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Hou, Stephanie (侯曼文)
The feeling of being a part of Summer AID is still surreal. Being accepted into Summer AID at the last moment was both exhilarating and terrifying. After being put on the waiting list for such a long period of time, I had accepted that I would probably not make the program. I arrived at Chientan Youth Activity Center with a nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach not knowing for sure if my teaching group would accept me. The nervous feeling soon dissipated after getting to know them. Beginning the training for the two weeks of teaching in a remote area was one of the most unique experiences I have had at any camp I've been to. From learning cultural chants to the ice breaker games, everyone in the camp felt a closer connection and sense of unity. After a week of spending time with each other laughing and having fun training to be a teacher no one wanted to part ways. The time seemed too short but duty called and we all went our separate ways to begin our two weeks of teaching.
The first day of teaching consisted of performing a pre-test to split students into a higher and lower level class. After the pre-test my teaching group and I learned to quickly begin modifying our lesson plans to suit each class. We realized that the lower level class would need easier material than what we had previously planned. Throughout the week my teaching partner and I had to continuously adapt our lessons to fit the lower level class’s needs. For me, the most challenging part of designing lessons was coming up with new games that would be both interactive and centered on speaking English. Often times I would find the game consisting more of running around than actually using the English language. The students were quiet when instructed to speak English and cautious around their peers. After two weeks of teaching I have come to appreciate teachers’ roles much more than before. Teachers have the difficult job of balancing age appropriate games with the level of study the students require. I wanted to treat them as middle school students without compromising their lesson content. In the end the most satisfying feeling was seeing that the students improved since we began teaching them. Even if the improvement was marginal, seeing that they understood questions they previously didn't was a rewarding feeling in itself.
Phil Collins once said “In learning you will teach, and in teaching you will learn”. Throughout the two weeks with the students I was reminded that the universal struggle of learning a new language is applicable to people of all ages. I was reminded of my own process of learning to read and write Chinese, and how I am still a learner myself. I was reminded of the free-spirited nature of middle school students and their need for the chance to let their energy run wild. I saw students shy away from speaking English in front of their peers and watched their competitive sides shine through during team games. I saw students hastily whisper translations of instructions to friends who did not understand them the first time. While we learned to help the students, the students were also learning to help one another and become each other's teacher. The symbiotic relationship between us and the students was what helped us build the relationship necessary for both sides to learn more about the other. Just like the rest of the volunteer teachers at Summer AID, I hope the students gained as much from us as we have from them. If the students are eager to continue learning English after our time with them, I consider it mission accomplished. In time, I wish that even more students can be a part of the Summer AID program and meet new volunteer teachers from around the world and begin the cycle of inspiration once again.
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MacNaughton, James (麥禄杰)
I thoroughly enjoyed this camp. Not only did I have a wonderful time teaching the kids, but I also improved my Chinese skills and learned a lot about Taiwan. These past four weeks have been some of the longest yet most enjoyable weeks I my life. I experienced a lot and grew a lot. I also let a lot of other wonderful young people who love Taiwan. What a great experience.
Going in I was nervous because my Chinese isn't very good and I was unsure how I would be able to survive in a country whose language I didn't really speak. I had taken two years of Mandarin class in high school, and was confident that I would be able to communicate until I stepped off of the plane into the Tao Yuan Airport. I realized right then that this would be harder than I thought. However this camp made it easy, almost everyone spoke English and when someone didn't there were hundreds of translators around. Not only was I able to communicate and understand everything, my Chinese listening and speaking skills improved as well. I was able to go home with a far greater knowledge of Chinese than I went in with.
The highlight of the camp however was the teaching. When I got here, I was really nervous as to what it would be like to teach, I didn't know what to say or if the kids would learn. I didn't know if the plans we designed would be too long or too short, boring or fun. None of It mattered though when I met the kids. They were all of the things that kids are, innocent, interested, energetic, curious, playful and in general nice. They learned very quickly because they had an actual desire to know what we were teaching them. But most importantly, they had fun. One day of school was canceled because of a typhoon but some of the kids asked the principal if she could extend the camp one day. That's not something you get in America.
This was my first trip to Taiwan, or any Asian country for that matter. I didn't know what to expect. My only prior knowledge of Taiwan was from my Chinese teacher and history class. This place is unlike any other I have ever traveled to. The culture here is very strong, it's thriving. It'd also very interesting to learn about. The food is delicious. The people are extremely nice. My over all first impression of Taiwan was fantastic. I definitely want to come back.
All in all this was a wonderful experience where I not only learned about Taiwan and got to use my Mandarin practically but also where I met a lot of smart teenagers and adorable little kids. There are so many aspects of this program that make it worth while. If for no other reason, then participate to meet the kids. They're why we're here and why we did what we did. Because of those kids, I am thankful that I came. It was a wonderful summer.
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Chang, Debbie (張家寧)
Coming to AID Summer, I really had no idea what to expect. From a distance, AID seemed like just another camp that I’d be subjected to like I am each year — another way to kill a few months of time before school starts again in the fall. Having been introduced to the program through a distance family friend, I honestly was not ecstatic to have made it, even knowing the privilege that stood behind the admittance. The months following my acceptance into the program and leading up to my arrival in Taiwan in the middle of the night on the same date that the program began fluctuated heavily between anxiety and apathy.
Aside from my light luggage and small backpack, along with a sprinkle of fear paired with a dab of excitement, I came into AID summer with little more than a couple years of teaching experience through working at a local daycare and a couple of years of experience being a summer camp counselor. I knew how to discipline and teach kids who may not want to listen to what I have to say, but at the very least, the kids and I would speak the same language. Coming to AID summer, even with my resume loaded with “experience” points, little did I know that I was pretty much on square one.
At Chientan, I was sick with a fever of 103 degrees for pretty much the entirety of my stay. Although my attendance record at the workshops at Chientan was definitely not on par, I was there for the lecture that explained the good, bad, and ugly about rural living conditions and dealing with older kids. Completely stressed out from my packed schedule throughout the entire summer, I was so demotivated and upset that I really didn’t want to teach, much less in a rural area in the middle of nowhere. Luckily with the help of my new friends whom I clicked with instantly as well as my mentor, the endearing "Xiao Pang" who helped me realize my duty as well as my potential, I was able to pick myself back up both physically and mentally.
I still clearly recall the night my roommates and teaching partners crowded around my laptop and were looking up pictures of the area where we were going to be teaching in Miaoli — where teaching English to middle schoolers who hardly knew anything about the language was going to be our mission and priority for the next two weeks. And just as I had felt when I was first admitted to AID summer, I was a little scared, but a little excited.
Teaching week was definitely not as tiring or harrowing as I thought it would be, but it was still mentally exhausting and I faced many unexpected challenges. For instance, the living conditions were definitely not like that of Chientan. Our bedrooms were classrooms with bunk beds. The bathrooms may as well have been labeled the “botanical gardens of Da Hu”. However, I still felt blessed nevertheless because it was during that time that I really began to feel closer to my group and felt like we were actual “friends” rather than just assigned teaching partners. Killing cockroaches with whatever inanimate object was nearest and buddying up to go to the restrooms in fear of encountering geckos or foot-long moths really has its way of unifying a body of eight very different people.
