Andrea Mason Willfratt shares her experiences as an international student in both Switzerland and Taiwan.
Originally from the UK, Andrea is studying French, Chinese and English at Switzerland's University of Lausanne. She also spent a year studying Chinese at National Chengchi University, Taiwan.
Multi-lingual life
As well as allowing Andrea to fulfill a lifelong ambition to live abroad, studying in Switzerland offered a distinct advantage due to its unique multi-lingual nature.
“I wanted to study in Switzerland because I was interested in learning languages and Switzerland has four national languages – French, German, Italian and Romansch.”
Specifically, it was a desire to improve her French by living in a Francophone country motivated her to take the plunge. “It made more sense to live in a country where the language is spoken than to study it in England... and of course the tuition fees are a lot cheaper!”
It wasn’t the reasonableness of the tuition fees (CHF580 a semester, around US$690) alone that appealed, but also the climate and the pace of life.
“I like the weather (lots of sun in summer and snow in winter) and I love swimming in the lakes in summer. My favorite Swiss city is Bern, known as the ‘slow city’ because of the slow sound of the dialect spoken there. It has a really relaxed atmosphere and a beautiful old town. I also like the national pastime of the apero – at 5pm all the terraces of the bars in the city are full of people having a drink before dinner.”
More opportunities
While her decision to study at the University of Lausanne was motivated by a desire to strengthen her French, Andrea’s studies also encompassed English and Chinese.
As a student of Chinese, she was given the chance to apply for a scholarship to study at the National Chengchi University in Taiwan for a year. Her passion for travel and belief in the innate value of learning a language where it’s spoken led her to apply for the scholarship, which she duly won.
Though Taiwan is distinctly further from home, the experience was made more comfortable by the locals’ accommodating nature: “The people were really friendly – I spent Chinese New Year with a friend whose family owned a small temple in Taipei and was invited to several banquets and weddings by people I barely knew.”
That said, she does warn anyone thinking of studying in Taiwan that it pays to have a thick skin: “People in Taiwan, especially older people, are sometimes quite blunt about your appearance; if you look tired or you’re sweating a lot or if you’re a bit overweight they have no problem telling you so.”
Among the highlights of Taiwan was its natural beauty: “I did a lot of travelling. The centre of the island is mountainous and there are a lot of national parks with volcanoes and hot springs where you can go and relax. The South has amazing coral beaches and tiny rocky islands.”
Less conventionally appealing was the food: “People kept coming up to me in restaurants and saying ‘you won’t like this’ before buying me a plate of chewy intestines.”
Nevertheless, she describes the country’s cuisine as ‘amazing’, before dispensing some valuable wisdom on the topic of culinary boldness: “Avoid going to western-style restaurants as much as possible because you’re more likely to get a stomach bug there than at the dodgy-looking stall on the street corner...”
Challenges to overcome
Of course, the language barrier was considerable. “At first everything was a challenge, from reading menus in restaurants to taking the bus.” But Andrea insists you shouldn’t let this put you off: “There were always a lot of people around eager to help!”
Apart from language issues, there were certainly other challenges posed by life in unfamiliar climes. “In Switzerland, I’m not a big fan of the administration. The people you have to deal with when applying for residence permits and also the university administration are often not very friendly.”
She was also obliged to work a string of jobs (as a translator, a secretary and an English teacher) due to her ineligibility for a Swiss student loan – though of course this allowed her to practice her language skills in real life situations.
Taiwan came with its own tests: “The climate was a bit scary, typhoons and weeks of rain in winter and clammy heat in summer. The apartments often don’t have any heating so in winter in the north it’s a bit damp and chilly!”
But despite these minor obstacles, Andrea feels that her experiences have been greatly beneficial to her: "I’ve learned several foreign languages and I’ve been able to travel a lot more than I would have otherwise. I also got a lot of work experience because I’ve had to do so many different jobs!”
So, all things considered, would she recommend the experience of studying abroad to others? “Definitely, take any chance you get!”