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Kuo, Alyce (郭梅瑄)
Before arriving at Chientan this summer, I had already spoken with someone who participated in the AID Summer program last year. When he spoke of his experiences, he repeatedly stressed how memorable the summer had been for him. However, I would soon come to learn that hearing someone else speak of their experiences does not even come close to actually experiencing AID Summer. For me, I felt AID Summer was at least ten times more memorable, more unforgettable, and more incredible than it had been for my friend, judging from his stories of course.
Entering Chientan, I was immediately welcomed by a group of counselors wearing pink shirts. With smiling faces, they asked me, "Are you here for AID?" I was! They showed me the way to a big room where I picked up a duffel bag and two purple shirts. I followed a trail of people carrying suitcases and joined the long line of people waiting for the elevator.
As soon as I knocked on the door of room 1422, the door swung open and my suitcase disappeared from my hand. “Suitcases go here!” said a friendly voice. This would be one of my roommates, and as I would later find out, one of the girls in my teaching group. I was one of the last girls to check into my room so a group of excited faces were already in the room. They started talking to me immediately, nonstop. I knew I would really like it here. It seems odd, but I don’t really remember being strangers with this group of people. By breakfast the following morning, they were already my family.
Icebreaking activities did a really good job of icebreaking, and although I met too many new faces that night to really remember any names, it was still nice to just talk to all the different people there. I liked the mealtime seating system, where I befriended other people outside of my roommates and teaching group.
The following day, training began. Although many of the training lectures were quite lengthy, they still offered crucial teaching methods. Just a few of the many ideas from training week that I incorporated into teaching include the crazy dice game, the flyswatter game, basic classroom rules, and the hello song. Training was actually such an indispensable part of the entire AID program because I honestly did not have any experience as a teacher before and would not have been able to teach a full class for two weeks without all of the ideas provided.
On Friday evening of the first week, I arrived in Changhua, where my school, Dacun Elementary, was located. I could tell almost immediately that Dacun was going to be full of new experiences, because within an hour of getting off the bus, I had already been served fried bees with peanuts and a plate of black sausages made with squid ink. These were foods I had never even heard of before. However, closing my eyes, chewing, and swallowing, they didn’t turn out to taste too bad.
On Monday morning, my first day of teaching began. For opening ceremonies, my teaching group and I opened with the same dance we had performed at a news conference on Saturday. Our kids were clearly very excited to start their camp. My teaching partner and I had agreed to run our class completely in English, and although we knew it would be difficult at times, we kept to it. We taught a class of 9-10 year olds who supposedly had begun learning English for a year. They were the ones who scored 70-85 on their pretest. We also agreed to emphasize listening and speaking rather than focus on reading and writing. One thing I never really had to do was punish my kids. For the most part, they surprised me by being extremely well behaved.
While I realized that sometimes my kids probably did not fully understand every word I was speaking, they still participated as much as they could, and that was all that mattered. I had some difficulty the first day, as even simple instructions such as “Line up” took a while to communicate across and required dramatic body movements and demonstrations. However, as the first week went on, my students learned the classroom routine fairly quickly and I found that as long as I could communicate with just any one of my students at all given times, the rest of the class wouldn’t be too far behind.
Before the first week was over, I had already come to love all of my students. By the second week, I could easily see the children’s improvements, and it was really fulfilling watching them perform “Count on Me” by Bruno Mars and a reader’s theater skit. Although there was clearly a language barrier because I insisted on speaking only English, my students still managed without fault to play with me during each break.
As tour week began, it occurred to me how quickly the previous three weeks had passed. I was surprised to realize that more than half of the program had already finished. However, before long, I found myself joining yet another family. I had my training week roommates, my teaching group, my host family, my students, my teaching assistants, my counselors, and now, I found family again in Bus 4. During tour week, I saw parts of Taiwan I had never seen before, such as the gorgeous Kenting, and watched in amazement at the skill involved in producing paper. I familiarized myself with Taiwanese culture at the various night markets and learned Taiwanese history from the majestic National Palace Museum. Between bonding on bus rides and preparing for talent show and closing ceremonies, I came to love everyone on Bus 4. As Saturday approached, I couldn’t help feeling that the past four weeks had passed all too soon. However, I did come to realize that AID Summer 2013 was not over. All the memories and friends I had made would be for a lifetime that had only just begun.