Finally the first day of class came. In the lectures and talks we had with the Chientan staff and the principal of our school alike, we were taught not to speak chinese to the kids. Well, this concept was a lot more feasible in principle than in practice. On the first day of class, I tried to introduce myself in English and asked some simple questions to the kids in order to verbally gauge their english knowledge. All I got in return were ten blank stares. Eventually I had to succumb to speaking mandarin to them, and I feel very fortunate to be able to speak and understand mandarin fluently because otherwise it would have been hard to communicate with the kids, let alone teach them a foreign language and keep them interested. As a result, in spite of having extremely different levels of english knowledge prior to taking the class, my kids were alike in that they were vibrant and extremely attached to us teachers. In fact, some students even biked down the mountain for an hour each morning and went home late in the evening in eager attempts to learn English and to spend time with the teachers. Touched by their incessant efforts to show up with punctuality and earnestness, I was doubly motivated to do my best to teach them and to give them a memorable summer. Some days we would spend our afternoons outside playing with water or having massive dodgeball wars, not because we were trying to kill time but because we really wanted to bond with the kids. Our strategy worked a little too well — the kids would not go home until 10 PM as a result of our efforts to befriend them.
Teaching has always been expressed to me as a two-way path: the teacher teaches and the student receives, and then vice versa. I never actually grasped the essence of this concept in its entirety until I came to AID summer and was able to devote my time and efforts to the students of Da Hu Junior High. This, the leadership skills I built, and the friendships I made along the way, are what have made AID summer a truly unforgettable experience.
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Miaou, Emily (繆逸瑄)
I was incredibly excited to have been accepted into the AID program at first, and at the end of it all, I am still very pleased that I had this life-changing opportunity and experience. I certainly had my doubts about my teaching abilities before starting the program, as I worried about how to gauge my students' English abilities, what methods I could use to engage the students in learning, and what the students would think of me as a teacher. Training week simultaneously made me realize that I was justified in my nervousness to teach, as educating the next generation of bright minds is no easy task, but I also learned many methods and techniques on how to teach and handle the classroom, from class rules to educational games. In the training sessions, I got useful, detailed instructions on how to have a successful two weeks of teaching.
On the first day of school, I felt extremely nervous, as I was teaching the oldest students - 5th and 6th graders. Would they already know everything I planned on teaching them? Or would they be unwilling to learn and not understand any of the instructions I gave them in Engish? However, my worries were quickly disspelled when the students excitedly ran into the classroom, dragging desks and chairs into place. They quickly sat down and looked at my expectantly, all smiles and curious, bright looks in their eyes. As I started teaching my first day of lesson plans (greetings and introductions), they were highly responsive and already knew a small portion of the things I was teaching, which impressed me. As I became more comfortable with teaching and leading the classrom, I realized that after I relaxed, connected with my students, and found out what they enjoyed, they were much more engaged in class activities. For example, when the students became restless from lecture and powerpoint learning, I played games with them in which they could be more active. I used the flyswatter game that I learned from training week and also played Twister with the kids using the vocabulary they learned. The students also helped me improve my own Chinese, and I learned a Confucian dance while I was there, which was incredibly interesting; I would not have had the opportunity to learn it had I not been placed in Rui-Hu Elementary School. As an only child, I never had younger siblings who looked up to me. However, this experience made me revel in the fact that the students really respected and looked up to me, which made me feel very honored to be their teacher. Overall, the students were eager to learn English, and I treasured the respect and friendship gained from my students.
Leaving MiaoLi made me miss my students, and I really did not realize until after the two weeks were over how much I treasured the experience; it was truly life-changing, and I will miss everyone dearly.
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Tsai, Tiffany (蔡宏恩)
Once upon a time, there was a girl named Tiffany. Actually, there were many Tiffanys ¬at AID, but they never met and made a Tiffany team because it is slightly difficult to meet people outside of your teaching group and your tour bus group. However, the relationship between the members of Tiffany’s teaching group made Tiffany’s experience quite wonderful. The combination of compatible individuals that would result in a favorable wonderful experience depends greatly on luck, and Tiffany was very lucky. Tiffany had a very unique experience compared to other AID volunteers because only three people created her teaching group compared to the average six to eight people teaching groups. Three may seem lonelier then six, but three is easier to function with.
Training week involved a cycle of sitting and eating. Tiffany wished there would be more time to move around and release muscle tension, but she survived the week anyways. Tiffany went through a fruit withdrawal because a rather large table had to share one plate of fruit every day, but that was not the end of the world. The process of creating lesson plans surprised Tiffany because it was more self-directed than she expected. Furthermore, training week felt very long.
Ali shan is the most beautiful place in the world. Teaching two weeks in the mountain changed Tiffany’s calibration of beauty. Even though the tour took Tiffany too many beautiful places in Taiwan, Tiffany always thought, “This is not as beautiful as Ali shan.” The counselors invest a lot into the volunteers, and I appreciate their hard work. Once upon a time, there was a girl named Tiffany. Actually, there were many Tiffanys ¬at AID, but they never met and made a Tiffany team because it is slightly difficult to meet people outside of your teaching group and your tour bus group. However, the relationship between the members of Tiffany’s teaching group made Tiffany’s experience quite wonderful. The combination of compatible individuals that would result in a favorable wonderful experience depends greatly on luck, and Tiffany was very lucky. Tiffany had a very unique experience compared to other AID volunteers because only three people created her teaching group compared to the average six to eight people teaching groups. Three may seem lonelier then six, but three is easier to function with.
Training week involved a cycle of sitting and eating. Tiffany wished there would be more time to move around and release muscle tension, but she survived the week anyways. Tiffany went through a fruit withdrawal because a rather large table had to share one plate of fruit every day, but that was not the end of the world. The process of creating lesson plans surprised Tiffany because it was more self-directed than she expected. Furthermore, training week felt very long.
Ali shan is the most beautiful place in the world. Teaching two weeks in the mountain changed Tiffany’s calibration of beauty. Even though the tour took Tiffany too many beautiful places in Taiwan, Tiffany always thought, “This is not as beautiful as Ali shan.” The counselors invest a lot into the volunteers, and I appreciate their hard work.
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Wu, Kristie (吳麥菁)
It has been my pleasure to join this summer program. First, I thought that I would not be able to get this rare opportunity to come back to Taiwan and teach kids english. After I saw the admission page saying that I was accepted, I was so exited. I feel very fortunate to have this experience. This experience can not be bought with any money, happiness, or any luck.
