MINERVA VOICES

Letter From Taipei

See Taipei through Andi Bucescu's Perspective
December 22, 2022

Ni Hao from Taipei,

Over half a semester has passed since we arrived in Taipei, and I find it unbelievable how time flew. Once everyone arrived in early September, we headed out to explore. Taipei welcomed us with local festivities for the Moon Festival which we all enjoyed from the rooftop of our residence hall. It was wonderful to reunite with my classmates after a long summer, to catch up, and to discover all the parks, restaurants, night markets, and landmarks together. We certainly have been staying busy in the best way possible.

We are enjoying amazing events in the city almost every week, ranging from global conferences to networking events, hikes, Halloween celebrations, and even a lantern festival. I have been loving the warm weather here, which motivated me to go out every day and spend time soaking up the sun with my friends.

Taipei Travel Photo

This year, everyone in our class has started studying courses that are relevant to their majors, meaning that we no longer have classes at the same times as everyone else. However, what has not changed is the Minervans’ desire to explore and collect memories with their friends from all over the world. People have been taking day trips to smaller, nearby towns to further engage with local communities and experience new activities. Some of my friends have camped for the first time ever in Miaoli, and others have snorkeled to see turtles in Kaohsiung. My personal favorite out of all these new, once-in-a-lifetime experiences was drinking traditional Oolong Tea at the A Mei Teahouse in Jioufen, a town near Taipei that is known for being the inspiration behind the famous anime “Spirited Away.” After warming up with the afternoon tea, we walked around on the Old Street, which was filled with magical red lanterns.

All in all, it has been a very fast-paced, eventful semester, and the rest of it does not look like it is going to slow down either. Friendsgiving is coming up soon. This is a huge event in our community for which a lot of Minervans are making preparations by creating decorations, managing the food menu, or rehearsing their performances for the day of the event.

I am so excited to spend more time in this vibrant city, discovering its night markets, mountains, beaches, and temples. Most importantly, however, I am excited about doing all this with the people who I now consider my extended family - the community of the Class of 2025.

Warm greetings,

Andi
Class of 2025

If you want to embark on an immersive academic journey around the world surrounded by a creative, bold, and impactful community, start your Minerva application today.

Quick Facts

Name
Country
Class
Major
Business and Computational Sciences
Business and Social Sciences
Arts and Humanities
Business, Social Sciences
Business & Arts and Humanities
Computational Sciences
Natural Sciences, Computer Science
Computational Sciences
Arts & Humanities
Computational Sciences, Social Sciences
Computational Sciences
Computational Sciences
Natural Sciences, Social Sciences
Social Sciences, Natural Sciences
Data Science, Statistics
Computational Sciences
Business
Computational Sciences, Data Science
Social Sciences
Natural Sciences
Business, Natural Sciences
Business, Social Sciences
Computational Sciences
Arts & Humanities, Social Sciences
Social Sciences
Computational Sciences, Natural Sciences
Natural Sciences
Computational Sciences, Social Sciences
Business, Social Sciences
Computational Sciences
Natural Sciences, Social Sciences
Social Sciences
Arts & Humanities, Social Sciences
Arts & Humanities, Social Science
Social Sciences, Business
Arts & Humanities
Computational Sciences, Social Science
Natural Sciences, Computer Science
Computational Science, Statistic Natural Sciences
Business & Social Sciences
Computational Science, Social Sciences
Social Sciences and Business
Business
Arts and Humanities
Computational Sciences
Social Sciences
Social Sciences and Computational Sciences
Social Sciences & Computational Sciences
Social Sciences & Arts and Humanities
Computational Science
Minor
Economics
Social Sciences
Concentration
Machine Learning
Cells, Organisms, Data Science, Statistics
Arts & Literature and Historical Forces
Artificial Intelligence & Computer Science
Cells and Organisms, Mind and Emotion
Economics, Physics
Managing Operational Complexity and Strategic Finance
Global Development Studies and Brain, Cognition, and Behavior
Scalable Growth, Designing Societies
Business
Drug Discovery Research, Designing and Implementing Policies
Historical Forces, Cognition, Brain, and Behavior
Artificial Intelligence, Psychology
Designing Solutions, Data Science and Statistics
Data Science and Statistic, Theoretical Foundations of Natural Science
Strategic Finance, Politics, Government, and Society
Data Analysis, Cognition
Brand Management
Data Science and Statistics & Economics
Cognitive Science & Economics
Data Science and Statistics and Contemporary Knowledge Discovery
Internship
Higia Technologies
Project Development and Marketing Analyst Intern at VIVITA, a Mistletoe company
Business Development Intern, DoSomething.org
Business Analyst, Clean Energy Associates (CEA)

Conversation

Ni Hao from Taipei,

Over half a semester has passed since we arrived in Taipei, and I find it unbelievable how time flew. Once everyone arrived in early September, we headed out to explore. Taipei welcomed us with local festivities for the Moon Festival which we all enjoyed from the rooftop of our residence hall. It was wonderful to reunite with my classmates after a long summer, to catch up, and to discover all the parks, restaurants, night markets, and landmarks together. We certainly have been staying busy in the best way possible.

We are enjoying amazing events in the city almost every week, ranging from global conferences to networking events, hikes, Halloween celebrations, and even a lantern festival. I have been loving the warm weather here, which motivated me to go out every day and spend time soaking up the sun with my friends.

Taipei Travel Photo

This year, everyone in our class has started studying courses that are relevant to their majors, meaning that we no longer have classes at the same times as everyone else. However, what has not changed is the Minervans’ desire to explore and collect memories with their friends from all over the world. People have been taking day trips to smaller, nearby towns to further engage with local communities and experience new activities. Some of my friends have camped for the first time ever in Miaoli, and others have snorkeled to see turtles in Kaohsiung. My personal favorite out of all these new, once-in-a-lifetime experiences was drinking traditional Oolong Tea at the A Mei Teahouse in Jioufen, a town near Taipei that is known for being the inspiration behind the famous anime “Spirited Away.” After warming up with the afternoon tea, we walked around on the Old Street, which was filled with magical red lanterns.

All in all, it has been a very fast-paced, eventful semester, and the rest of it does not look like it is going to slow down either. Friendsgiving is coming up soon. This is a huge event in our community for which a lot of Minervans are making preparations by creating decorations, managing the food menu, or rehearsing their performances for the day of the event.

I am so excited to spend more time in this vibrant city, discovering its night markets, mountains, beaches, and temples. Most importantly, however, I am excited about doing all this with the people who I now consider my extended family - the community of the Class of 2025.

Warm greetings,

Andi
Class of 2025

If you want to embark on an immersive academic journey around the world surrounded by a creative, bold, and impactful community, start your Minerva application today.