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Su, Calvin (蘇凱威)
I was nervous as I arrived at Jiantan for check in on the first day. As I stood in a line, I could already see swarms of other volunteers gathered together and chatting like they were already close friends. I was anxious that I wouldn’t be able to develop such close bonds with anybody there. However, by the end of the program, I have come to know so many people and have become close with my teaching group after sharing meals, rooms, and 4 amazing weeks together.
Although the first week at Jiantan was a bit boring with the many long and tedious lectures, it was a great opportunity for me to get to know my teaching group and our table teacher. The next two weeks were spent in Chung Wen Elementary located in a small countryside town in Pingtung. Me and my teaching group actually lived in a host family house so we were able to experience how the locals lived and ate. The mom who took care of us was really nice; she washed our clothes every day and always made sure we were comfortable and full.
While my kids were rowdy and sometimes unresponsive to our directions, they were smart, quick learners and when they tried their best, really exceeded my expectations. They were all really cute and energetic and I enjoyed playing with them both during and after school. Through games and videos and songs, I could see that their English was improving and that they were having a fun time. By the end of my time there, I was really proud of their accomplishments and as I write this post reflection, I still miss my class of rowdy kids.
From the weeklong tour to my class of cute, funny kids; the AID program has provided me meaningful experiences that I will remember and cherish for years to come. Night markets, the hot and humid climate, and my host family are just some memories that top the list. This program has infused community service, tourism, and exploration to create a truly meaningful summer program. I would love to participate in this program again!
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Lai, Victoria (賴庭允)
Teaching elementary school children in Taiwan was quite an experience. The weather was pretty hot during the day time and within a short hour, I would be sweating like I had run half a mile already. Furthermore, the all the while, we were required to wear long pants, closed toed shoes, and the bright orange neon polo. When I had initially packed for the trip, I only packed two pairs of jeans, thus, I had to wear the sme pants for multiple days without washing. The kids at Dalin won me over quickly - the first and second graders with all their enthusiasm and uncontrolled sprouts during lessons was quite demanding. The classroom was almost always noisy and the naughty, loud, class clowns or divas during class, but as soon as it hit break time, they immediately transformed into clingy, loving, angelic followers who wanted to play. At night, our group would stay up and chat and got really close as if we'd been friends long before the program. The tour was amazing and the only downside was having to lug around my 300 pound duffel bag every day and night. Taiwan is one of the greatest countries to be in and I am even more grateful and appreciative of my American - Taiwanese heritage!
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Wang, Christina (王曉庭 )
The children have touched my heart in more ways than I could have imagined. I have become closer to MiaoLi and its people than I have with people in my own community and hope to continue to keep in touch in the future. Taiwan has also become more and more beatiful to me the longer that I stay, and I just want to say I will miss this place and all of the new friends that I have made. Taiwan now has a special place in my heart thanks to AID. Farewell.
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Dong, Alan (董亮)
Going into this program, I had no idea what to expect. My mom had signed me up. I just signed some forms. She told me I needed to write an essay, so I copied one I had used for college applications. I never once looked at the website. I had applied before, but was not accepted. Why would this year be different? It never occurred to me that I would actually be spending a whole month in Taiwan. I had also forgotten how long a month could be.
When I was accepted, I had mixed feelings. I was glad to have something to occupy my otherwise boring summer, but at the same time, I had never been to Taiwan, I had never taught English, and I had never interacted with children . I really was clueless. I did as I was told and wrote a pre-trip teaching plan. It was not great. It relied on flash cards and charades every day. Writing the teaching plan was good practice, but it was only good practice. I never even looked at it again. After the training week, it was completely obsolete.
After arriving at Chien Tan, it was comforting to know that most of the other volunteers were just as clueless (if not more clueless) than I was. But I quickly bonded with my group mates, and together, we figured it out. By the time we were at An Si Elementary School, barricading ourselves in a room, trying to keep out the throngs of over-excited children so that we could lunch in peace, I knew that we would become lifelong friends. Kevin, Fred, Jordan, Sharon, Stephanie, Allison, Julia. You guys are awesome.
Even though the kids were crazy and enjoyed inflicting bodily harm on me, I couldn't help but love them. They were absolutely adorable, and the way their eyes lit up and their jaws dropped when we showed them pictures of America made my heart stir. Infinitely mischievous and curious, the kids inspired me with their love of learning and playful spirit. I will never forget their smiling faces.
I am so grateful for everything this program has given me: new friends, the joy of teaching, incredible sightseeing, the experience of delicious Taiwanese food... I never thought that this trip would come to define my summer and maybe even the end of my high school career. I can't think of any better way to have spent my summer. Thank you so much, AID!