This chance is the most valuable experience before I entered into the education field. I learned that I truly want to become a teacher. Being a teacher is very tiring and exhausting. However, despite all of the exhausting efforts and pain, it is very rewarding to see the children improve. From the total teaching experience, being a teacher meant that you have to be organized, have a lot of energy, have a lot of patience, and understand each student. Each student has a different personality and different learning style. So, when a teacher is in front of the class, you have to use different methods and style. Additionally, to accommodate for other students, one has to know the speed of how fast each person learns. For example, I had sixteen children in my class. Four of the kids learned very fast. The reason why they learned english very fast was because they attended a place where they taught more advanced english. The rest of the class was a little bit slower. Most of the other students of the remaining class learned at a faster rate. Most of the students were pretty good at learning english. The most troubling part of teaching was figuring what the slowest kids learning english. They needed more time. However, there was no time to teach them slower. Therefore, if they were really needed help, lunch/nap breaks and breaks in between classes could be used to review the vocabulary learned during class. After a while, it became fairly easy to teach kids and accommodate children to their teaching speed. Even though the entire process was a new and difficult, it taught me a lot about life, and what a life of a teacher looked like. The entirely new and difficult process was worth it. In the end, the children appreciated your efforts. Everyone made some mistakes in the process of learning; however, children overlook your mistakes and learn how to spend the little remaining precious time wisely. The two weeks spent teaching Taiwanese children english was very rewarding. All of the students were eager to learn english from the volunteers from foreign countries. I felt very honored to see children improve and see them grow up to be wonderful mature ladies and gentleman. All children have a bright future with the skill of english engraved inside their brain at a young age. I was very sad to leave them. I hope to see them all grow up to be a great person.
After I finished my two weeks of teaching, I went on tour week. On tour week, the entire group, or four hundred kids, went on tour across Taiwan. Tour week is very tiring but very exciting. From this four week experience, I learned many lessons, including how to plan, how to discipline yourself, and others.
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Wey, Arnold (魏華毅)
This year at AID taught me many things and led me to reevaluate myself as a Taiwanese American. Not only did the first week go into detail on various teaching methods, but also into the culture and history of Taiwan. My table teacher and the English teacher at 太和國小, 沈家銘, was an accomplished man: pop star, fluent in 4 languages and proficient in 6, licensed tour guide with 3 girlfriends, well-liked by his 家長s and the local community. He showed Tiffany, Denise, and I around and took a lot of time out of his own Summer to shepherd that one tall Asian boy around 嘉義 eating all the 火雞肉飯 he could find. He took us around and even took us to 台南 to experience the food and led us around Fort Zeelandia and other historic landmarks, explaining and detailing the significance of the Dutch and Japanese occupations and going further into detail the creation of Taiwan than my parents or school had ever gone. He explained how many of the current issues with Taiwanese youth arose in part due to problems that are rooted in times of occupation and led me to reevaluate the responsibilities that my generation should hold and the way that they would face those responsibilities.
Living at 太和國小 led me to reevaluate what living in the countryside of Taiwan really meant. Although the people were far removed from what we consider “life” or “necessary,” they led very comfortable lives. There was still a milkman who delivered the milk along the winding mountain roads to families, and although they worked in agriculture, planting tea, etc, many of our children were well off, financially. The living conditions were very nice, and growing and preparing expensive tea meant that you could drink that same tea freshly after it was prepared, fermented, and dried.
Teaching at 太和國小 reminded me of my own childhood, and coming back to teach English and 帶 these children gave me a sense of fulfillment. I felt that I’d come full circle; 我小時候回來給阿嬤, 奶奶 帶. 到現在換我來帶這些小朋友們. Seeing the children I taught grow closer to me and improve, sing, and dance, was an unforgettable experience, and I grew to see them truly as friends, no longer “clients” or “the little people that I grudgingly have to teach.
Throughout my struggles in the countryside, while traveling between destinations, etc, the 2 struggles I had to put up with were a lack of electricity (ports, chargers, etc.,) and truly terrible wi-fi. My team mates and I picked up Mahjong and other ways of dealing with the “isolation,” and grew so accustomed to drinking tea wherever we went that all of us now brew tea with tea bags in water bottles overnight so that we have something familiar to drink tomorrow morning.
In many aspects, this experience has changed me, whether it’s the food, memories, teaching experience, or language skills. But most important are the lasting bonds that I’ve formed with the members of my teaching group, A3-7, Tiffany and Denise, and a few of the other volunteers in ChiaYi County, such as Patrick, Crystal, Sydney, and Sean.
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Lee, Maureen (李孟家)
AID Summer 2014 could have been one of those things that stood on my bucket list for awhile. I remember some of my other friends posting pictures of their students and pictures of the tour. It was one of the best experiences of my life, the kind that will be forever engraved in my heart.
As I arrived to Chientan Youth Activity Center I was surprised to see so many Asian Americans like me. (425 to be exact ;D ) Meeting people from around the world and making new friends were a part of the wonderful memories. Training week went by really fast, each day filled with classes and lectures that were to help aid our teaching journey.
The day dawned to leave for our assigned schools. On the bus ride to LiGang Junior High School, butterflies filled in my stomach. I was nervous and excited to see what the school, host family, and students looked like. Honestly, the school looked like California. (because of its palm trees xD )
Two weeks went by quickly and I’ll never be grateful enough for the school and the host family. The students were wonderful and I had a great time teaching them. On the last day, I cried tears of sadness and joy. Too many memories happened within these short two weeks and no one was ready to let them go.
I had the pleasure meeting of these people and I’m sure someday (one day) I’ll be back to visit them.
In short, AID is AWESOME, AMAZING, and ADVENTURE-FILLING!~
Take the chance to sign up regardless of the reason!
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Hsu, Safina (許善寧)
Silence is a language of its own. It speaks not in terms of words, but instead it conveys ideas. There's silence of the perfunctory kind, a pause that lags between, perhaps, a thoughtful conversation and asks for a moment to consider words before they are uttered. There's silence of the pleasant kind, a moment that is just too wonderful for words and needs to be enjoyed without them. Other times, silence decides to be painful or awkward, and I can say that the first day teaching at my school was indeed silent, painful, and awkward all at the same time.
I have taught kids from the ages 8 to 10 before as a counselor for another camp, and I literally visit Taiwan every year to see family. However, I have never been to Taiwan to teach children. It is not a combination of any of the experiences I have had. It was unexpected and new - eye opening. I can talk about all the wonderful food, scenery, and fun Taiwan has and has always offered me every time, but I'd rather talk about what had changed my point of view. This trip has given me the valuable experience from seeing through the eyes of the children I have taught.
The schools are poor with a lack of technology that graces most of the school in America, yes, but I've discovered that the children at the school are almost no different from the ones in America. They cry. They mess around. They yell out during class. Overall, if not most of all, they love to have fun as well.
I discovered that despite their initial awkwardness, the kids have a hidden willingness to learn. They yearn for what they do not have, and giving them the opportunity to interact with native English speakers provides them with educational improvement as well as fascination. They connect with us easily because they love to have fun, and after getting the children to open up, you can connect easily with them. They don't need technology or phones to laugh. All they need is bright sunshine and their own two legs. Teaching them English brought back my childhood, when not everything was connected in the technological sense, but in the personal sense. They taught me how to run around again, chasing them back and forth shouting out, "Freeze!" or, "Cold!" or, "Hot!" I had fun, but I also nailed those words into their heads in the form of games like freeze tag, duck duck goose, or hokey pokey. I gave them and English experience. They reintroduced me to my younger years and drilled in a sense of optimism into me. For that, I am forever grateful to this experience. I still miss the kids I taught. I wish I had thanked the teachers that have helped me along the teaching more because they showed me the side of Taiwan that I have come to know in love. Taiwan is my second home, and the people have always made me feel welcome in that sense.
