PriMarina

Hi
Who knows the information about Taiwan, the standard of living and security?

hong_konger

I have a few friends who regularly visit Taiwan and they love the place. Nice and friendly and very safe. Like anywhere you can live as expensively or as cheaply as you want.

PriMarina

Thank you.
Interestingly, it is safe for a young girl too, without parents?
Maybe you have links to local forums?

hong_konger

Are you thinking of running away from home ? LOL

TsukinoDeynatsu

Depends how young is young and how dumb she is too!

Taiwan's usually pretty safe, but you do need to keep common sense about you. I wandered around all over the place solo at 21 and was fine.

PriMarina

I am not : D I am a very big girl

But I am looking for my daughter country to study in university. I had think about Taiwan, but once changed the view and now I am look at Austria.

TsukinoDeynatsu

Thanks, I think everyone should have head on his shoulders, regardless of location.

petrichor

Hi PriMarina

I'm currently living in Taiwan and it's a great place to live. It's very safe except for the traffic, where you need to keep your wits about you.

If you've got any specific questions just fire away.

PriMarina

Hi Petrichor!

Thank you for your response about Taiwan, I read your blog, I see now that it is comfortable and friendly country, I think it is safe for children. Maybe you know something about the university there, i see your child is still a schoolboy..

petrichor

Hi PriMarina

I do know a little about the universities here. They're friendly to foreign students and cheap compared to many other countries. The teaching style is quite old-fashioned, though, from what I've heard. But I have met several foreign students who are very happy here. I'm not sure how many English language instruction courses there are, nor in what areas. (I'm assuming your daughter speaks English. I think the choice is only between Mandarin or English.) What subjects is your daughter interested in?

PriMarina

Thank you again, Petrichor.
Yes, I heard about the old-fashioned style of teaching in universities too and also that the students in practice working for free as a carer for the elderly... You know anything about this?

The daughter wants to study advertising and public relations, her English is perfect, unlike me. (I am sorry)

You said that the cost of education is cheap, I know this from others people too, but I do not see this information on any of the univers sites, in Taipei, for example.
I would be grateful for the help.

petrichor

I don't think that all the students have to offer free care for the elderly. I think that may be something that some Taiwanese students have to do in lieu of national service, which is compulsory if you're Taiwanese.

There are three main universities: National Taiwan University (central Taipei)
National Taiwan Normal University (central Taipei)
National Chengchi University (suburban Taipei)

I found NTU's English language courses here: http://nol.ntu.edu.tw/nol/guest/index.php

There are 604 so perhaps your daughter can have a look through and see if there's anything relevant there.

NTNU's prospectus can be downloaded from this page: http://www.ntnu.edu.tw/oia/multi/english/programs.html

NCCU's information is here: http://oic.nccu.edu.tw/english/admission.php

And their list of courses is here: http://moltke.cc.nccu.edu.tw/qrycourse/qryEngSub.jsp

One caveat is that I have heard foreigners complain sometimes that the English used by some professors is difficult for them to understand. I think, as with most things, studying here won''t be the perfect experience, but Taiwan is definitely a friendly and safe destination for international students (except for the traffic, as I said earlier).

PriMarina

Dear Petrichor!
I am very grateful to you and i would like to be useful for you too.
With pleasure I will surf sites.

petrichor

You're welcome. It's easy to find the sites when you know the universities' names. I hope your daughter finds something she likes and has a good time at university, wherever she ends up.

Matematik

Why not consider the Scandinavian countries? Free or very low cost tuition, almost everyone speaks English, multicultural, safe, and I would imagine a far more familiar environment for a Russian than Taiwan would be. Also, there is a large range of English taught degrees, I imagine many more than in Taiwan.

I'm not saying Taiwan is neccessarily a bad place to study, but outside of univeristies, it is likely that almost no one will speak English, or Russian for that matter and unless she learns conversational Mandarin sharpish she could find herself pretty isolated, and only being able to socialise with other international students, who are probably not that numerous in comparison to countries like Sweden.

While it would undoubtedly be an experience to remember, turning up in Taiwan as a non-Asian, non-Mandarin speaking foreign student is definately going to be a challenge. Without Mandarin, even getting around and buying food is going to be an uphill struggle and an unwelcome added pressure when the main reason you're in Taiwan is to study.

petrichor

Actually, nothing could be further from the truth. So many people speak English here and it's so popular that the main problem is finding people to practise your Mandarin with. This is a common complaint of people who are here to learn the language.Long-timers complain that despite the fact that they can clearly speak fluent Mandarin, the Taiwanese will insist on speaking English to them.

I've had complete strangers come up to me in the street to try to arrange play dates between my son and their children so that their children can practise their English. I know people who have lived here very happily for decades and know about 5 words of Mandarin. Street signs are in English, as are many other signs, many restaurants have English menus and in most places you visit the staff will go and find someone to speak English to you without your asking. I could go on but you get the picture.

Not only that, as a white foreigner you are accorded a high status. Everyone wants to be your friend, not only because they can practise their English but because having foreign friends carries some prestige. In fact, I would say that that is the main problem for most people - the minor celebrity status. Foreigners get tired of people saying hello to them in the street. That would be the only warning I'd give the OP's daughter, that if she's very shy she might not like all the attention.