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Su, Yubo (蘇宇博)
AID was recommended to me as a summer camp. It was billed as a place where I could meet a lot of new friends and teach some English while having some fun. It was portrayed as simply another way to spend the summer, though probably slightly more philanthropic than average. Too bad the entirety of that was a lie.
AID is all of those things, but it comprises so much more than just that. It is a place to touch lives forever. It is a place to learn the love-hate relationship that parents and teachers know so well, the relationship that somehow makes you want to pull your own hair out but still want to kiss the kid. It is a place to bond with a small group of friends as siblings, living, breathing, and eating together at every instant of the day. It is a place to explore a culture that I, as a mainland Chinese, never have had the chance to understand.
We came to AID to touch others' lives, yet our own are touched even more so. For even as the kids may forget these two weeks of instruction, even as these lessons and vocabulary words slowly crumble into the dust of disuse, the families brought together are inseparable. Nowhere else would one find such bonding, a result of bringing together the world's best, brightest and most enthusiastic and posing to them one herculean task: teach children English.
Behind this flagship we found camraderie, behind this call we found cohesion. We worked as one unit to both enjoy our time and to conquer the classroom, and the result was a set of incomparable friendships.
Sure, at the end of AID, we will all miss our counselors and their doting, loving hearts. We will miss our children, their constant rowdyness chafing the years off our hearts and souls. We will miss the tour, where Taiwan's culture was brought about in an illuminating and brilliant light. And these are truths held self-evident. Yet there was something greater than all of this, something that felt visceral to the greatest degree. That is the loss of our brothers and sisters, siblings of four weeks that will last a lifetime.
I will also recommend AID to my friends and anybody who inquires so. But I will not tell them to go register for the camp. I will tell them to create a whole new world.
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Hui, Amanda (許穎瑄)
:)
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Gao, Wilson (高维琛)
I still remember the excitement I felt after finding out about my acceptance into the program. I was rather confident in my teaching abilities since I had taught before. However I remember the uneasiness set in after arriving in Taoyuan International Airport all by myself. With no other options, I gritted my teeth and moved forwards. To my pleasant surprise, I found welcoming arms and like minded individuals. I immediately grew comfortable and related with many of the volunteers. My teaching group that I had to work with for a month became a second family. Teaching, after our extensive training week, became an opportunity to inspire rather than a challenge. Looking back, I feel extremely lucky and humble that I was able to participate in such a huge international program. I had set out just to teach but I had learned as well. I highly recommend this program to anyone who is considering, you will not regret it.
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Lung, Jerry (龍天樂)
Oh wow, don't even know where to start. I still can't believe the program is over; probably the fastest month of my life. So now I have to get ready for college apps, oh wait… and this post reflection.
So how to begin…. the Summer Aid program was the highlight of my summer and one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. Going into the program I was scared that I wouldn’t be able to communicate with people because my Chinese is pretty bad. No correction, it’s terrible. But once I got here, I realized how many people were pretty bad at Chinese like me. Lucky for us there were a lot of English translations and 350 other AID volunteers who could help translate for you.
Meeting new people during the first week of training was great. It was fun to see so many Asians (and the very race white guy) from across America and Canada. The people here are really cool (just like you) and will help you have a good time. As for the teaching, it was kind of hard for me with my pathetic Chinese, but I got by. I was smart to pair up with two other teachers who’s Chinese was really good. But even so, my Chinese improved a lot by the end of the trip. Teaching was really really fun and I already miss my kids. The tour was really fun to. You could only bring a duffel bag worth of stuff, but that wasn’t a problem because you could buy stuff from the various night markets you went to all over Taiwan. It was a really good bonding experience.
So basically what I’m trying to say is, do this program. I know a ton of people who gave up various other summer camps and GHP for you Georgia people. It’s a really awesome experience that you won’t regret!