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Huang, Kaylee (黃筠苓)
AID summer program was an experience like no other. Looking back on it I laugh, I cry, I reminisce. I am so grateful for the opportunities this program provided. It not only allowed me to give back to a community I call home but it also gave me the chance to grow as an individual. The lifelong memories and friendships will forever hold a special place in my heart.
I remember February 1st as if it happened yesterday. It was the day we could start applying for the program. It was my chance to prove myself. After 2 months of worrying and nail biting anticipation my acceptance letter swooshed on through. I screamed when I read the words, “Congratulations! We are very pleased to inform you that you've been accepted to the 2014 AID Summer Volunteer Program!”. Although my feet were rejoicing in midair, my mind began to fret over the challenges I would face. What level would I be teaching? How much English do they know? Am I capable of being in charge of a class? Questions bounded through my mind but I didn't have much time to ponder over them as school pounded down on me.
Before I knew it I was heading into the first week of AID, training week. I remember the first time meeting my group, it was a quiet dinner full of uneasy stares and mouths full of food. Who knew participation in the classes would build a bond between us. We became known as the flag raising group as our American, Canadian, and Taiwanese flags raised high, flapping with the motion of our arms. Our crazy sign raising won us a trip to the shilling night market. Our happiness exploded, it was at that moment when we realized what it felt like to be a team.
Teaching was a whirlwind of fun, stress, and headaches. Every morning we would wake up to the lovely sound of the song “Turn down for what” blaring in our ears. That song has officially been named #1 on my poop list. One should not have to wake up before 11 AM during summer break. But here we were getting ready for school during our break from school.
Throughout the two weeks of teaching my outlook changed drastically. These kids came from underprivileged backgrounds. Ivy was a student who came from a broken family. A girl without a motherly figure in her life. A girl who acted out in order to receive the attention she craved for. She was dictated as the villain of our class, but she was brilliant child, learning the material at the snap of our fingers. A boy who threw a chair because another student crossed his path. A boy who was unable to suppress his anger. The boy who has to face going home to deathly sick parents. You never understand how fortunate you are until you watch others suffer far much worse. The stories that these kids hold behind their smiling facades crushes me. I loved these kids, as if they were my own. I paid my love with time and attention. Every child deserves to be given the chance to learn, to smile, to have fun. That’s just what we did. Every day was another adventure, another dance to be choreographed. The more love and respect you give a child the more they cherish you. Towards the end of the second week I began to regret not spending more time with my students. I wish I didn't visit other classes during break time. I wish I didn't sneak into the air conditioned office during lunch. I wish I spent every waking moment with my students because it hurt so much to leave them, to say goodbye. During closing ceremony I was a mess as a waterfall of tears burst out of my eyes. It was awful. Especially when the kids came up one by one to hug us. Watching as the kids cried and hugged us tightly not wanting to let go, I smiled as tears streaked down my face. We made an impact.
Thank you AID summer program for giving me this chance to interact with such brilliant students and to meet such an amazing group of people.
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Lau, Syman (劉詩敏)
"Teacher, don't leave!" my students persuaded as they grabbed hold of my arms and hands.
I smiled, touched by their pleas, and gently reassured them lthat I wouldn't forget them no matter how much time passed. Pursing their lips, my students immediately demanded for my contact information. Cameras appeared from the depths of each desk and soon my eyes sparkled with flashes of red and white. Students ran to my side and requested individual as well as group photos. Memories from the past two weeks of teaching quickly flooded into my mind. Flashbacks of the best moments in class overwhelmed me. I remembered their resounding laughter when they played a maze game to practice giving directions. I remembered their chuckles when they played telephone pictionary to review vocabulary about sports. As the memories replayed one by one, I realized that I mainly recounted happy memories. I taught the most advanced class at Gan-Yuan Junior High School and from their struggles in dialogue practice, I knew they found learning English challenging. However, I hoped that they would hold fond memories of learning English during the summer program.
Coming into the AID summer program, I was apprehensive about teaching junior high school and the most advanced class at that. We were assured that the students' English level was incredibly low. Thus, when I arrived at the school and began the simple lesson plan prepared for the first day, I realized that my teaching partner and I had horribly underestimated the students' knowledge of the English language. The lesson plan that should have lasted four class periods barely lasted one period and my students were bored at the easy material. Their vocabulary and reading comprehension was much better than expected but much improvement was needed in listening and speaking.
Despite this weakness, I soon discovered that my students were very bright. To make the class more challenging, my teaching partner and I only spoke in English and banned the use of Chinese during class. I definitely had my share of blank stares and confused faces while teaching and giving all classroom instructions in English. But the students were always able to understand the meaning of our English explanations. Each day, activities were planned to make learning English fun for the students. Although some assignments were beneficial but not amusing to the students, the difficulty of the class did not seem to deter the class in their will to learn.
The enthusiasm each student held toward learning the English language was truly inspirational. I was usually bombarded with questions regarding translations from Mandarin Chinese to English during break times. Many students voiced their wishes to study abroad or to visit the United States and the United Kingdom. Although their spirit in studying English was strong, the difficulty of the language did sometimes weigh them down. Their intimidated faces in response to my fluency in English made me afraid that this aspect would lower their hopes. However, students were more determined to improve their knowledge of the language. In addition, students were very interested in western culture, especially that of the United States. Everyone seemed to have common misconceptions about the food and customs of America, which I was glad to clarify for my students.
By the end of the two weeks of teaching, I could see improvement in my students. Their pronunciation was more accurate and they feared speaking up less than before. In such a short amount of time, their level in English definitely did not rise significantly to another level but I believe that their determination and understanding certainly did. My teaching partner and I exposed our students to not only American culture but fluent English as well. I hope that this exposure inspired them work harder in studying a English. I also hope that the American food and culture we introduced to them increased their desires to visit the United States and possibly other English speaking countries. This experience as a volunteer teacher has truly humbled me and gave me hope in the younger generations. No matter the living or socioeconomic circumstances, a hardworking ethic connected people as illustrated by my students. Even though the time spent together was incredibly short, I hope my students will continue to persevere and do their best in studying English.
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Yang, Karen (楊慧安)
Given that this is my first time teaching, overall, things went very well. At first, it was difficult to get the kids to conform and follow instructions, but once it was established that there was a need to behave and follow instructions to get prizes, and that if they failed to cooperate, there would be a punishment, and so the kids learned to behave and respect me and my teaching partners. Something that surprised me though was that I was forced to actually deal out the punishment since threats didn't work. And though I made a threat one day, the kids would forget it the next and the whole process of gaining their respect was start a new, seemingly from scratch. Luckily, earning their love was much easier as we got to know each other better and better each day playing games in class, talking to them at recess, they loved us more and more and I loved them more and more. One of the hardest things that remained difficult throughout the whole teaching session was communication. I taught first and second graders who did not have very good English comprehension skills. My Chinese is only mediocre, and my partners had an equally difficult time communicating with the students in Chinese. For all of us, it was easier to speak in English and then try to mime what our instructions and what our vocabulary words that we were trying to teach were. Thus, our goal for the class was to by the end of the two weeks, have the class be able to understand commands in English and communicate in a little bit of English as well. We hoped that they could ask for things, such as “May I go to the bathroom?” in English. Every single day they were able to do better and better at speaking more English and understanding more English. By the end of the program, most of our students were able to ask: “Can I sharpen my pencil?”, “May I get some water?”, “May I go to the bathroom?” or after lunch, “May I go back to the classroom” in English. It made me very proud to have been their teacher and that they learned something during the short two weeks in which they were our students. Every single time I heard them speak English, it moved me and made me feel like I made a difference in their lives; that they were actually learning something, something that they might even find use for in the future if they ever visited America, Canada or Great Britain or just encountered a foreigner who spoke English in Taiwan. Overall, I feel like this was a very valuable and rewarding experience, both for me and for the kids. We all learned something. I learned how difficult it was to be a teacher and make lesson plans and actually follow those lesson plans, for most of class was made up on the spot. And the kids learned what we were supposed to teach them: English.
