Minqi Chen is a visiting scholar from National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan and a PhD candidate. After arriving at UHM in October, she began providing after-class tutoring sessions and organizing extracurricular cultural activities.

Aloha! It’s such a joy to join the Center of Chinese Language Education as a visiting scholar this academic year! Thanks to the collaboration between the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa and National Tsing Hua University, I had the privilege of serving as the UHM-NTHU Summer Program coordinator from 2022 to 2024. Therefore, some of you might remember me from the summer program at NTHU in Taiwan. Those memories of our shared experiences exploring language and culture in Taipei, Hsinchu, and beyond are unforgettable. It is lovely that I have had the chance to meet everyone again and reconnect with you from island to island, from Hsinchu to Honolulu. I still remember the insightful discussions where you shared about Hawai’i’s local culture and drew comparisons with Taiwan’s Juàncūn culture. From those conversations to your introductions to iconic Hawaiian foods such as Manapua, Portuguese sausages, and plate lunches. I have been inspired by the way history and diversity is reflected in daily life, I have finally had the chance to try these dishes!