If you asked me last September if I expected any surprises coming to Taiwan, I would never have guessed that one of these would be waking up to the largest earthquake in 25 years! On 4/3/2024, those of us living in Taiwan, as well as in neighboring Japan, woke up to the largest regional earthquake since 9/21/1999, with its epicenter in Hualien and having a magnitude of 7.4.
I was really lucky to have been in a safe place in Taiwan while the earthquake happened, but if you've never felt an earthquake that strong before, I can let you know that it can be a little scary!
Even though my dorm wasn't damaged, we couldn't enter our school libraries for a little while because lot books and shelves fell over.
However, it's been a week now, and it looks like a lot of the places that were damaged are being fixed! It was a really unique experience to have over here, since Texas doesn't have many earthquakes like Taiwan does!
All in the same week, I also celebrated a classmate's birthday party and had lots of midterm exams, so it's been a very chaotic time for me. But I am still happy I decided to come to Taiwan and make the most of my time here.
I have also been working on my Mandarin speaking skills, and I definitely notice a big difference!