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Hwang, Joel (黄俊翔)
I've been to Taiwan countless times now, but this experience was so different. Previously when I came to Taiwan, I always hung around my relatives. But this time was the first time I was around so many Asian-Americans like me. It was like a little piece of home, but abroad. I loved absolutely everything about AID, from the kids I taught, the teaching assistants and our school director who was a second father to us, and all the amazing bonds we formed. I also am grateful for the conflicts that arose because of differences in personality and maturity in our teaching group. I was humbled by the patience my teaching partners showed toward me, and I was glad that in the end the students learned English in a fun unique way, and lifelong bonds were formed. I grew up a lot during this AID program, and I wish I had done this program while I was in high school. The kids I taught were on top of their game with reading and writing English, but they were more lacking in the speaking area. It was in this area that we focused our efforts, and I am sure that our teaching made them more willing to speak English. I earnestly hope to come back and visit my friends back in Yunlin, and to see how my students have grown.
Thank you so so so much, AID Summer 2014. This was an unforgettable experience.
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Lin, Janice (林以婷)
Janice Lin
ID: 9346
The experience during AID has been full of learning to care for people and for different cultures. Much of it is through the teaching process that goes from spending days in training, nightly hours of planning, to daily periods of teaching. While I only enjoyed parts of the program, I still appreciated the entire effort put into giving us and the students this opportunity to share in a common interest through English.
During the training week, we received a few good tips; however, my team believes that the material needed to be more applicable to the situations we actually face while at the school. Objectives like rules and games are good to cover, but they do not require a whole day to cover. I think group time and scenario-based training with emphasis on classroom management and how to keep students interested would be more helpful in terms of properly prepping us for the teaching. To be positive, the training time was somewhat of a warm-up to getting to know fellow teachers, teaching groups, and the program.
The teaching began with getting familiar with the students, learning about the better ways to teach, and bonding through interests and culture. It was important to get to know each of the students, and hearing their stories, background, and thoughts through one-on-one conversations allowed for better understanding and patience during teaching. Even with past teaching experience through a different topic, I learned that teaching English requires lots of strategies and thought into keeping the students interested and eager to learn; teaching requires genuine effort and creativity through planning and improvising. The best parts of the weeks were bonding with the students and preparing for the ceremonies. Preparations for teaching and the ceremonies helped the teaching group as a whole become familiar and comfortable. Teaching at Mudan required us to live in a house together, and that allowed us to get to know one another well, especially during the tour weekend and the typhoon day off.
During the tour week, we visited several good places on the Central tour, although I personally prefer more hiking on nature trails. As expected of a big tour group, much of the time was spent waiting for people to arrive and to be counted. There were also things like having to prepare for a “talent show” that made us more tired after a day of walking, bus riding, and waiting around. Touring has been a good time to have fun hang-outs with group members. Overall, I am thankful for the experience through AID – I have been able to learn to care for others as well as to understand ways I can mature. I realized that understanding why it is important to learn English and why I would take time to instill that interest in others can motivate me to serve in the best way that I can.
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Shih, Susie (施亭瑀)
I signed up for AID for the purpose of making a difference in Taiwan. The first week of the program gave us some knowledge and background about how to teach English to students in Taiwan. I had thought that this would not be necessary but the classes were extremely helpful. I referenced them many times during the two weeks of teaching. Our teacher from our school was absolutely amazing! She helped us a ton on our teaching plans and through tour stay at our school.
Upon arriving to Tainan, the principal of our school and local neighbors held a buffet for us. It was amazing the amount if work they would go through to welcome eight students, who were only teaching for two weeks. Everyone was welcoming and very accommodating.
At our school each pair of teachers taught students who had relatively the same English levels. My partner and I taught the second beginning class of 14 students. They were all 10 years old and heading into the fourth grade. On the first day we underestimated how much our students knew and therefore we overestimated how fast they could learn new vocabulary. Each days' lessons depended on how much exposure the kids had with the vocabulary we planned to teach. When the subject was completely new, the students needed as much as a day and half to grasp the vocabulary. As a result, each night we prepared a rough outline of the next day's lesson plan with a lot of extra activities with the vocabulary in case the kids became bored with any games previously prepared or had difficulty grasping the material. Luckily the students favored a lot of the similar games that could easily be reused with many teaching topics. Hangman and fly swagger were among the favorites.
After the two weeks in Tainan, I felt that I had completed my goal for making a change on this trip to Taiwan. Of course here were days when it was frustrating to find the right teaching style that suited each student in class. But in the end it was extremely gratifying to see the kids retain all of the information that we taught. After two weeks when we asked the kids to tell us the vocabulary they learned, they were able to repeat back to us over 100 vocabulary words.
As for the tour week, the constant traveling was very exciting but tiring. Each place we traveled to added to the overall AID experience and was very enjoyable. Our overnight accommodations were very comfortable. Throughout the program it can be seen that the coordinators of AID thought a lot about the students and I enjoyed the overall experience tremendously and would highly recommend this program!
Last but not least I would like to give a shout out to our counselors who made our first and last weeks very special!
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Ng, Eugene (吳凱軒)
AID Summer 2014 was, for me, a valuable experience in many different ways. It represented several firsts in my life: my first time in Taiwan, my first time teaching English (and teaching a class in general), my first time attempting to use my extremely limited Chinese to get around in everyday life—the list can go on. The lessons that I learned, the people that I met, and the fun times I enjoyed all contributed to shaping who I am as a person now, even such a short time after the program has ended.
The two weeks spent teaching English to elementary school children gave me a small insight into the culture and way of life that characterizes Taiwan. Some of it I had been already aware of, either due to the portrayal of Chinese/Taiwanese life in the media or due to my own personal experiences with my Chinese parents and the community of Chinese people around me. For example, Taiwanese schools rather unsurprisingly hold students to a higher standard of obedience to teachers than American schools do, which may result in stricter treatment of students in situations of conflict. In addition, although some of the older students in the elementary school could be seen owning and using personal mobile devices, the overall percentage of students who brought these devices to school was much lower than what one would typically see in an American elementary school. Again, this was no shock to anyone, seeing as we volunteers knew that many of our students would come from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Even so, there was much for a first-timer like me to learn from living in Taiwan and interacting with its people. The three “teaching assistants” who helped us around at the school, lived with us, and became our good friends over the course of two weeks were all performing a mandatory military service that was required of all citizens. I was somewhat aware of this kind of service, as similar programs have been commonly instated in many countries worldwide, but being an American with no such obligation, I had always been unable to form an educated view on the matter. Through the conversations that Tim, Ray, and Alan had with us volunteers, I learned about the various programs that the military service experience requires and those that it offers as options. In the classroom, the different backgrounds and role assignments between us volunteers and our teaching assistants enriched the school environment for the students. Working together, we were able to more effectively connect with the students—the teaching assistants could approach them with a brotherly demeanor in a way that we teachers were recommended not to do, and when the teachers (especially myself) were having trouble communicating with the students, we would often turn to one of Tim, Ray, or Alan to bridge the language gap.
