🏠 Housing
What kind of place was it?
Student Residence
How much was the rent per month?
I had to pay everything at the start of the stay, it was 10,070 NTD + 3,000 NTD for deposit which were given back to me at the end of the stay. With the deposit, it was basically more or less € 350 for a whole semester.
Where was it located?
Inside the University campus, in Xinzhuang districs
How can someone find this place?
It is asked to you whether you'd like to have an accommodation in one of the university dormitories when you apply for the exchange semester, and then the university contacts you with the details later on.
Would you recommend it?
I recommend it because of its closeness to the various buildings in the campus where you'll have classes. Because of that, I could sleep late most of the times. Plus, if you are lucky, you can make many great friends while you're living there. The major downsides is that the dormitories are mostly really old and the common bathrooms weren't nice. Also, the university campus is kinda far from the city centre so, everytime we wanted to go out it would take us at least 40 mins to 1 hour to get to the well-known hangout places in the city.
🍻 Social Life
What are some top bars, clubs, or events you recommend?
I think the best club to dance was Babylon. It is on a rooftop super close to Taipei 101 so it really sets the mood. Another good place to hangout is Maji Square. There, you can find many different bars and clubs where you can eat, chill with friends, have a chat, and dance. If you'd like to go for a cool bar where you can have drinks and play card games and stuff like that, I recommend going to Another Brick. Plus, it is super international.
🎓 Uni life at Fu Jen Catholic University
Which classes do you recommend… or not?
I highly recommend Cross-Cultural Communication: Global Understanding Project -> really cool, we had two different exchanges online with a Peruvian and an American universities. Super fun and great way to meet new people. I don't recommend much Introduction to Literature I -> we had to do a LOT of projects outside of the usual midterm and final tests. If you don't like theatre and stuff like that I don't recommend it.
Do you have some tips?
The campus was pretty cool, not too big and not too small. I recommend only choosing courses in English and, if you want to improve your Chinese, attend the Free Mandarin Evening Course provided by the university. If you want to get high grades and not fail, you need to have a REALLY good attendance record. The professors were nice and pretty chill most of the time. Registration was easy and the people at the International Student Office were nice and helpful. I'd pick this uni again because I had a good time and the courses were pretty good but, if I had the chance to, I would have liked to attend a uni that's closer to the centre of Taipei.
✈️ Travel
Best trips to do?
There's many things to see around the Island, around the Taipei area too. I highly recommend going to the Yehliu Geopark, to Wulai, to the south and centre of the Island and, if you have the chance, travel outside too. I want on a trip to Thailand that will forever be one of my favourite memories from this exchange program.
🌆 Taipei vibe
What do you absolutely need to know to live your best life in Taipei?
Taipei is mostly really safe. The public transportation works great and the most important areas of the city are all well-connected. If you go out at night, just remember that the metro stops running after midnight so you'll need to call a taxi or an uber.
💡 Other Tips
Just live your best life, it is a once in a lifetime opportunity and you should enjoy it to the fullest :)
Talk to Maddalena
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