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Lee, Michelle (李婉儀)
AID summer was an interesting experience. I would take this life changing experience and hold on to it for years to come. Though we experienced hardship since teach is very tiring and everyone just wanted more sleep and to have more alone time being independent children peaking at the age of maturity, I loved every minute and looking back from just a couple of days later it was worth it all. No matter if the people in our groups clashed in personality or even if we disagreed on certain styles of teaching or living you learn to look past the difficulties and you end up remember the amazing moments you share with the students, counselors, the staff and especially your teaching group mates. The four weeks were by far the best four weeks I have ever spent in a foreign country and being away from my parents for this long has prepared me for college and has made me understand and see that there are a lot of great people who care just as much as I do about more than themselves. I looked around during one of the last few days and it really hit me: "There are a bunch of great people in the world". I cherish that this program has given me amazing memories and opportunities to prove myself to be more than a small unknown mysterious american Asian. I wish to congratulate anyone who has or will be allowed to be a part of this program. The millions of friends and people you become close to during those four short weeks really has you amazed how close people can bond and how much AID is worth it all. Go Bus E !:)
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Lee, Wan-Chen (李宛臻)
Going into this program, I just imagined a traditional American classroom where I would spend 7 hours a day in AC with a whiteboard. I thought the rest of the time would be dedicated to our own free time in which people cluster around their technology devices and absorb themselves with news on the internet. Taipei, to me, defined Taiwan with its crowds and tremendous amounts of motorcycles and tall skyscrapers. Little did I know, spending a month with AID was the biggest cultural shock I've ever experienced.
When I first arrived at Syuejia Elementary School, it was in a rural area, small, and technologically lacking. Yet, in spite of the location and budget, the students kept it tidy and homey. While we didn't have SMART Boards or AC, we made use with a projector, pointer, and the breeze blowing through the open doors and windows. Each student was hardworking and dedicated to learning English. They shared their energy and laughter with us, giving us a purpose to be teachers. The environment was so different from an American school in which the setting is professional but the relationship between the teacher and students are distanced. In Syuejia, the people were closer and friendlier than any other group I had ever met. After school ended, our day would be immediately followed by the meeting, dinner, then planning for the next day's lesson. We put so much time into detailing each hour of the day with power points, activities, and games. All this planning made me appreciate teachers more and all the hard work they put into helping their students. Most surprising was after planning, instead of each person diverting and minding their own business on the internet, we came together as a group and talked or played games. Within two weeks, I had become best friends with my students, group, and teachers.
The last week was my favorite because my group and I were really able to come together and have fun without stressing about teaching plans or submitting forms. I also saw parts of Taiwan I had never seen before because I've only been to two other cities besides Taipei. After the Aboriginal village, I realized how diverse Taiwan is. The tour helped me see and learn about the different parts of Taiwan and although it's just a small island, it really is its own world.
AID Summer made this year the best summer I've ever had. From late night planning, to early wake-up calls, to delicious dining, to touring the country, and to tons of laughter, this has been a truly unforgettable experience. Most importantly, my group has become my second family. Being with the same seven people day in and day out, eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner together, working on lesson plans together, rooming together, going to sleep together, and waking up in the morning together, we've learned to respect and compromise our differing personalities. It's strange to return home and wake up to the sound of my alarm clock instead of my friend shaking me awake, and having no plans instead of a busy schedule. Attending AID Summer this year was one of the best decisions I've made. I'm so thankful for all the joyful memories it's given me and I hope to attend again in the future.
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Lin, Fanning (林二暉)
Back at home, friends and family see only the superficial Facebook remnants of my AID experience. They exclaim envy, surprise, even admiration. But everything they see is from my end of spectrum. Everything that I have done. What they could never know through the occasional statuses, comments, and hundreds of photos is how much the schoolchildren and AID of Taiwan have done for me. While I could wax on for days upon each detail of every precious memory of this summer, one lesson encompasses it all. Above all else, AIDsummer showed me that the world could not be contained by rigid expectations.
