2009 was a year of change in my life. I decided to take a new direction.
For years, I have wanted to learn Mandarin. In the fall semester of 2008, I enrolled in online Chinese classes at City College in San Francisco, California. However, I realized that learning fluent Mandarin in the United States, working full-time, and raising a child was near impossible. Mandarin is the most difficult language I have studied to date because of its tonal language. (Mandarin has four tones, changing word meaning depending on intonation.)
In the United States, I was an immigration attorney in private practice, however, the current state of immigration law has made it challenging to obtain favorable solutions for many potential clients. I decided that a career and life change was in order and that it was time to fulfill my dream of living abroad and mastering Mandarin.
Growing up I had friends whose families were from Taiwan, and I have met many Taiwanese people throughout the years. My Mandarin tutor was also Taiwanese, and I found out about a wonderful scholarship opportunity offered by Taiwan's Ministry of Education, which would let me study Mandarin for one year and then pursue a Master's Degree. I was fortunate enough to be granted the Taiwan Scholarship and will study Mandarin for one year in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. After my year in Kaohsiung, I will move to Taipei, to study at National Taiwan University, in their global MBA program. NTU's MBA program is taught entirely in English and is among the best in Asia.
I will document my experience learning Mandarin, becoming familiar with Taiwanese culture, travelling throughout Taiwan, assisting my 4-year-old daughter in adjusting to a new country and a new language, and pursuing an MBA abroad in this blog and the accompanying Huayu blog. I hope you will join me on this exciting journey.
