|
|
Yen, Heidi Li (嚴嬡迪)
Every previous summer that I've visited Taiwan has been with family in urban Taipei. The closest that we got to rural areas were quick drives pass them coming home from the beach. I could not imagine spending two weeks in a rural town with people that I did not know! This visit to Taiwan was not only a big culture shock for me but a humbling experience as well. In the sweltering heat of Kaohsiung, our elementary school in Shanlin was in the midst of countless coconut trees and pineapple fields. When we first stepped foot onto the courtyard, the small school looked nothing alike any elementary schools that I've seen before. The towering columns of the building made the school look majestic compared to the small houses surrounding it. Although the school building stood tall, the presence of wildlife around it was even greater. For a small town person from Colorado with a fear of insects, the first night in town was terrifying. From bats and moths to toads and cockroaches, the AID volunteers were outnumbered. The spiders were larger than our palms, the field of dragonflies constantly buzzed past us and the lizards seemed to cover every corner of our dorms. The kids were a surprise! They were so playful, full of attitude and quickly taught us about their culture. One of the hardest challenges that I faced with the students was finding a connection to their world. Although they thought English was cool and I could find vocabulary that related to their lives, I couldn't see it from their perspective. Some of the students told me that they didn't see a need to practice or study for school because of the circumstances that they lived in. After that, I wanted to show them culture more than teaching them words and phrases because they needed to see how big the world is past their close knit community. Although teaching them was rewarding, it was honestly the hardest thing that I've ever done. From the long nights of planning to the on-the-spot adjustments, the two weeks of class were exhausting. The most important aspect that got me through all the hard work were all of the people surrounding me, including my fellow AID volunteers. The other five people that were assigned to Shanlin quickly became some of the greatest people that I have ever met. The teachers at the school also became quick friends! They poured their hearts into making us comfortable in their town. The students made the greatest imprint on the though. Their smiling faces and their plots to scare me with cockroaches and toads will stay with me forever. From their hearts of gold to their funny jokes, I am so glad that I had the opportunity to experience this with everyone that I was lucky enough to meet this July.
Although we were able to open these kids' eyes and minds to English and different cultures around them, they gave me a greater outlook on the world around me as well. This summer in Taiwan with the AID program has been the most memorable experience of my life.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wang, E-Ann (王逸安)
After being constantly nagged by my mother to check out the AID Summer website, I started researching about this program. Discovering that I would have to teach small children for two weeks, my first reaction was to avoid any sort of participation in this torture. How could I possibly teach English to people when I wasn’t quite fluent with Mandarin? It wasn't even the mosquitoes and the Taiwanese heat that scared me away; I thought my ability to read and write Chinese characters would be inferior to the other participants in the program. Slowly, I warmed up to the idea through persistent reminders from my parents and the thought of spending a month in the greatest place on earth. The program asked every applicant to turn in a list of achievements, academic merits, and to write an essay explaining why he or she would be an excellent mentor for the young citizens of Taiwan. As my persuasive paper started to lengthen and grow, so did my interest and curiosity for this program.
I admit, it was quite satisfying but expected to have been admitted in. Out of 1500 Asians from different English-speaking countries, I was one of 350 that was qualified. Needless to say, my confidence rose immensely. I was determined to do my best to make the most of my time while I was in AID. Unfortunately, I wasn't sure how to prepare for the month to come. There were no clear directions on what to pack, what to bring for the children, or even a clear outline to be included in the teaching plan. I met up with friends that also got into AID and realized they were just as confused. Through slight frustration, I thought to bring snacks, prizes, markers, colored pencils, my teaching plan, and bug spray. That was as prepared as I would ever be for what was about to come.
July 1st arrived, and I was frightened for my life. As I entered the Chien Tan building, a swarm of students and their parents stood inside the registration room. Being from Kansas, I've never seen so many Asian teenagers packed in such a small area. I confess, I was worried I wouldn't be able to tell them apart from each other. My aunt and uncle helped to maneuver me around to each station, speaking for me when I was too awestruck by the hoard of people to respond and basically carrying all of my luggage for me. Now I realize how useless I was by then, since I couldn't help but look at all of the strangers I'd have to spend the next month with. Eventually, my relatives were forced to leave me to fend for myself, so we said goodbye and parted ways. I recall wishing I had come with another student or seeing a familiar face, since it was apparent that a lot of the students already knew each other or came from the same school. All of a sudden, people started introducing themselves to me and asking different questions about me. I started to relax, smile, and carry on conversations. We laughed at the chaos around us and I got to know people from around the world. It was interesting to note how their Mandarin wasn’t superior to mine; some of them were quite worse and could barely utter a few phrases. Little did I know, the people that I met on the first day would eventually become some of my closest friends.
I will never forget that first night at ChienTan. The counselors assigned us to our rooms and I got to meet my roommates, people who were also in my teaching group. I exchanged pleasant greetings and introductions, and we all struggled to carry our luggage to our rooms together. After discovering that it was mandatory to wear those alarmingly orange polos they gave out during registration, long pants, and close-toed shoes, we all collectively sighed and searched for appropriate attire. The counselors herded the sea of orange teenagers into the dining hall, where a lovely feast of cuisine was served. Everything was delicious! After dinner came the ice-breakers, so everybody was again directed to move, this time towards the giant auditorium. We all felt like young children, sitting criss-crossed on the floor, waiting for instructions. The counselors then presented the different activities we would be experiencing, the demerit system, and the execution process that would occur if rules were broken. All of a sudden, I remember being forced to sing "I Can Believe I Can Fly" by R. Kelly. Just imagining a sea of teenagers, wearing matching attire, simultaneously swaying to the rhythm and reading off the lyrics posted on the projector makes me giggle to myself. Afterwards, Chinese Yo-yo professionals came on stage to perform for us, an array of spinning tops only held together by string. Then.. Came the games and chants. From the Pizza Hut song and various childhood to finding different partners to massage, I'd say the night was pretty eventful.