When I first applied, I admit that I really didn’t know what to expect. A Taiwanese friend brought up the idea and painted glamorous pictures in our minds of Taiwan’s nightmarket scene, milk tea and shaved ice galore, etc. Perusing the (at times, jumbled) AID site, I tried to consolidate these stories of Taiwan with images of myself scrawling on a blackboard before kids, speaking my grammatically incorrect Mandarin. I found it very difficult to wrap my head around. Nonetheless, it wasn’t until I received the acceptance and subsequently purchased the plane ticket that these abstract ideas floating in my head could actually be a reality that summer.
The first training week at Chientan was a whirlwind of new everything: New friends to make, new food to sample, new city to explore, new teaching techniques to learn, and a new sleeping schedule to adjust to. Not a minute was wasted, and every night you could almost hear the simultaneous collapse of 350 AIDers to bed, minds and bodies exhausted but fulfilled. Determined and ready for the next day.
Despite the rigorous training, nothing could prepare our little A2-2 “奶茶” Team of four for the coming weeks at 大成國小 (Dacheng Elementary). Even before we met our kids, our expectations were already blown away by the Dacheng faculty. I originally expected that the staff wouldn’t take more than a professional interest in me, as only a temporary teacher. Instead we were welcomed into our new home in the mountains like family, along with our two awesome TAs, Nick and Eric. They joked with us like old friends, joined us on late-night excursions to 7-11 a block away, and took us to KTV, where everybody warbled as best we could to Taylor Swift and One Direction (Dacheng’s principal and 黃老師 are actually amazing singers). We photobombed (and Nick creeped) in each other’s photos wherever there was a camera. We blew hundreds of NT and offered fashion advice to Ren-Jay at Ximending. We nearly killed ourselves with heatstroke at a hotspring in Beitou.
And while weekends were packed with such adventures, we all buckled down during weekdays to be the best teachers we could be. The first Monday, I entered the class quite nervous. What if they hated me? What if I was a horrible teacher? But those worries quickly melted away as soon as I saw my kids, and I would soon become smitten with our class of twelve 2nd and 3rd graders. Despite being surrounded by my students for six hours daily, I still found myself constantly surprised by their level of energy. How could such big personalities fit in such small bodies? I also hadn’t realized how accepting they would be of these strange new teachers from a foreign land. Before the first week was done, I seemed to always have a trail of “ducklings”-the girls, usually led by Angel- that followed me wherever I went. As for the boys, I don’t remember ever seeing Jonathan or Eric without a kid hanging from an arm or begging for a piggyback ride. It was pretty adorable. But teaching wasn’t all fun and games, and didn’t end in the classroom. When I came to Dacheng, I hadn’t accounted for the long hours of meetings before and after class as well as late night preparations for the next day’s teaching plan. In class, we also learned to expect the unexpected: We made modifications to the teaching plan on the fly as kids would grow bored without games. Sometimes there would be sudden classroom management issues and disruptions that we had to take care of while avoiding becoming the “mean teacher”. These we accepted and plowed through with as much determination as we could muster. Thinking back, I don’t regret the working side of teaching at all, for it made all the other memories that much more gratifying. Teaching with Green Tea class made every day a gift. But, as the two weeks drew to a close, the inevitable loomed like a large black cloud. You would think that of the two weeks, the goodbye would be the one thing I could predict and prepare for the most. We held it together pretty well for the first half of closing ceremony…Until the picture slideshow began to play. Soon everybody was crying and hugging. The kids started sobbing, and then even the faculty joined in. As much as I had tried to mentally steel myself for leaving, it was nothing compared to the unsuspecting flood of emotions that barreled through me on the last day and knowing how much I would miss my new home and family in 大成國小.
And this is why I say again, “AIDsummer showed me that the world can not be contained by rigid expectations.” As if I could’ve predicted or even imagined before that I would ever do these things with these amazing people. While I’m unsure of the next time I will return to Taiwan, I am confident that at least for this trip, I’ve come back (at least a little) changed for the better. For this, I can only express how supremely thankful I am to AIDsummer and 大成國小.
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Hsieh, Victoria (謝依凡)
When I first applied for the AID program, I didn't really have any expectations. I just thought I would go teach, go on tour, and then just go home. I didn't expect to make friends or have fun teaching kids; I just thought about all the suffering I would have to undergo in the place I was assigned to. Thoughts of no AC, mosquito bites, and noisy kids just filled my head as I braced myself for this summer program.
