CHANDALINE SO DESIGN IN TAWIAN 2026

Reaching the end of our trip… I will miss so much in Taiwan! The last few days were a lot of balancing between classes and exploring every last bit of Tainan before we reached the end. During these past days, there was a lot that was just go, go, go! Therefore, I manage to balance everything and am now reaching the last bit in the end.  In-process Prototype... 09/09 On Wednesday, we got the chance to have more work time in the morning with our groupmate and to finalize the critique of our project. We were still preparing the slides, making the A1 poster, and just getting ready for our final presentation towards the end of the week. During that time, I was helping with Annie, my groupmate on our prototype and our 3d prints. I help assist with sketching or problem-solving to determine what would work best for our product and what is the best fit for our project. Then we had lunch before going on our final tour in Tainan. The lunchbox was delicious; it looks like a sushi box, and I de...

09/05 In our last week here in Tainan, we had more lectures and workshops to attend over the weekend. To be honest, I find it hard to process that we had a lecture on the weekend, but somehow I managed to push through! During the lectures, I had the chance to work with my groupmate on using the building puzzle tool and on further categorizing the topics or ideas that connect closely to our main product design. It was the start of all of us working together and brainstorming our ideas. We had a group lunch in the room, and later that day we did indigo dyeing! It was very fun and beautiful to see the final result of what it was after dying 3 times. We even dyed Lexi's shirt with the indigo dye, hahaha! I went and met up with some of the NCKU to play volleyball and catch another beautiful sunset, ugh, I will miss seeing the sunset here when leaving… It was also Zoe’s birthday, so we all celebrated during class time, and later at night we went out to Haidilao for her birthday dinner.  ...

08/02 Made it to Tainan! I got the chance to meet with everyone formally at the NCKU campus and got a proper tour of the campus. Shout-out to Lexi, our tour guide! This time around, I feel like I had gotten to bond very well with the NCKU students more quickly than I expected. We already made plans and places to go together! NCKU Campus Tour Later that day, we went and played volleyball together, but it was pouring rain! Everyone got wet and continued playing. I will say, though, it was my first time playing volleyball in the rain… I then headed back home and freshened up, went out, and ate with Hanin, Erin, and Leo! We all had this noodle soup that’s behind the hotel, and then grabbed this very good grass jelly dessert. By the way, I couldn’t finish the noodle soup because it was a big bowl! I went back to the hotel with them, and Hanin and I had to stay up and finish our public blog.  Grass Jelly Dessert Night 08/03 Lecture Day!  I woke up feeling so tired that day and just ...

After the final goodbye to the NTU students, it was sad to leave, but we did end up having our final moments together. I went out after our final presentation with some of the NTU students: Jack, Kiki, Dora, Judy, Woonzen, Zoe, and Erin. We all went to the cat cafe again…talking about how we’re doing after the trip and more about each other's backgrounds. I haven’t gotten the chance to talk with Jack and Kiki, so during that time I got to know more about them. Later on, I went out with the girls to grab dinner and looked around Taipei 101. It was beautiful to see the building and the busy city there.  Free Day!  I got the chance to have a rest day and went to do some shopping with Zoe! We also met up with Woonzen to stroll around the Taipei District street. It was a chill day for me, and getting the chance to explore the city before we headed towards Taichung. So far, it was a long first week, but in the end, I started to get the hang of the schedule and the routine of what we...

After the first few days of gathering and seeing the NTU students, I slowly got to know everyone and made more fun memories. We then visited the TDRI place. I got the opportunity to learn about their journey and background, their making and innovation, and what they do as working towards building their future purpose in Taipei. Seeing their business and work field gives me insight into the new convenient looks and user-interaction of the product and production in their work for the customer to invest and look for the purposes of improvement and for them to live a convenient life. We also got the chance to see the Miniwiz Trash Kitchen and I learned how we can use our daily-lifestyle material plastic that are water-bottle caps, milk bottle, and other thrown material of plastic to recreate new daily use product, for example they show us how to make the sunglasses out of plastic that Amelia picked out, coffee grounds, and small crashed plastic that was already broken to smaller pieces. I ...

Hi there! Come along to see my journeys here in Taipei!  On this journey, I will be reflecting on lots of things that I will be experiencing, learning, exploring, and just living in the moment in this beautiful country. Starters, I would arrive at the airport, then head to the Just Sleep Hotel with 3 other students who landed at the same time as me. There were Zoe, Kristin, Bethany, and I who all arrived on the early flight to Taipei on the 23rd. The view in the early morning was beautiful, and I just can’t believe that I’m here abroad in real time with other students and going to experience this and make amazing memories together.  Scrolling down the street from the hotel  After arriving at the hotel, the girls and I drop our bags, then explore nearby the hotel and see what we will come across and kill some time before our check-in later in the afternoon. We walked down the streets for about 18 minutes and found a local steamed bun seller called Yong Fung Sheng. During t...