Hi everybody! My name is Magdalena (瑪德 in Chinese), I am 23 years old and I come from the Czech Republic. It is a small country in the central Europe. I really do love my home country; but on the other hand, I want to explore some interesting foreign countries which are beautiful, romantic, exotic and adventurous as well. When I found out that University of West Bohemia – my alma mater – offered a great opportunity to undertake a semester-long foreign internship program in Taiwan, I didn´t hesitate a minute! It was the best option for me to more easily understand how to connect learning, travelling, exploring new places, familiarizing myself with an unknown amazing culture and making new friendships. Those are the reasons why I came to Taiwan!
At first, I was very afraid of this experience because I have never been abroad for such a long time; and above all, I have never been to Asia! I was asking myself: “Could you manage this long journey? Could you manage staying abroad alone without your family? Could you learn Chinese?” The answer is simple – Yes, I could manage it! If you are asking yourself: “How can a young lady, who doesn´t speak Chinese, go to Taiwan?” I am ready to give you an answer. In Taiwan live only nice people! Since the time I have arrived here I am happy. Everybody in Taiwan is prepared to help you, give you some advice or find the best solution in every way and every situation.
Young people are maybe a little shy, at first, or they don´t want to speak English but in fact they are very friendly, open-minded, kind, polite, helpful and generous. During my stay in Taiwan I have learned many Chinese words and phrases (only a little but I will go on with learning, I promise!), I have created lifelong friendships, I am crazy in love with Taiwanese food (especially with steamed dumplings), I love the way how Taiwanese live, I am amazed by the Taiwanese natural environment and, above all, I am convinced that good people DO exist!
Can you imagine that you will move abroad, leave your home and you will start somewhere else from the beginning? I can imagine it very easily - thanks to my exchange programme here in Taiwan. I hope that I will be able to return to this lovely, amazing, exciting and admirable country.
During my stay here in Taiwan, I visited many interesting places. For example: The capital (Taipei) and Tainan – an amazing city with a long history and many places of interest.
Finally, this is the best way to express my gratitude to the Chienkuo Technology University for the best opportunity of my life, which was offered to me. THANK YOU!
▲捷克宋瑪德學生在建國交換就讀
▲宋瑪德與同學一同出遊
在台灣～激動人心的實習
文／宋瑪德 捷克姊妹校研究生，於本校服務科技研究所交換就讀
嗨大家好！我的名字是宋瑪德，今年23歲，我來自位在歐洲中部的一個小小國家～捷克共和國。
我熱愛我的祖國，但另一方面，我更樂於去探索一些國外有趣、美麗、浪漫、充滿異國情調的冒險。當我發現我的母校～西波希米亞大學，提供了一個很好的機會，能夠前往台灣進行一個學期的國外實習計畫時，我一分鐘都沒有猶豫！我知道，對我來說這是我最佳的選擇，一個值得學習、旅遊、探索新的地方，在那裡，我可以讓自己去追尋一個未知、令人驚喜的文化，還可以結交新的友誼。這些都是我為什麼來台灣的原因！
起初，我也很害怕這樣的經歷，因為我從來沒有在國外這麼長的時間，重要的是，我從來沒有到過亞洲！我曾問自己：「你能規劃好這樣一個漫長的旅程嗎？」「你可以一個人留在國外、沒有家人的陪伴而不會驚慌失措嗎？」而我前往台灣學習的答案總是很簡單：「是的，我可以照顧我自己！」
如果你再問自己：「怎麼能讓一個不說中國話的年輕姑娘去台灣？」現在，我準備給你這樣一個答案：「在台灣只住好人！我現在在台灣，台灣的每個人都在準備幫助你，給你一些建議或者發現以各種方式和各種情況下的最佳解決方案。」
台灣的年輕人也許有點害羞，或者是他們說英語能力不太好，但實際上他們是非常友好、豁達、善良、有禮貌、樂於助人、大方的。在台灣，我學到了很多中國的單詞和短語（只有一點點，但我會繼續學習，我保證！），在台灣求學期間，我參觀了許多有趣的地方。例如：台北及台南，這些了不起的城市有著悠久的歷史和許多名勝古蹟。我已經創建了終身的友誼，我瘋狂的愛上了台灣食品（特別是蒸餃），尤其，我對台灣的自然環境更讚歎不已，我相信，在台灣，善良的人確實存在！
我曾想像過，如果有一天我會搬到國外，離開自己的家，到一個新的地方從新開始生活？由於在台灣的交流計劃我能想像它很容易。我希望有一天我能夠回到這個可愛的、驚人的、令人興奮的、令人欽佩的國家。
「THANK YOU ！」最後，我要表達我的感謝，我要謝謝建國科技大學給我的一生提供最好的機會。