However, after the first few days of meeting my kids in Houbi, Tainan, I really enjoyed being with them and teaching them. My kids would come everyday after school ended to call me and my teaching partner to go play basketball. They would also tag along to go eat dinner with us and go to the small, weekly night market with us. They left us their addresses and kept telling us to send them mail. They asked for our phone numbers, and one kid kept calling us everyday when we were on tour; I literally had 20 missed calls from him. It was an unforgettable experience. I teared up when my group had to leave our kids, and our kids cried when we left.
I bonded a lot more with my group members than I had expected. We grew very close during training week and the teaching weeks. We walked 5 minutes everyday to 7-11 in the evening, and went together to go buy boba. We played basketball together with our kids, and had a huge water balloon fight with all our classes together. I will never forget the people I shared this experience with.
AID summer is a great program and I definitely would recommend it to my friends.
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Hao, Sy-woei (郝思瑋)
There are approximately seven billion people in this world. Even if you dedicated your whole life into meeting all seven billion, it is ultimately impossible. Therefore, the people you do have the chance of meeting are inevitably those you need to treasure. AID Summer was only one month in the hundreds I have had and hundreds that will come, but I know that this one single month and all the memories entailed will be among the stories that I will tell for the rest of my life.
Arriving in Taiwan two weeks prior to the program, I was a bit skeptical giving up my freedom after reading the strict guidelines and regulations, but on the 30th of June I was ready to begin this rather unexpected whirlwind of adventures. The first week at Chientan was nothing but long: long ceremonies, long lectures, long discussions and simply long days. However, this also included the long time spent with my seven other teaching partners going to Nanho Junior High School with me the following two weeks. In any group setting it is essential for the group to have a well-developed bond and ambiance, and these we quickly established. Towards the end of the week our circle of friendship expanded to welcome our loving, kind counselor. All the counselors were always required to stand and run around at the order of any teacher or director, which I know is their obligation, but I could not help but have this strong desire to pull up an empty chair for our counselor to sit when we were having daily night discussions. Unfortunately, I was always a bit too afraid. Soon the one week was over and we departed to Miaoli County.
On our journey to Miaoli the eight of us met Kenny; he recently moved back to Taiwan in order to finish his military duty, and being fluent in English, he was stationed in Nanho Junior High School. The two weeks we were at Miaoli, Kenny was there for us every second of the day. All eight of us had a very difficult time connecting with the children the first week. My class in particular was the class that had recently graduated elementary school. A good majority of them were unfamiliar with each other and even more distant from us. As a result, my class was extremely quiet and non-responsive. Every night the eight of us and Kenny would stay in the library and plan out our lesson plans for the next day. We did everything together. We ate together, slept together, frustrated over difficulties together and actually quite frequently joked about the kids together. One could say the two weeks we spent together was a long time due to our responsibilities, but then again, looking back on it, it was really short. We were isolated from the world, and we did not mind at all. At the end of the second week I was inseparable from some of the students. Every break in the bell schedule we would all hover around my computer and talk about music, dramas and the differences between culture and life in the different countries. The last day some of the students stayed behind after school, and my two teaching partners and I ordered them drinks. We stayed around talking, playing basketball and then all eight teachers and our students commenced a casual water-fight around the school. The next morning I opened my bedroom door to see the face of one of my students. Apparently students from each class decided to come send us off. As we boarded the bus we decided to have a group hug with our students in Miaoli. Backing off, slightly scared, our students eventually accepted their teachers' crazy antics one last time.
Stepping into Taichung, I quickly scanned the room in search of our counselor from the first week. Saddened by the results, the eight of us checked in our luggages and formed a little circle to send off Kenny. Of course, none other, we formed a group hug and had lots of loud cries for Kenny to stay, which caught a lot of attention from the counselors still working the check-in table. However, Kenny had to leave, but we knew that we would be seeing Kenny after the program, so out of the eight of us, we only had one person cry. Standing in line to board yet another bus, I made too quick of a judgment on our two counselors holding the front of the line. While offering them candy from Miaoli, I thought that they were going to be too serious. I was obviously wrong, but I would find out on my own.