Of course, the relationship we volunteers formed with our three military friends extended far beyond our teaching/service jobs. It was also impossible to keep a purely teacher-student dynamic between us and the children we spent so much time with every day. I am absolutely extremely grateful for both the experience I had in Taiwan and the chance I had to meet such wonderful people all around. Whatever distance physically separates Americans and Taiwanese can be rapidly closed emotionally through the efforts of programs like AID.
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Shay , Heidi (謝艾利)
When I first got the news of acceptance into AID Summer, I did not know how to feel or what to expect. Was I supposed to be honored by such an invitation, nervous about going abroad alone, excited for an adventure or all of the above? Would I be a good teacher? What kind of people am I going to meet? Little did I know, all of apprehensions would soon disappear as I experienced the most memorable summer of my life. The minute I walked into my dorm room at Chientan Youth Activity Center, I made my first friend almost instantly. Later, I met the seven people that quickly became my family away from home. Together, we bonded during training week, where we learned to eat efficiently and work as a team. We adjusted to life on the mountainside village of Mioali, fighting fist-sized bugs as we taught and befriended the Da Hu middle school students. Together, we explored Taiwan during tour week, immersing ourselves in the native culture and meeting the 425 other ABC teaching volunteers. While the AID summer journey itself was amazing, it is truly the people that came in touch with that I will never forget. From the AID coordinators and “little gray shirts” to my fellow volunteers and the people of Taiwan, everyone was so gracious and friendly. Because of the relationships I made, my teaching experience became much more than just a volunteer activity. Looking back at my AID experience, I feel so humble to have met everyone I did. Setting out for Taiwan, my goal was to teach these kids English. Coming back from Taiwan, I achieved so much more. I made lifelong friends that I became impossibly close to in just a month. I learned to survive on my own away from home. I learned from my children more than I could ever teach them.
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Chen, Rosaline (陳若詩)
Crazy is all I can say about this trip. From teaching rambunctious children to being locked in from a typhoon with seven other co-teachers, four TA's, one soldier, and one family, I was pushed out of my comfort zone the whole time. Before I even left Houston, I was nervous just by the fact that I would be a month away from home, comfort, and family. As a homebody, just going outside was unsettling to me. But, I went off anyway despite being entirely clueless as to what would happen. Meeting my roommates at first was intimidating. I couldn't quite read them and tell it we would all get along or not. Later on, meeting the rest of the group at dinner was even more intimidating. I did not expect a total number of eight nor did I expect a family style dinner. So the week went on by as we attended classes, ate, and slept. I still wasn't totally open and comfortable at this point, and teaching daunted me. Traveling on a bus to Tainan, I was still clueless as to what the school and students would be like. First day when we supposed to give a pre-test, oh man. My partner and I underestimated and overestimated our students. I basically had a panic attack on Day One. From then on, we had new solid plans made the night before for ten days. As the two weeks went by, the thought of the end crossed my mind. Would I cry? Would I tear up? But I quickly forgot about it and focused on the lessons. Although these kids were sometimes reckless, immature, and disobedient, I thought they were still sweet, smart children. And it wasn't the gifts that made me believe that. But seriously, those kids need to know they don't need to buy gifts. Respect and passion are enough. As rowdy and unwilling as they got, they still made me smile with their silly questions (姐姐, do you have a boyfriend?) and jokes. I always showed a cold, tough exterior, but inside they actually stole my heart. At the closing ceremony, I got emotional just watching them perform "Yellow Submarine." All week, they just complained and practiced half-heartedly. But that day, they put their hearts into it, and that made my heart feel tingly.
I realize now that I have regrets. Regrets of not taking the time to just absorb the school's atmosphere. Regrets of not taking enough group photos. Regrets of constantly searching for wifi. Regrets of not living the moment enough. Regrets of not giving enough hugs. But, there were definitely some great moments that will be treasured, like laughing at our game of Mafia and cards, stressing over a single hour of painting goose eggs, and playing on the playgrounds the moment we arrived to our school. These interesting friendships made out of funny and awkward moments are the only things that kept me going. I never felt homesick oddly enough. And it was probably because that I related to the girls so much and that we struggled together and that the boys would distract us and keep us entertained. The groupings were done so well, props to whoever arranged them. Though our struggles seem minuscule now, they caused a lot of stress at the time. Laundry. Stairs. Duffel bags. Stairs and duffel bags. Being last for nearly everything. Bugs. Bargaining and shopping. Electric fly swatter. Mosquito bites. Performing twice. Laundry. Oh my god, laundry was like a war. All the positive and negative things combined to make an interesting trip to Taiwan for me. AID Summer 2014 has been the biggest step out of my comfort zone in my life. Ever since February, I thought joining a summer trip to Taiwan with 424 other ABC's to teach English would be a big waste of my time, that I would hate it, and that I wouldn't belong. But now, I can say happily that I not only survived, but I enjoyed it, favorite parts being the small moments and fits of laughter. I've realized another component of my personality along the way, and it's that I don't meet new people through groups and masses but rather by small chunks and individualism. A personal favorite way of meeting new people, if I may. While this experience may be nothing to others, it's huge to me simply because AID Summer is something that doesn't fit me. So, someone else may call it okay or just decent, but I call it crazy. An awesome kind of crazy.
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Yang, Hsiao-Cheng (楊孝政)
Over the last two weeks, I learned that the kids are really energetic. I ask myself whether I was like that when I was young. The kids run around, pulling on the teacher's arms may seem chaotic, but once we start teaching, the kids were also eager to learn. Also, the staff at the school is really helpful. Whenever we needed our wanted anything, they would run around, trying their best to provide it's with whatever they can find. Being in this program let me realize the hard work and dedication that teachers have. I have enjoyed attending the program and I'm really grateful for this chance.
