During her nearly four years at the University of Denver, Sofia Pineda Velez has spent almost as much time on the other side of the world as she has on campus.

Pineda Velez, an international studies and Mandarin student, is currently on her third trip to Taiwan as part of a Boren Scholarship. The Boren Program sends American students to study languages ​​and immerse themselves in cultures around the world with the goal of strengthening U.S. representation in international public service.

Before this fall, she spent her summer studying Mandarin at National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) in Taiwan as part of a Critical Language Scholarshipsponsored by the U.S. Department of State, and before that she studied abroad in the country during her junior year.

Pineda Velez’s summer at NCKU was tough, she said. She spent hours of her day in class and meeting with a language partner, speaking strictly Mandarin, before returning home to a host family, with whom she spoke more Mandarin.

“It was really hard,” she said. “Honestly, I understand why they call it “super intensive” language studies. »

But, Pineda Velez says, it was worth it: Her language skills improved enormously. Coming from a Spanish-speaking family of international travelers and looking to eventually work in international business, she knew she wanted to add Mandarin to her repertoire.

Today, Pineda Velez lives in Taipei and studies in the International Chinese Language Program at National Taiwan University and meets people from all over the world. She lives in a shared apartment with other students.

“I have roommates from Thailand, Japan, an American roommate as well, and I had one in Macau earlier,” she says. “And then the others are all Taiwanese.”

His daily life revolves around studies. She spends several hours in class each weekday, then in the evening she often goes to a cafe or the school library to study or join classmates who are also studying.

Taste in Taiwan

According to Pineda Velez, much of her time outside of class is spent searching for her next tasty meal.

“Exploring Google Maps to see what I want to eat takes up a good part of my day, but it’s also very good Chinese practice because the menus are in Chinese,” she says. “It’s really very immersive, every day. I think I speak more Chinese than English at this point in my daily life, which is good.

She often hangs out with a Taiwanese friend she met during her study abroad program.

“She teaches me everyday Chinese, like reading the news or ordering very specific things that a foreigner would never know,” says Pineda Velez.

Ordering food is also a great way to learn more Chinese.

“Sometimes you feel like your Chinese isn’t very good because the restaurant employee didn’t understand you when you said, ‘I want tofu pudding,'” she says. “But maybe there will be a day when they understand every topping you wanted, and you’ll be like, ‘Yeah, my Chinese is getting better!’ Sometimes it’s also more rewarding than your exam grades.

After spending so much time abroad, Pineda Velez says she misses some things about home and about speaking her native language, Spanish, with her family.

“I think I talk to my parents a lot more when I live abroad than when I’m in Denver,” she says. “I miss speaking my native language, even what you feel on your lips, for example, sometimes I just miss rolling my R’s, or sometimes there’s a certain slang that you miss, ways of expressing yourself that you don’t have the opportunity to do. when you are a foreigner abroad.

Going abroad requires work at home

Pineda Velez didn’t get his international opportunities by chance. She worked hard with DU’s Office of Scholarship Development and Scholarship Advising to develop her application, a process she said could get quite personal.

“Every time you write draft after draft of a 500-word essay, it’s a bit like opening your heart to someone,” says Pineda Velez. “It’s a very vulnerable experience. I feel like people don’t realize how vulnerable it is to really expose yourself and your dreams and desires, but I think they make it a very safe place to do it.

Working in the office also helped her a lot in developing her self-confidence.

“Most of the time when we write these applications, we say, ‘I think I’m that kind of person, and therefore I’m capable of doing this,” but it’s really helpful to apply words like “I am capable of doing this”, or “I know I’m capable of doing that,’” says Pineda Velez.

Pineda Velez will graduate from the University of Denver in June 2025.