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Sun, Kevin (孫國嘉)
My experience at AID Summer is an experience I will personally never forget. This is one of the most amazing things I have ever participated in and I would recommend anyone to try to apply to this program. Enough about the greatness of the program though. I will start with my own experiences, starting at the very beginning during the first week at Chientan. I only knew one person outside of the program, and we met up during check-in. Reality set in when she was called to go to her room with her new roommates. I was finally called and that's where the whole thing began. I met five other cool people who I was going to be spending my nights with for the next week, and I also got to see three of my teaching group partners. At dinner, I met up with everyone from my teaching group and at first everything was a little awkward, as most introductions are, but we quickly adjusted to everyone and started planning our opening performance. Every minute when we weren't in class, we were working on our dance, going up all the flights of stairs to find a floor where it wasn't pack full with other volunteers practicing their own performance. By the end of the week, we had become really close and started to function like an actual family. Leaving Chientan on Friday was really sad because I had met so many other people and it was hard to leave them. On our bus going to Yunlin County, we were with A3-4 and A3-5. We were all talking and got a little close because we all knew that we were going to the same county. My group was the first to go off the bus and it hit all eight of us that we were going to be living at the school for the next two weeks. We quickly adjusted to our sleeping rooms and just relaxed for the weekend. The two teaching weeks were a roller coaster of emotions. We all fought with our partners at one point and it got pretty bad, only because I think we had just been with each other for so long, but as all families have their own problems, we had ours and we managed to overcome them. Meeting and teaching the kids was so fun because I find solace in giving the next generation my knowledge knowing that they will use it in the future and help shape their own lives. All the volunteers not only made friends with their own class, but we also intermingled with the other classes as well. On that Saturday to go to our tour meeting places, a lot of our kids and all the school staff said good bye to us. None of us really cried but we were all sad because the school was literally our home and it's always hard saying goodbye. However, we had our teacher, who had been with us all three weeks, go with us to the meeting place. There, when our teacher had to leave, it was so heart-breaking. We didn't cry when we said our goodbyes, but after she left a good number of us starting tearing up and crying. The tour then started and we had to get on and start thinking of the week ahead. The tour was so much fun and I really did learn a lot about the history and culture of Taiwan as a whole. The places we went to were beautiful and I will never forget what they look like. When the Southern and Central groups met up on Wednesday, I was so happy because I got to see my friends from the first week. During the last two days at Chientan, reality was starting to sink in that the program was over, but I didn't let that stop me from hanging out with my group and another group we had befriended on the tour as well. The last Saturday was hard, however. Our friend had to leave to go to the airport and it was really sad watching her bus leave us. Then as time went on, the 15 close friends (family) I made dwindled down to 3. It was then my turn to leave and it was definitely one of the most hardest things I have ever had to do because I was leaving my family and my home. I was still tearing up hours after too. Overall, my experience with AID Summer was definitely the best thing I have ever gone through. I met so many people, learned so many things, and most importantly passed on knowledge to the future of Taiwan. I would recommend anyone to apply to be in this program!
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Zhang, Sharon (章雪雯)
I really enjoyed the AID Summer Program. It made me realize that teaching is much more difficult than I had imagined, and that I should have infinite respect for elementary school teachers who can manage classes of up to 25. When I got to the school, I found out that the kids knew much more English than the 1st week training gave them credit for, which caused us to have to alter the teaching plans we had previously made. Games motivated them the most and were fun for me as well. It was rewarding, knowing that the kids wanted to spend so much time with us that they would not leave us alone during the 10 minute breaks. Despite the fact that some people had better food/location/housing than I had at An Xi, the thing that made it all worth it would be the people that I got to know: my table teacher Imogen, the school caretaker Mark, and my 7 group mates, who I love indefinitely. What strikes me as the most interesting aspect of this program is how each person creates his or her own experience of Taiwan and teaching that is 100% different from another's, be it through the friends they make, the places they go, and the schools they teach at. The program was definitely rewarding and eye opening, and it gave me a great first impression of Taiwan and allowed me to meet so many amazing students from the USA.
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Lin, Bernice (林宛怡)
ID: 7102
In the time leading up to the day when I would start teaching, I was a bit worried. I wondered if I would be able to teach the kids well and give them a good experience learning English.
When the first day of teaching came, I was really nervous. However, as the day went by, I became more comfortable with the kids. I realized they were just like elementary school kids in America, competing for and arguing over game points and reward stickers. It was exciting to see how quickly they were able to grasp vocabulary and new information. Although some kids were rowdy and didn’t behave as well as others, I liked them all very much! One of the girls in my class, Ella, would come up to me during recess and ask me to play hangman with her, which made me really happy. It made me smile to see the kids thinking hard and then getting excited when they got the correct answer.
What touched me the most during this teaching experience was that many of the kids came to say goodbye to us the day the volunteers were leaving the elementary school. An hour before we were even ready, some kids had already come to school and were waiting patiently downstairs for us. We came down to say goodbye to them, taking last minute pictures, and writing little notes and signing our names for them. When it came time for the volunteers to get on the bus, the kids all got on their bikes, too. I assumed they were going to go home, but they stayed until it was time for the bus to leave the school. As our bus pulled away from the school, the kids pedaled after the bus as fast as they could, waving and shouting goodbye to us. Tears welled up in my eyes as I waved back to them. I hope to return to Taiwan to teach again in the near future!