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Jiang, Rebecca (江嘉莉)
When I was accepted into the AID program, I was extremely excited to help disadvantaged people, explore and visit new areas and cultures of Taiwan that I was unfamiliar with, and improve my Chinese speaking skills. However, I was also nervous about several factors including the living conditions of the teaching area, mosquitoes and other critters, and most importantly, my inexperience of teaching English and dealing with younger people. I felt unprepared to teach for so many hours over the course of two weeks; I thought it would be impossible to come up with enough teaching material and entertaining games to teach the students. Upon arriving at Chien Tan Activity Center, I had expected all the other volunteers to be more prepared than I was, but it turns out that many of them also did not know what to expect from the program. I think the most helpful part of the Chien Tan training week was seeing the teaching ideas of the volunteers of other groups. Although the lectures and activities gave an abundance of tips on how to manage a classroom and teach lessons, I still felt completely unprepared to start teaching by the end of the week. I actually felt like I did not use most of the lecture tips while I was teaching. It would have been more helpful if we got more help on our teaching plans/working journals and actual curriculum rather than classroom management. During the designated time after dinner that we had to work on our teaching plans and working journals, I always felt like I had no clear direction and I really needed some more advising from experienced people. Although the training week at Chien Tan left me feeling unprepared, the teaching weeks went better than I expected. The fact that the first day was reserved just for opening ceremony and pre-testing was good because I got to meet the students, become familiar with the environment, and gauge how much English they already knew. It made me feel less nervous and allowed me to adjust the teaching plan to fit the students’ abilities. I realized that another reason why I found Chien Tan to be rather ineffective was because each group was assigned to a school with students of different English learning levels. The following teaching days were more successful than I had expected. The children were extremely shy and hesitant to speak English to us at first, but they learned to open up and enjoy participating in the lessons as well as well as speaking English with us and learning. Sometimes I felt like I wasn’t sure whether or not the students were retaining the vocabulary and information that we taught them, but I was sure that the students enjoyed learning, especially slang terms, and that we had a large impact on them and encouraged them to keep on learning. Over the short amount of time we had together, our students grew very close with me and my teaching partner, Samantha. Although it was our task to teach the students, the talent and spirit of each and every student moved me immensely, and I feel like I learned as much from them than they did from us. Overall, I am extremely grateful that I had this amazing experience.
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Ku, Yi-Hsuan (古宜璇)
Before this program began, I thought that teaching elementary students would be a piece of cake. However, after the first few days at Chientan, my preexisting opinion began to falter. After that one week of non-stop lectures and preparations, I learned that students should not take teachers for granted. And after two weeks of teaching students myself, I have become even more appreciative of elementary teachers. There were several nights when I had to stay up late at night to prepare for the next day's lesson. If I had the chance to attend this program again, I would prepare each day's lesson in advance so that I would not be as stressed out the night before.
The biggest mistake I had during the two weeks of teaching was during my individual lesson (the one that was recorded). I had not prepare enough activities to do ahead of time and ran out of stuff to do when there was still ten minutes left. Every lesson after that one, I would always try to over-prepare so that the same thing would not happen again.
Even though my group did come across some challenges during the teaching week, none of them were too major and we were able to make the best out of most of them. When students lacked motivation to participate in activities, we, the teachers, encouraged them to become more active and even offered incentives for them to participate. In general, however, the students were all bright and cooperative. This and many other reasons made me not want to leave them after the two weeks flew by.
As for the lodging, my group was extremely fortunate to be staying in an apartment with everything already provided for us. Each and every staff at Tungshih Elementary were extremely accommodating, welcoming, and helpful. They were always ready to listen to our complications and find solutions to them. We could not have hoped for a better staff to work with. While staying in Tungshih, my group and I were also able to experience more of the Hakka culture as well as to try many of the food the place was known for.
This program has helped me mature both socially and mentally. I have become friends with the fellow volunteers in my group, my group teacher, as well as the many wonderful, talented, and unforgettable students I met during teaching. Teaching at Tungshih Elementary has reminded me that there are always students willing to learn; there just needs to be teachers willing to teach. On the day school was canceled due to the typhoon, we thought that the children would be relieved, or even happy, that they can get the day off and catch up on sleep or something, but we were wrong. Most of the students were upset and did not want to miss even a single day of school. To be honest, I was hoping school would not get canceled either. Even though I was able to sleep in, I missed my students.
During the application process, I had thought that if I did not get accepted into the program, it would be no big deal since I could just make other plans. Now, I cannot express how glad I am to be able to gain this amazing opportunity to serve others in Taiwan. I will never forget these four weeks of my life.
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Chu, Christine (朱思怡)
When I first stepped into Chientan, I was not sure what to expect. I was sweating from the heat and I could not recognize anyone. I was afraid I would not be able to get along with the people there and especially my group. However, when we split off into groups and met our teacher, I felt so welcomed because of our teacher, Alex. He sincerely wanted to get to know us and make sure we were happy. Not only did he really care about us, but he also made a lot of jokes with us that kept us laughing every day. Even though we were all extremely worried about making lesson plans and making everything perfect for our children, Alex always told us to be happy, healthy, and safe. With his attitude in mind, we were all able to have a happy, healthy, and safe trip all these four weeks.
The first week of training at Chientan was somewhat helpful. It was interesting to learn about games, rules, and the differences of rural regions. However, these topics were more useful for a long-term teaching experience. We could not really enforce anything with our two weeks of teaching. I hoped to learn more on topics such as classroom management, what to do with misbehaving students, and some methods of teaching to middle school students. I feel that these topics would be more useful for all of us when we teach.
When my partner and I walked into our 9th grade class on the first day, they were all so welcoming to us. Even though we were awkward and our Chinese was not up to par, the students were really respectful and happy to see us. It made me feel really satisfied that they were all willing to learn from us. The two weeks of teaching became extremely tiring for us. We had to make new lesson plans every night and practice for our opening and closing ceremony. Even though I was really tired, my motivation was the students. I wanted them to enjoy learning English and also love the performance we put up for them. It was difficult to teach them most of the time because some students knew a lot of English while some could barely read. One of the most joyous moments is when the students who normally struggle with English understood the lesson. Most the time, our students would joke around and it would make the class livelier, making me thankful I am there with them. I really enjoyed my time with them and I will never forget any of them and their plentiful jokes.
I truly loved all my students and still chat with them through Facebook, but the people who I will miss the most are the people in my teaching group, C2-5. I could not be any happier being stuck with these people. At first, we were worried about sharing one bathroom together, but after the first night in Pingtung, we all became extremely comfortable with each other. We really became a family in the shortest time. All of us shared many laughs and memories that are just unforgettable. I am truly thankful to have this opportunity and will cherish all these moments that we have experienced together.
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Huang, Terry (黃俊穎)
Dear reader,
One of the most surprising thing I learned at AID Summer was that AID stood for Assisting Individuals with Disadvantages. Aid means help so I assumed all “aid” meant was helping to teach English. How clever it was to make it an acronym that means the same thing as “aid.” My trip was full of such surprises. My group, A2-3, consisted of wonderful, memorable people all from or going to live in California. That makes it rough to keep in touch for those who live in Texas doesn’t it? A honest shame, but I only have six regrets.
Orientation, the first week in Chien Tan, was shockingly restricting. There are many no no’s but living accommodations were admirable. The teaching techniques and tips were rather helpful, although I did find that many of the kids who participated in the program before know all the games already. Previous knowledge is not a bad thing, but it exists within children. It is a week long and very busy. Truthfully, I was not a super enthusiastic participant in the program, so that may reflect in my review. If you participate with all your heart and all your might, then perhaps you may have exorbitant amounts of fun. Classes were long and powerpoint centered. Although information heavy, classes could be rather dull at times.
The actual teaching experience was great. I taught first and second graders, who were very shy at first and have short term memory. Each class was an interesting experience. At the beginning, I would walk into class and see all the children running around and jumping and screaming, but as soon as class started they would hush down rather quickly and participate shyly. At the end, I would walk into class and see all the children running around, and as soon as class started, they would hush down and participate less shyly but with smiles. Yup, smiles.
