Meet the students

Learning Chinese U.S.A.

Carvell Wilkins

UniversityNational Taiwan Normal University

MajorLocal language and literature studies


My name is Carvell Wilkins and I am from Michigan. I am currently studying at NTNU's Chinese language center in Taiwan but, I will soon be attending their Graduate School of Global Business and Strategy.

Living in Taiwan has broaden my horizons. Before coming to Taiwan, I didn’t know too much about the world outside of the US, and I thought only people in china used Chinese as a first language. I had never heard of Taiwan, and felt that It wasn’t an important enough country to go visit or live. Over time I was convinced to go to Taiwan under a Free program set up by my university. Upon arriving to Taiwan, I could see right away how Taiwanese appreciated foreigners, and welcomed me as if I was royalty. It was then I knew that I had found something good. I never knew a country could be so welcoming to foreigners in this kind of way. It taught me that there are many worlds that exist outside of America, and Taiwan is one of the better ones.

The culture shock of living in Taiwan quickly left when I started meeting Taiwanese. Taiwanese are so eager to talk to foreigners and develop a friendship. When going abroad, one thing that most foreigners will encounter is homesickness. What is great about Taiwan is, Taiwanese will help you create a home away from home. New Friends, New Family, and a new life will be given to those who are willing to come to Taiwan. Friends in Taiwan will take care of you extremely well, and any type of culture shock that you may encounter will quickly disappear because you will be too engaged in enjoying you current life.