It is very natural to simply sleep on a long bus ride, but our four lovely counselors decided to play games. My group and I did not want to participate, especially since we sat at the back of the bus. Fortunately for me, our counselor from the first week told one of our current counselors that I was very fluent in Chinese so ask me to do anything. Thus, when the bus lacked participation I could always expect my name to be called within a matter of seconds. In my group, there was a mutual consensus to make me do all the Chinese speaking, so I would always be the one to talk to the counselors and find out everything about the schedule. I have no problem speaking in Chinese, and I absolutely loved chatting with the counselors. As the week progressed my group would always be the last people in line which was completely brilliant for me because I would spend my time talking to the counselor holding up the end. The majority of times, the counselor holding the end would be the one that was the same age as me, so I always took any opportunity to tease and mess with her. At the end of the week, I finally gotten her to open up to me and actually carry full-on conversations. Through all the conversations with the various counselors, I sincerely felt that they cared for us greatly and seriously do a lot of preparation. The closing ceremony was particularly brutal for me because I had invested so much time into getting to know the counselors. The next morning, up until the moment I had to leave, I followed around the counselors like a little puppy because I was so reluctant to part. The time did come, and I left.
The first two days I spent at home were awful. It was so silent to the point that I could not handle it and went to 7-eleven to sit there for two hours. Then I began chatting with the counselors using LINE, an instant-messaging program they use in Taiwan, and finally I was having communication with the outside world. Afterwards my teaching group had lots of meetings, and during the other times I got together with the counselors. During one of teaching group adventures, we got lost in Taipei Main Station for an hour looking for a specific bus. When I told our counselors about it, one of them, who lives around the station, went ballistic, and I am pretty sure she would have came out to find us if I had not told her we figured it out already. Our counselors treated us like babies, but in a good way, to know that they care about us even when the program was over. My last day in Taiwan, our counselor from the first week came to Taipei all the way from Hsinchu to visit us. I could not have asked for a better last day. I remember during the tour, when we saw her, she told me that she was so afraid that we would forget about her. Without hesitation, I replied that no such thing would ever happen. For me, I am really thankful to be a member of AID Summer. The memories, the experiences, but most importantly the people that I have met will forever be a part of me. The next time that I will be in Taiwan is unknown to me, but when that time comes, I will definitely find these people again. I promise.
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Kuo, Blanche (郭蘭瑄)
Without a doubt, these past four weeks in Taiwan have been the most unforgettable and meaningful four weeks of my life. I came to AID not expecting to make so many new friends, yet I've built so many close knit relationships with not only my teaching group but also with roommates, counselors, and people from the tiny town of Shetou that will last a lifetime for sure.
Training week could have been a little more exciting, but it's also when i began to bond with my roommates and meet so many new people. Whether meeting these people through crazy ice breaking activities or just wandering around Jiantan during breaks, all these people have definitely made a great impact in my life. Our eating groups were also incredibly friendly during meals when we offered each other food and cleaned up together. The lectures were also informative and I learned many teaching activities to use with my kids.
Most importantly, my two weeks spent at CingShuei Elementary opened up my eyes and gave me a completely new perception of life. When our bus first arrived at Shetou, I saw such an underdeveloped region with chickens walking around and broken down buildings and houses made of metal pieces. I was shocked because never have I thought of Taiwan as rural; all the previous years I've been in Taipei with all the skyscrapers and MRT stations, never seeing the poor of Taiwan. However, starting from the first day with my host family, I realized that these people loved so much and were the most hospitable most amazing people in the world worrying about our needs if we had enough food or blankets and everything!! They ordered 15 boxes of pizzas from a city 20 minutes away for 30 people because they were afraid we'd go hungry haha. I'm forever grateful for my host family and Erin, who's the daughter of our host parents. I LOVE HER SO MUCH because without her, we'd probably be dead because we never knew when we could cross the street because apparently traffic lights are just for show.
With the kids, at first they were all extremely shy but soon they became extremely attached to us. Because the kids were rowdy and not really disciplined, my teaching partner and i agreed to be really strict with them during class and friends with them outside of class. Soon, during breaks there'd be kids who hung onto our legs and arms and those who kept begging us to play dodge ball with them. As I got to know the kids I saw in the kids a strong sense of community where they cared for each other and were always voluntarily willing to help out and were extremely responsible. Once, when water flooded our room because of a broken pipe, the kids immediately got out of their chairs, took off their shoes, and began to sweep the water out of the classroom.
