Growing up in one of the smallest towns in the smallest state in the union, I would have found it hard to imagine where I would end up back when I was your age. My town and school community were strong and close-knit, but the scale of my community sometimes made me feel like I was limited in learning about the rest of the world. Other than the typically offered French and Spanish curriculum, learning a new language, especially one with a completely different writing system such as Chinese had always been a foreign concept for me, living in Rhode Island. That was until I heard about an opportunity to travel and study abroad during my Junior year of high school. I decided to shoot my shot, and this would later send me halfway across the world to spend six weeks that summer with a host family in an immersive Chinese language program in Xi’an China! During my time in China, I had many "first experiences", including having a sister, something I had only dreamed of, growing up with two brothers! I was also able to broaden my horizons past the borders of my hometown and see what life was like for people on the other side of the world. With a newfound perspective on life, I was ready to see where my foreign language study and travels would take me next. Since that Chinese experience, I have traveled to over seven countries, five of which are in East and Southeast Asia. The world is much bigger than I thought while growing up in Rhode Island, and I am looking forward to exploring and learning about as much of it as I can!
How did I end up teaching in Taiwan?
Inspired by my time living with a host family in China, I decided to see where my language study would take me.
