Day 3 in Taiwan: Lecture in National Taipei University, Visit American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei, Visit Tamkang University

In the morning we visited National Taipei University where we had a lecture on Taiwan’s economy. Taiwan is one of the high performance Asian economies with high growth rate, low inflation and low unemployment rates. As for 2007, the GDP rate equals to 5.7%, 1.8% inflation, and 3.9% unemployment. Economists in Taiwan care about GDP per capita because it’s the best single indicator for welfare measure. People in the countries with high GDP per capita enjoy a better life. Unlike the US, Taiwan is relatively small economy and thus the domestic demand is less important as it is in the US. Taiwan sells more to foreigners than it buys from them. Taiwan relies more on foreign demand. Trade is important to small open economy like Taiwan.

Then we visited American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei. ACC is a non-profit, non-partisan business organization. It’s dedicated to promoting the interests of international business in the Republic of China. ACC has become the largest, most effective business organization in Taiwan. They provide an opportunity for participation in industry-specific committee meetings, chamber-wide monthly luncheons, executive educational programs and information-packed conferences and symposiums. However, their annual fees are high and due to the current state of the economy, their business is struggling.

Visiting Tamkang University was probably one of the best moments in Taiwan. We actually had to participate in one of the classes. It was the first time when I actually got a chance to meet Taiwanese students, who were very friendly and welcoming. It was a management science class where we had a case and five questions. The answers had to be to be presented in class. Even though we talked about everything but the assignment, I was very happy to meet them and share my first impressions of Taiwan. When it was time to present…….Yes, I was the one in front of about a hundred people, presenting… Surprisingly, after I got up there after other two people, the class got quite and they actually listened to what I was saying. Also, after four people presented, there was a vote…and I WON! It was a very memorable experience.

Then we had a TKU campus tour and Tansui tour. We were broken down into groups of 3-4 people and 4 TKU students that were with us. Mee, Monzir, and I got the best group ever! I was very impressed with their English language and how approachable they were. We spent the whole evening together, going around campus, going to the night market and just having a lot of fun. People in Taiwan are very friendly and I never really felt as an outsider. Even though I cannot speak Mandarin, they could still understand what I wanted…Unlike in the US, most people in Taiwan are not only friendly, but also helpful and they actually try to understand, even if it takes time and patience. That was the day when I fell in love with Taipei and its people…I would definitely come back to visit, or even consider being an expatriate there…

I almost forgot: we tried a lot of weird food at the night market. That was a great experience and I think in order to learn and respect different culture, trying its food is one of the best ways to learn, especially while interacting with locals who make you try stuff. I have to say I would never do it on my own.