Going to Sun Yat Sen uni in Gaoxiong!

[tetsuo500]

Ok, so there was no chance of going to China this year through my university, so when they offered me Taiwan I accepted. And I'm liking the idea more and more every day.

I'll most likely be going to Sun Yat Sen (Zhong Shan) in Gao Xiong, but still may be going to another uni which I can't remember the name of right now, which I think is just outside of Taizhong. The info sheet I was given says "345 acres next to Taichung", whatever that means.

Has anyone been to Zhong Shan uni, or been to Gaoxiong who can share their experiences? How close is the university to the city? Is there much accommodation around the uni? Lots of restaurants around the uni?

[tetsuo500]

I was just speaking with a friend who studied at Tunghai (Donghai?) university in Taizhong, who was telling me all about it.... actually I kind of want to go to Taizhong more now.... ahhhh! I can't decide!

I'm going to do more research....

[林彪]

Gaoxiong? Taizhong? That's the first time I've seen those names romanized in Hanyu Pinyin.

[tetsuo500]

Yeah. I'm a rebel.

I believe Taiwanese pinyin, whatever it's called (tongyong?) was spawned from the endless void that is Satan's soul.

When I'm in Taiwan my plan is to spraypaint over all the street signs in hanyu pinyin.

[gao_bo_han]

I have only been to Gaoxiong once, but I heard Taiwanese EVERYWHERE...and I mean everywhere. With the exception of the hotel staff, people always approached me in Taiwanese. Children and adults alike speak Taiwanese on the streets, not Mandarin. I heard Mandarin only a handful of times during my little trip to Gaoxiong.

However, if you are interested in studying Taiwanese and Mandarin simultaneously, Gaoxiong is your place.

Good luck!

[aprimo]

Yes, Taiwanese is pretty prevalent. But if you look like a foreignor, I think the locals will speak Mandarin to you first. I'm in Taipei, and I am an ABC, so I don't always get that benefit, and have to embarassingly tell those who start babbling at me in Taiwanese that I only understand Mandarin and English.

By the way, Tetsuo, you should take a look at www.forumosa.com if you're planning to be in Taiwan. It's pretty helpful, though, admittedly, populated mostly by those in Taipei. But you could change that!

Taizhong is probably bigger than Gaoxiong, but the advantage of being in Gaoxiong is that you're closer to the south coast and there are some pretty nice mountains around it.

Good luck, whatever your decision!

[tetsuo500]

Looks like I'm going to Gaoxiong.

I'd go to both places if I could. I keep hearing good things about both cities.

I heard that to live in Taizhong, you definately need a scooter to get around. Which seems pretty scary at the moment, looking at Taiwan's traffic.

I'm white and I have a big nose, so hopefully most people will speak to me in Mandarin rather than Taiwanese. But anyway, I don't mind learning a bit of Taiwanese if I have to....

Thanks for your help, I'm going to go check out forumosa some more.