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Yu, Daphne/Greer (游舒荃)
The AID Program definitely gave me a new perspective of Taiwan. Before coming to AID, I'd been to Taiwan four other times, and this time was by far the most fun I've had. The people I met, the experiences I had and the friendships I built made it more than just "a trip to visit family." While things may not all be shiny and air-conditioned American-Style, it's something you get used to.
Living quarters: The school I stayed at was very welcoming - the teachers, administrators and other workers were all so kind. They made it their main goal for my group of teachers to feel right at home and have fun. They took us to the city on weekends, and had evening plans but also let us choose what we wanted to do. Other than a few geckos that surfaced and the infamous mosquitoes, everything was great. While not pristine, the teacher's quarters had a homey feel to it and came with a washing machine and dryer. I definitely learned to live in more a naturesque habitat rather than my home in the U.S., which is probably something I'll need in the future.
Teaching/Teaching Plans: Teaching was exhausting, not gonna lie. My class of 19 kids had 14 boys, but I've heard from other people that their classes weren't that big and their classes were more evenly split. Teaching 3rd-5th graders was challenging in that they see themselves as not being kids anymore, but still have kid-like tendency. They want to have fun, but they don't want to do activities that seem "too elementary" or "stupid." My kids were greatly motivated by the "point system" where a certain number of points resulted in prizes. While it might seem cruel, my teaching partner and I realized sometimes the only thing that worked to keep them calm was having our Ti Dai Yi yell at them.
Teaching Plan-wise, always over plan. Sometimes things we planned for a whole hour would be over in like 10 minutes. Kids are really good at repeating, so a power point usually only takes like 3-5 minutes (if even) to get though. Activities that took longer were musical chairs (40 minutes), word searches (30-40 depending on each kid) and scavenger hunts (40-50 minutes). Artsy-craft things go by really fast for some kids (boys) but slow for others.
Tour: You'll probably realize the first week of AID, but organizing 300+ kids is really hard, and although the AID members try to tackle the problem, sometimes they're not always successful. This is especially evident during the tour. Don't get me wrong - the counselors were AWESOME. They're funny, nice, caring and if you let them, really good friends. However, sometimes planning is a little skewed...Get ready for a lot of waiting in the sun for things, walking in the sun for stuff, and moving in giant groups of people. Also, BRING TOILET PAPER FOR TOUR WEEK. A bunch of the bathrooms we went to had no toilet paper.
People: Speaking of people, don't be freaked out if you don't know ANY of the people in your teaching group prior to check-in at AID. I didn't know any of the other 5 girls in my group, but by the end of week four, we were so close. Most of the people there are there to teach and make friends anyways, and my group were all awesome.
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Huang, Alexander (黃安立)
I learned a lot during my four weeks in Taiwan. First of all, I learned what it's like to live with the same seven people in a rural town and become good friends with each other while adjusting to life away from the city. Just as importantly, I gained a good deal of teaching experience during my time teaching Mandarin-speaking fifth-graders, myself having somewhat awkward Mandarin speaking abilities. My students also helped me to improve my Chinese reading abilities a bit. Additionally, despite the slight language barrier, I was able to discover just how welcoming Taiwanese people can be through my interactions with my counselors as well as my school's teacher and principal. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to widen my horizons!
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