In January 2026 I moved into a thin-walled second-floor Taipei apartment and found myself talking to an older gentleman outside watering the plants. His name was William and he was my upstairs neighbor. William had that kind of magnetic friendliness, a warm smile and a soothing voice, that made me instantly feel at home. Yet, I found that although I saw William watering the plants almost everyday, I didn’t really know anything about him. I decided to change that.

I’ve always been close to my neighbors. Neighbors are a part of the everyday fabric of a home, a community, and a city. But it too often seems that in a big city like Taipei, the majority of your neighbors act as a background character, if that. However, sometimes charismatic people break through into your life. This is a story about getting to know our neighbors.

Albert Chang-Yoo is a graduate student at the International Master's Program in International Communication Studies (IMICS) at National Chengchi University (NCCU).

“Speak Up” is a podcast program by College of Communication students at National Chengchi University in Taipei, Taiwan. Season 1 features student work from the class, “Podcasting: Audio Journalism & Branded Podcasts” in Spring 2026. Supervising teacher is adjunct associate professor Emily Y. Wu.

Music credit: Blue Highway, Knock Knock, Sparkletone, and Downtown by Podington Bear from Free Music Archive dot org.

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