. It was great to come back, now slightly older, and to experience it independently too. Returning also allowed me to really get a good feel for Taipei as a city: bustling with life and beautifully unique. Most enjoyably, I got acquainted with its vibrant nightlife and bar-scene through helping to organise various events and product launches. Testing the cocktails for such events, which I’m sure you’ll agree is a laborious job, was a welcome bonus too.

However much the surly high school student may wince at the thought, I found that it is true when our tutors tell us that the best way to learn a language is to physically go to and immerse yourself in the country, headfirst! Sometimes this may be hard, but the pay-off is great. I will admit that for me, day to day, ordinary activities in Taiwan as a Chinese-speaker-in-training turned out to be some of the most memorable challenges of all. A task as simple as ordering steamed buns for lunch can turn pear-shaped alarmingly quickly. It turns out you can easily confuse being asked to wait 10 minutes with being asked if you want to buy 10 buns. This mistake is a double edged sword: you can now enjoy 9 extra buns during your lunch hour, but only at the expense of your dignity and your office-mates’ silent judgement of your strange eating habits. 

Since coming back to chilly Edinburgh and completing my internship with Edrington, I know that I will return very soon to Taiwan. Even though my current University degree is not in Chinese, I feel that my interest in the language, continued study of it and my strong attachment to the place will be something that will stay with me throughout my life. Therefore, it is not ‘goodbye’ that I would like to say to Taiwan. Only ‘till next time’!