Furthermore, teaching the kids was certainly a first time experience for me. Not only did my kids learn quickly but they became active in class rather than reluctant and hesitant to speak English like they first were when I met them. By the end of the two weeks with them, they were yelling answers and singing all the songs we taught them. It was heartbreaking to leave them and many tears were shed.
Lastly tour week was absolutely the most incredible thing ever. Our counselors were the best! So much fun and so much good food. I bought so much stuff and just really enjoyed it!
Although I've visited Taiwan many times before, this trip has definitely been most fun and the one where I've appreciated Taiwan and it's beauty the most. AID has surely provided me with one of the most invaluable and amazing experiences I have ever partook.
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Pao, Carolyn (鮑憶君)
A teacher is an inspirational figure in everyone's lives. They guide us in our journey and teach us new things that motivate us to do something special. Being just a college student, I never thought that I could play the reverse role. It's a great responsibility, but an unforgettable experience. Not only did I meet so many awesome people, but I gained a priceless feeling. The feeling of making a true difference in 19 individuals. I had so much admiration in people around, but I never experienced a moment when people respected me as someone great. I never understood this until the very last day I spent at Jhongyun Junior High School. My class president wrote a speech about my teaching partner and I. She said they we were the best teachers in the world and that she would never forget us. I literally burst into tears because I realized that my students really loved my weird English teaching lessons and that I was so proud of them. I really miss them very much and will never forget them.
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Hsiung, Ya-An (熊雅安)
Some of the best moments of my life were spent racing to the playground with my students as soon as the bell rang for recess. I applied to AID expecting nothing more than an activity to fill up my summer. Because I usually go to Taiwan every summer to visit relatives, saying goodbye to them for AID raised doubts in my mind. I began to wonder if attending the program had been the right decision. I had read past AIDers' reflection essays, and they were all full of praise. Naturally passive and timid, I was afraid I would not have the same wonderful experiences as previous campers. Fortunately, I was mistaken.
The first week of lectures seemed to drag on forever, and the daily bed checks were only slightly less dreadful than the morning calls. However, once one of the lecturers showed us a video of the students' expectations and excitement for learning, I remembered why I had applied to AID. Usually hesitant for change, I was unnaturally anxious in looking forward to arriving at Houbi Elementary. The kind English teacher of Houbi, Cloudia, smiled often and advised us to play games - she emphasized the fun aspect of AID in addition to the education part. She stayed with us for the full two weeks, giving us freedom to work on our lesson plans while keeping us on track. Without Cloudia, the eight of us would have been lost and confused. We are all so grateful to her for taking care of us and providing everything we needed.
I taught the youngest but largest class at Houbi, Class D. From day one, I was pleasantly surprised at the kids' enthusiasm for learning. Many of them fervently raised their hands after I asked a question, and some of the students even took notes! Although the incentive may have been our reward system, it was refreshing to see so many students excited about English, a subject that is literally foreign to them. Of course, there were students who needed a little extra help, and there were those who were too shy to give input. Nonetheless, all of my students worked hard to participate in class.
I truly fell in love with my students when they drew portraits of me in their notebooks and shyly handed them over after school. Some would write both my Chinese and English names all over the chalkboard (with different colored chalks, of course), asking me, "How do you say beautiful in English?" I had to feign surprise when they proudly showed me their completed masterpiece, a stick figure representing me with abnormally large eyes and few strands of hair, with the words "Ya-An is beautiful" written next to it, and in English, too! Before I knew it, immediately after the bell signaled the end of class everyday, students would race each other to hold my hand, drag me to the jungle gym with them, and dare me to climb to the top. These activities may sound tedious and repetitive, but they were the only times I saw the kids embracing their childhood. Their carefree attitudes and animated personalities will forever be etched in my memories.
On the last day of teaching, I promised the students I would visit them next summer, and they were elated. Even though I know that we will never reunite the same group of people again, I still reassured them we will see one another in the future. During our closing ceremony, I could not cry although several other teachers and students shed tears; I began to worry that I did not love my kids enough to cry for them. But sitting on the bus the next morning, on our way to Kaohsiung to begin the tour, I silently bawled my eyes out. I finally realized the impact of the children on myself. They love me, as my friends and family do, but the kids were not afraid to show their unyielding love, and we had only been together for two weeks! It only took two weeks to form a bond that I know will never break, and I am nothing but grateful for my experiences at AID.
