I merged your thread with this one as most of your questions have been discussed here already.
[quote=“NewYorker”]I’ve been peeking around the forum weekly over the past year planning a study abroad trip to Taiwan. I was in Taichung over the past summer and studied at a university in Wufong it’s new called Asia University. I am going to be in Taipei to study at NTU as an exchange student over the year and would like some advice about what to expect and how best to take advantage of my time in Taiwan. I have a lot to ask and have split it up into sections, if you can’t answer it all just answer what you can. I will be in Taipei either late August or Early Sep of this year.
Budgeting:
Besides a private dorm room that is $300usd what else would I expect my day-to-day expenditures around NTU to be.
How much is eating out breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Occasionally at a nice place. I will mainly be sticking to the buddhist vegetarian restaurants for lunch and breakfast. Can anyone recommend places around NTU?[/quote]
No idea about that myself (not Buddhist, and not vegetarian - also, not a Taipeier, but I do know it’s more expensive than Tainan). But depending on what and where you eat, I can’t see it costing you more than NT300 a day if you’re careful. In Tainan I could eat for NT150/day if I wanted to, so I got to that figure by doubling it basically. Not sure if Buddhist vegetarian food is cheaper or more expensive.
[quote=“NewYorker”]Learning Chinese:
Right now my level of Chinese is non-exisntent. I do intend to self-study over the summer. What is the best way to learn? I will be taking 10 hours a week of formal instruction, but would also like to study on my own. I know the whole idea about iscolating myself from foreigns and interacting with locals, but does anyone have any great experiences that can be shared?[/quote]
Best place for info on that would be the Learning Chinese forum.
[quote=“NewYorker”]Fun
I’m going with an academic purpose, but also want to have fun. How much would a night out at top nightclubs cost me? How much are tables etc.? Where do foreign teenagers hangout?[/quote]
Depends on how much you drink. The last time I went out in Taipei (2010) I went out with NT5000 in my pocket and got back to jimipresley’s house with less than NT2000. I was horrified. That said, I did buy a few rounds. Beers seem to be in the region of NT150 to NT200 at least, although I’m told there are some places that are cheaper. Some places also have cover charges. So, I can’t see you escaping without forking out at least NT1000 (possibly more - remember, taxis are also involved here), unless you nurse a single beer for hours on end. That, or maybe I just drink too much when I go out.
[quote=“NewYorker”]Internships/Jobs
I know that working is illegal under the visa I’ll be obtaining, but does anyone have any experience getting an internship at a multi-national? I do see myself coming back to Taiwan and would like to use my experience to better myself in a career choice.
Thanks a lot![/quote]
Not sure if that is possible or not.