Tainan: Days 18-21

September 17-21

9/17 — Group work time + mentor hours

9/18 — Regional revitalization lecture + afternoon tea @ NCKU

9/19 — Paper craft workshop + tea ceremony + furniture warehouse + lunch + group work time

9/20 — Final presentation prep + presentation + afternoon tea + farewell + team dinner

9/21 — Goodbye Taiwan!

Our last few days in Taiwan were packed with tons of time working on our design projects, as well as hanging out with the NCKU students, and attending our last few workshops! 

On Tuesday the 17th, my group had breakfast together and then spent the rest of our morning testing different properties of the pomelo paper. Sitting on the floor of a hotel room and using makeshift tools to experiment with our material was such an unforgettable experience! Later that night, we met up with Evelyn at our hotel and went through a rigorous brainstorming session. Although our entire group was feeling exhausted from brainstorming for days and going seemingly in circles with our idea, I really appreciated how we were all able to encourage each other to keep going and power through! We ended up having a great end to this brainstorming session, and were finally able to break out of our design block! 

Thursday was our last design workshop at Fodong Creative Park. We first attended a paper craft workshop where the teacher guided us through creating a paper sculpture that he had invented himself. I really enjoyed how passionate he was about his craft, and I thought it was really sweet how he catered this workshop towards us! He had thought through how tired we would be at this point in the program, and said he wanted to let us make something that would bring us joy and relaxation. I loved the atmosphere of the location and how cozy the tatami floors made the rooms feel. During the break between our two workshops, I took a walk around the park with a few other students. We ended up walking into the furniture store/restoration area next door, and had a great time investigating all of the unique types of furniture there. We saw a chair with legs about 3 inches tall for sitting close to the floor, and even a series of wood joining samples!

After our break, we reconvened for a tea ceremony. While learning how to brew and drink  matcha, I was surprised to learn  about all of the different rules to making the drink. Whenever I’ve seen matcha in my daily life, it’s mostly been at trendy boba shops or in my friend’s kitchen. I had no idea that good matcha was not supposed to be bitter, or that there were so many ancient customs attached to the preparation and drinking of the tea. This made me appreciate the flavor of matcha more, especially since I wasn’t a big fan of it before this workshop! 

In preparation for our final presentation, my group worked late on Thursday night. We said goodbye to Evelyn who was leaving for Taipei that night, and finished our pomelo paper lamp! I learned a lot about working with the time and resources that I have and not overthinking or overcomplicating things. Although we were tired, I had a great time working with everyone in the classroom and getting to see their designs come to life! 

On our final presentation day, we made last-minute edits to our design and presented it! Our group was really excited to have pulled through on our design, especially after feeling discouraged during our brainstorming sessions just a few days earlier. I learned so much more about navigating the design process through this workshop, specifically the brainstorming stage, as well as how to balance decision-making and idea generation. At the end of the day, we had a final dinner of milk fish soup with Khoa, and said our goodbyes!

On the final day of our study abroad, I was really not ready to leave! We had a final reflection time and I realized I would really miss this group of people and our time together. At the airport, Evelyn came to meet us and give us a final tearful goodbye! I’m so grateful to all of the people I got to meet and get closer with on this trip, both from UW and Taiwan! I learned more than I ever thought I could in just three weeks, and know that this adventure will always be a part of how I live my life now!