Turn Your Uniqueness into Strength

I have less than a week now before I return back to Nashville, Tennessee. I am having so much fun here in Taiwan for so many reasons especially friendship. While the new friends I have made here at CYCU are awesome, I want to write about a different kind of friendship and that is with my Professors. Throughout all my of school life, I have this mindset of it's the students vs the teachers kind of mentality. Teachers were not people you were supposed to hang out with, they were supposed to be the one you despised because they gave you homework and hard tests. When I arrived at MTSU, I noticed that the Professors here seem to care more than what I was used to back in high school but I still never thought of the idea of ever hanging out with them. Sure I was nice and respected them, however never thought of them more than a teacher who assigned worked and gave us a grade.

This study abroad trip has really changed my mindset when it comes to Professors. I have 2 main Professors here at CYCU they are Dr. Jih and Dr. Chin. They are both really nice guys who are not only my teachers/tour guides but also a mentor and more importantly my friends. I have never spent so much time hanging out with my Professors before. Dr. Chin has invited us to his home and has been very friendly. Dr. Jih has been very nice and we would all run together in the mornings and sometimes eat together at night. While in the classroom it is still business as usual, however I don't feel the student vs teacher kind of feeling. After class or in the dorm whenever I see Dr. Jih(since we live in the same dorm hall), I ask him how he's doing, if he wants to play sports with us or get something to eat later. I feel comfortable as it is and don't think it's weird at all. Not only have I made memories with them that I will never forget, but I have also made 2 lifetime friends.