My experience with the first week at Chientan was amazing. Every morning, we ate breakfast and attended different seminars before and after lunch that taught us how to teach English. I never realized teachers had to brainstorm so many different methods to convey simple lessons. The different instructors also incorporated games into the lectures to get everybody involved, bringing out my competitive side. Our team created friendly battles with other teams to make the session even more exciting. In the end, our teaching group always won the most points, receiving toys for the children as prizes. After dinner, all of the students had to meet with their assigned teachers who helped to enhance our lesson plans and give helpful critiques on how to teach the children. It was also a time to ask questions or express any concerns over upcoming two weeks. I always encouraged my teammates to not stress and helped them plan activities after my curriculum was finished. Apart from the group meetings, this was far from what I had expected my time in this program to be.
As the end of the week came, it was surprising and lugubrious to realize how close I've gotten to people I didn't know existed until we all attended this program. I exchanged bittersweet goodbyes with people outside of my team, knowing that we won't see each other for two weeks or more (depending on our different tours), but we can still keep in touch through the internet. I boarded the shuttle bus, anticipating the experience to come and ready to tackle whatever obstacles come my way. I was assigned to Bi Tan, a small elementary school in the countryside of ChiaYi. When my aunt said it was located in a rural area, she forgot to mention how small the village was, or how the nearest 7-11 would be a 20-minute bike ride away. Arriving at the small school, the principal and the groundskeeper greeted us and helped carry our belongings to the floor above the classrooms, where we would be staying for the next 14 days. They provided us a place to stay in the trophy room, a large facility with tables, Wifi, and, fortunately, air conditioning. The bathrooms could be found with a trip to the opposite side of the hallway, and it was inhabited by a myriad of creatures, from bats and sparrows to geckos and cockroaches. Naturally, it was a frightful journey every night to use the restroom or take a shower. Regardless, this was the place I and 7 other girls in my team called home for 14 days, and I wasn’t about to let a few beetles and mosquitoes hinder my teaching performance.
The first day of English school came, along with the blazing heat of the sun and a stampede of 50 children. After our opening ceremony, the students had to take a pretest to see which class they belonged to, depending on their comprehension of English grammar and writing. 10 kids were assigned to my class, the smartest students of the school. At first, they were extremely rowdy and obnoxious. I remember some of the boys just sporadically screaming at the top of their lungs or reciting every English cuss word they know. If this was the first day, I thought, how bad is the rest of the two weeks going to be? With a few taps on the desk and a stern look, I instructed the children to calm down. Obediently, they composed themselves and listened to what I had to say. It was surprising how intelligent they already were, and how some of the teaching plans that were premade became mute. Every night, my teacher and I had to amp up the vocabulary and create harder lessons so the students wouldn't get bored. Since my class already knew elementary topics such as the ABC’s or numbers, I introduced new subjects such as verbs, occupations, emotions, and foods. Through all of the struggles in that extremely hot classroom, I grew to love every one of my kids and their unique disposition. I actually teared up on the last day when a majority of them came to the school in the early morning to see me off. There was even some who courageously rode alongside the bus as we drove away from the beloved school. Later, I discovered that they made Facebooks to keep in touch with me, which was bizarre since they ranged from being 8 to 13 years old. Those children are one of the biggest reasons my experience with AID was phenomenal.
Our Central Tour became a collective family, making the program even more enjoyable. I rejoiced as I met up with my friends from other teaching groups, delighting in each other's presence. The counselors also came to be some of my good friends, due to the fact that they weren't very different from the teenagers, in personality and in age. Every moment on the tour was another memory to be made: enjoying an afternoon in an amusement park, beholding the view of Sun Moon Lake from the cable cars, dancing with aboriginal tribe members, creating my own green tea, visiting multiple night markets and little shops, preparing for the Annual AID Summer Talent Show, enhancing my survival skills with rock-climbing and zip-lining, visiting Taipei 101, and getting a view of the President at the President hall. Obviously, the last week was a week full of new adventures and wonderful occurrences.
Now that it's been a week since the last day of AID, I wish it had lasted longer. Not only has AID contributed to the best summer I've had so far, but it made me realize how small our world can be. Who knew I could ever have so much in common with people from California, Georgia, Texas, New York, Canada, and Taiwan? It goes without saying that I've become a better person through this program, whether it was from the experience of teaching children or from meeting a variety of people from so many different places. It was quite humbling to live in second world environments, where there wasn’t always a steady supply of air conditioning, hot or clean water, or ceramic toilets. The diverse places the program had provided for us to stay in make me appreciate my fortunate living conditions back in Kansas. I'm glad I made the choice to apply to be a teacher, because AID has given me much more than I would have ever imagined. No doubt will I recommend this program to anybody who I believe deserves the chance of a lifetime. Thank you, AID, for everything. I have absolutely no complaints or regrets.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| |
|