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Leong, Kevin (梁鍵偉)
Prior to my acceptance and entrance into the AID Summer program, I did not know what to expect. Florida, known to be a haven for baby boomers and spring breakers, did not churn out as many individuals into the AID summer program. No one told me that I would spend a month in a foreign country, nor what 僑務委員會 would do for me. I had very little confidence in my Chinese, despite the fact that I spoke Chinese regularly at the house. Needless to say, there was a large degree of anxiety and nervousness. I would be teaching English, a language that is not second-nature to Taiwan natives, also a language I still had not fully mastered. Doubts began to surface inside my head. Could I perform my duties to a standard that would be acceptable not only to me, but also to Taiwan? I would have to soon find out.
Individuals undergo a series of transitions in their lifetime. These transitions may be physical ones, where one relocates, or mental ones, where experiences in a lifetime enrich one’s mind. Transitions can be small like waking up on the morning or significant ones such as embarking on 20 hours of flights to reach the final destination. Probably the most memorable of the transitions I took part in was the bus rides that took place over the final tour week. While they were not the shortest trips, nor were they the most comfortable, they allowed me to establish the bonds I had with other people participating on the tour. So much credit should be given to the counselors, who assisted with all of the transitions and adjustments we had to make during our time in Taiwan. I’m very pleased to keep in touch with the counselors in Taiwan, even long after the conclusion of the AID Summer program.
While the training week was tiring and an extensive portion of AID Summer, it was certainly necessary. Without it, I would have not been able to gain insight from the many advisors that were familiar with the system. I would be introduced to my teaching group. Within my teaching group were 5 other students, each with his or her own unique background, each going on his or her separate way after the month in Taiwan. But in that moment, for that July month, our paths would travel along the same Taiwan roads. I would be commencing on my journey through Taiwan along with the other five individuals, traveling in parallel. Each of us, though different in our background, ultimately possessed the same goal, and we would require each other in order to fully achieve it.
Upon arriving at the school, fresh off a week of rigorous training, I was taken aback. The school, merely an elementary school, was almost the size of my high school. The concrete walls surrounding the school intimidated me, despite the fact they were only a meter high. (My appreciation for the metric system also gained). As I walked into the school, I had the same anxiety feelings I had when I stepped on the grounds of my university for the first time. It felt as if I was becoming a new student rather than the school obtaining new teachers. I introduced myself to the students in broken Chinese; probably less than ideal, as the students, already confused as to why these strangers from a far land were at their school, were even more confused when I spoke to them. This was not going to be easy.
The advisor for our teaching group happened to be the principal at our school we were teaching at. This was a stroke of luck as not only did she have most of the knowledge and power of the school, but she also possessed years of experience in education. One of her most significant pieces of advice was to calm down and to adjust to the students. It was easier for me to adjust to the students once I stopped forcing myself to be precise. One of the beauties of teaching is the freedom and flexibility a curriculum can contain. By being flexible, I could become more comfortable with both the students and my own abilities.
The students, 50 of them in number, were very eager to showcase their abilities. Some, too eager, followed the teachers and attempted to mimic every one of our motions, down to the smoothing of my hair or the twiddling of my thumbs. While it did become intrusive, I appreciated the determination and eagerness the students demonstrated for us to see. This determination carries over as they advance in their educational endeavors. Many have dreams of traveling the world and visiting various countries. Using English as the catalyst for their excitement made me so proud. I can only wish that these students follow through with all of their dreams so when I return to Taiwan and visit, they will be even greater successes in their community. Paying forward their knowledge to others are primary principles AID Summer utilizes. I am very appreciative that I was able to contribute a modicum of my skills to the cause. As I departed the school, I could not stop myself from crying when I left my host family and the school. The short span of two weeks was more than enough to bond with the school community and the host family. It was literally my home away from home, and my school away from school. The community was so welcoming to us volunteers. If given the invitation to return, I will not hesitate to accept.
Tour week…not to spoil any surprises for the upcoming years of AID Summer, but I acquired many tidbits of wisdom along the way
-Take many pictures! Taiwan is beautiful in its own right, but that beauty cannot be displayed without U!