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Yu, Hanson (于漢森)
Before going to AID, I had just finished laboring through a few infuriating, time-consuming, and burdensome 1 month-long summer courses for extra hours. Going to Taiwan for another seemingly work-filled month was simply not how I planned to spend my July. However, I also did not expect to befriend some of the most awesome people I had ever met, experience various wonderful Taiwanese delicacies, and I definitely didn't expect teaching "little annoying rascals" English to be such an enlightening experience! In fact, the little annoying rascals ended up teaching me a bit about myself! They made me recognize that my patience capacity is actually rather shallow and that I actually am capable of feeling compassion for small children. Anyways, reading about my specific experiences probably isn't what you're here for per say, but rather what's important are my thoughts about the camp overall. No need for colorful words, AID was simply one of the greatest programs I had ever been a part of. I am also game to say that it may be one of the greatest programs out there for Mandarin-speaking young adults.
You'll go to a week long training program in Taipei along with around 350 other volunteers. Here, you will learn tips and tricks from the pro's (REAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHERS!!!). While here, you'll also (hopefully) start befriending and getting to know your group mates. For the next two weeks, you and your group of 6 or 8 volunteers will be shipped off to distant lands to a distant school where you will most likely be in unfavorable conditions. This, unlikely as it seems, is the cream of the crop, the apple of one's eye... or in other words by far the best part of the camp. Here you will teach underprivileged kids English, and you will most likely undertake some really cool novel experiences. After these two weeks, the final week is spent hanging out and enjoying a pretty well-planned tour. The counselors devise all kinds of strategies to keep you awake and on your feet like games, a talent show, and even 6:30 wake up calls. So yea, if you're hesitating then at least know that one person from the camp thought it was good.
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Lin, Sophia (林小菲)
This past month has been an experience of a life time. At first, I didn’t know what to expect from this program. I was excited for the program to start once I got to Taiwan but as arrived at Chientan I felt myself get nervous. The tense feeling soon went away after my teaching partners and I got to know each other over dinner. After that, the next week at Chientan allowed the eight of us to become even closer. We bonded over the class sessions we attended and shared our excitement of teaching the students at Yueh Jin Elementary School.
When our group first arrived at the school, I was a bit wary about the town we were living in. It was a rural area with little except a nearby 7-11 and one bus stop. During the two weeks, I fell in love with the place that was simple but filled with life. We were even able to become friends with the cashiers at 7-11 due to our daily runs to 7-11.
I can still remember the first day and the excitement that I felt to finally meet all the children we would be teaching for the next two weeks. Before class even started, I had already made friends with many of the children. They were so outgoing and such happy children that were willing to make new friends and learn from us volunteer teachers. The two weeks at the school taught me so much. Every day I was able to enjoy myself when I taught and played with the kids. Although they didn’t know much, the students quickly absorbed the teaching material giving me a proud sense of accomplishment. Our goal for those two weeks was to be caring while teaching English and I believe we were able to reach that goal. The closing ceremony was an emotional day of bittersweet happiness. I was able to leave the school knowing that I have left an impact on the kids while not wanting to let go of the precious friendships I had formed in such a short time. In the end, I knew it was time to move on and enjoy myself on the tour that followed the two weeks of teaching.
The tour was a rewarding experience after teaching for the past two weeks. I was able to further my relationship with my teaching partners. We became very close after spending so much time together for the past month. We spread our different cultures from the east and west coast of America and were able to learn more about the Taiwan culture together through the tour. I thoroughly enjoyed the both cultural and fun experience at different places such as the famous Fen g Jia night market and making black tea from scratch.
This summer was an unforgettable experience and I would never trade this past month for any other experience. My visits of Taiwan have usually consisted of visiting relatives but this summer I was able to get more out of my visit to Taiwan than I have in the past.
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Dong, Lisa (董皓云)
Perhaps I just didn't read enough into this program, but I will say that I did not expect it to be quite so summer camp like. As it is, I think it was a great environment to meet some really cool people and develop strong relationships. My teaching team and I were together every waking hour for about three weeks and in the process we really got to know each other. The fourth week was good for meeting other people and I'm glad we had the chance to expand past the teaching teams into groups organized by bus. The actual teaching part was rather eye opening, as teaching English was much more difficult than expected. Even though it's a language I've spoken since birth, I realize the rules and exceptions to English confuse me too. We worked really hard to prepare lesson plans for the kids, often staying up past midnight (although partially due to procrastination). The kids were great and when it was time to leave school, we were all overcome with emotion. The hospitality we were shown was remarkable and it was hard to leave. All in all, this program was a really great experience. I had a good time, while doing something I found rewarding and worthwhile.
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