-Try EVERY food. You will not know if you do not like something if you do not try it. (Stinky tofu, durians)
-Talk to your counselors. They are the experts in your group. While some may say their English is bad, they love to hear yours. They will smile.
-Practice Chinese: It’s the largest language in the world and there’s a rare opportunity to utilize it in the most optimal setting: the native one. Use it with your counselors as well
-Bring Money. You will encounter so many goods not seen in your native countries. Impulse buying is NOT frowned upon.
-Listen! Listen! Listen! How many of you knew of the great 921 Earthquake in Taiwan and its impact on the Country? You will soon find out. You can also acquire new Chinese phrases that way.
-Talk to your tour bus group: You have one week to bond, and then your paths diverge. Take the opportunity to establish connections
Most importantly, it is suggested that you be yourself and drink lots of fluids. Don’t stray from shade, follow the flags, and make sure you meet back on time. Have fun!
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Chow, Johnathan (周厚莊)
My teaching experience at Syuejia Elementary in Tainan was definitely the best chapter of my life yet. In Florida, school is not very appreciated and some teachers simply don't enjoy teaching which drains the fun out of our education system. Litter is everywhere and kids talk trash about teachers all the time. In this school however, my kids could clean up after themselves and didn't mouth off at me or anything in general. In fact, I was told that Taiwanese people were nice but I did not know they were THIS nice. My kids would hang out with me after school sometimes or during lunch and talk to me. Not only that but the last week, they got me gifts. I wasn't aware of the whole gift concept in Taiwan because America isn't like that but, the kids wrote letters and stuff that they really put themselves into. One student even apologized on the classes behalf for sometimes making me frustrated. I guess it was at this point that I really loved my kids because despite them being rowdy. It is a whole different world where I was, kids who were from Americans viewpoint so disadvantaged can possibly be so happy that it was baffling to me at first. My kids were amazing though and although I wasn't the perfect teacher, I'm glad I got to know them.
After teaching, I went on the central tour. I think that the thing I loved the most about it was when we went to remote areas that were pretty far away from the urban city and kind of rural. We went to this railway station for tourists and I glanced over the little shops and went walking on the side. This old guy's dogs barked at me and he came out to see what was wrong but afterwards, we had a really cool discussion. I told him that I came to teach English and he responded to me by saying that my teaching job was great. He didn't make fun of my mandarin which people in China would do all the time.He even went out of his way to suggest a secluded mountain trail to go to the peak of the hill with an awesome view. I got a lot of mosquito bites and was followed by a bunch of wasps but the trip was completely worth it. I guess what I've been trying to say is that the people are so nice and there really is no better way to say it. In fact, that reminds me of the importance of thank you's in this culture. In America, alot of people especially employees dont really care but for people at the night market stands or in those little shops in general generally take the thank you's wonderfully. At the night market, saying thank you and the food is delicious most of the times makes them smile a bit as if they really enjoyed making you happy. I've never really been in this environment where people can just be so happy in helping others but I definitely know that it is way different here than in the states and in a better way.
In the end, I guess everybody should come here at least once. The people here are just so nice. The food is great, but most importantly, it feels like this place has everything that America lacks. Sure it may have flaws such as no seat toilets or AC everywhere but I can say that I've never had any 4 weeks in my life as wonderful as these 4 weeks. I'm going to miss my kids and everybody I met here. But mostly my kids because they are the treasures of my life right now. :P
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Gugliuzza, Alexandra (葛艾莉)
This has been the most memorable, uplifting, inspirational, genuine, exciting, heart felt summers i have ever had in all my eighteen years. Six synonyms cannot even begin to describe how life changing AID has been for me, but I just want you to know that yes, it was life changing. And that is in itself something to say. I wouldn't replace the 3 hour long training sessions (which do need a makeover), stress filled late nights planning a teaching schedule, sweat dripping down my face playing basketball with my kids, and the tears (both of happiness and sadness) for anything. It was mostly the people I met that did it for me. From my friends for life teaching parters, to the adorable and dedicated counselors, all the way to the mountains where my stimulating students spend their every waking hour, it was the people that made this experience what it was. I have left Taiwan a more humble, giving, and even wiser person as I head off to college where the lessons I learned on that tiny island will follow me as I make life's journey. Thank you for everything and always know I will have AID in my heart. Never stop the program.
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