I taught in Miaoli Ruifu Elementary school, which was situated in the mountains. I am not a clean freak nor do I really mind wildlife, so I was completely ok with my accommodations. Others had problems, but understandable problems like mosquitos and ants everywhere. My group also lived with a drafted soldier. He would help us if we needed anything and chill when we had down time. It was good times.
The tour was okay. There were way too many people. Simply leaving a location would take upwards of twenty minutes of standing and waiting. The stops were cultural and impressive, but after a certain point, the content was a bit repetitive. We visited about 5 market places or streets that sold basically the same fried foods and goodies. The fried foods and goodies were tasty, so no harm done, but I noticed a repetition all the same. I'm sure many would disagree with my opinion of the tour, since each place was different and had maybe one or two unique foods, but there's only so much of the one or two unique foods you can eat in one and a half hours. Stops were also disproportionally timed. Some places, we would stay for literally 20 minutes, and other stops were would stay for 5 hours. Some time allocation were well thought out, others not.
All in all, a truly memorable experience with people whose company I enjoy. I am a new person, born again probably, with a new outlook and such.
Sincerely,
Terry(Vladimir) Huang
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Lu, Hannah (陸漢娜)
On a hot and humid day in July, a nervous and scared girl stepped into the main building at Chientan. She said goodbye to her relatives took a deep breath and stepped through the opening automatic doors. That girl was me. Going into the 2014 AID program, I did not know what to expect. I walked into my room not knowing who or what to expect. As it turned out, I ended up rooming with some extremely friendly and amazing people. Orientation week passed quickly as I ended up meeting the people in my teaching group and gradually becoming more and more comfortable with the people around me. As orientation week ended at Chientan, I was quite sad. I thought that my fun in the program was over. I never would have expected that the next two weeks would manifest into some of the best times of my life.
Upon reaching my assigned school Dong He and meeting the dedicated staff, my initial sadness at leaving Chientan disappeared and was replaced with a more positive kind of nervousness and excitement. The enthusiasm and warmth with which I was received by everyone in the school has left a lasting impression on me. The group mentor, Gary Lin, was the backbone to the group’s teaching success. He was there for us 24/7; through power outages, unruly students, and the occasional nervous breakdowns. I know my experience would not have been the same without him.
Teaching the kids in the beautiful Yunlin Province was a rewarding experience. The 2nd and 3rd grade kids that I had the opportunity to teach have left their marks on my heart as well as my brain. I can’t help but see their faces on random kids on the street now. My only regret is that we were not able to stay at the school longer and teach more English to the kids. Although the two weeks that we stayed in the school to teach was short, I am proud of everything I was able to impart on my students from my knowledge of the English language and American culture, to my admirable taste in music.
Now that this program is almost over, I have been reflecting on my time spent here in Taiwan. My group members in A1-6 are such an amazing bunch. We complement each other so well it’s almost as if we are family. Although we only met each other three weeks ago, we have been through so much together; through the ugly crying and the long nights as well as the stress of teaching and the joys of our experiences together. They have changed my personal philosophy and have catalyzed a change in how I see myself and others: all unexpected and all positive changes. It’s incredibly moving to be a part of something that you truly believe will make a positive difference on others’ lives. Thanks for such a wonderful experience, AID. This was a summer to remember.
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Hsieh, Bianca (謝寬亭)
Growing up in El Paso where 80% of the population was Latino, the idea of being part of a Taiwanese American community was not a reality that I was familiar with. I had never given thought to what it would be like to have people to bond over Taiwanese food and culture with and had simply taken being secluded from my Taiwanese heritage with a degree of apathy. When I first heard about AID through my father who read about it in a newspaper, I was not sure what to expect as I had never been part of something like it before. The first week spent in Chientan was completely surreal to me as I was surrounded by a group of students who appreciated and understood Taiwan in ways that no one from the community I grew up in could.
During the two weeks that we spent teaching at Donghe Elementary School in Yunlin County, I truly felt that I have never been tested so harshly in my life before. Initially, the kids we were teaching were extremely unresponsive to the lessons, the lesson plans we had planned were not suited for the kids’ English levels, and I was feeling nervous about spending two weeks alone with a group of people I felt like I had only just met. Additionally, I became extremely sick with a virus and had to sit out on a few days of teaching. Despite feeling extremely worried about all the challenges I was facing, I realized that I had nothing to worry about as my group mates stepped up to help me. Not only did various group members come in and take care of me between breaks, but my partner took over for the days that I was sick while still caring for me throughout it all.
When I was finally able to start teaching, the discrepancy in American and Taiwanese culture was made extremely apparent to me when one of the girls in my class began to cry when she was placed next to a boy in the seating chart my partner and I had made. The girls in the class would only willingly speak to me while all the boys in the class would speak with my partner who was a male. The gender divide was definitely not an aspect I had expected when planning the lessons. As class began during the first week of teaching, the reluctance demonstrated by some of the students made teaching very difficult. No matter how hard my partner and I tried to get the students to participate, they would refuse and would sometimes end up in tears. However, I felt that as the two weeks progressed on, the students began to trust my partner and me more and began to open up in their willingness to learn English. Also, they always included us in their games during the break and asked about our lives back in the United States. Though my partner and I had to frequently alter activities and come up with new ones on the spot, the students were more active and enthused in terms of participation. Seeing my students belt out the words to Let it Go and I want it that Way in the closing ceremony, I was extremely proud to see that all the students were finally enjoying the lesson.
In retrospect, words cannot begin to express how appreciative I am to have been able to have this experience. During the first week, the enthusiasm demonstrated by my group (A1-6), the teachers, and other volunteers in regards to helping teach students the English language was astounding. Never had I ever seen such passion and sincerity when it came to helping others. The effort made by the students in order to learn English really left an impression on me as well. Some of the students were really reluctant to participate in numerous activities, leaving me feeling dejected and as if I was not making a difference in their English abilities. However, at the end of the two weeks, several of the students came up to me and told me how appreciative they were of our efforts. Though those two weeks felt extremely short looking back, I really am glad that (hopefully) these students have taken away something with them. I have learned so much from my month in Taiwan and can only hope that I made as much of a difference on my students as Taiwan and all the people I have met this summer did on me.
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Lee, Kathleen (李之琳)
Participating in AID 2014 this summer was an unforgettable and life changing experience. As it was my first time coming to a foreign country by myself, I was nervous and anxious, not knowing what I would expect. Once I arrived, I had culture shock and was not used to many of the things in Taiwan since I was used to American living. However, the five new best friends I made with the girls in my teaching group really helped me adjust and have fun during my time here. My favorite part of the program was teaching at Makuang Junior High School located in Yunlin. The kids were so eager to learn and always had great attitudes. I wish I had more time to teach there since the two weeks really flew by! If it were up to me, I would do it all over again to teach and meet the new friends I made.
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Chen, Diane (陳媛婷)
This past few weeks have been a life changing experience for me. The people I have met and the places I have visited are memories that I will treasure forever. When I first was accepted into AID volunteering I was extremely apprehensive of what I would be going into. I was nervous that I wouldn't be a good teacher, and I was scared that I wouldn't get along with my teaching partners. Four weeks later I can honestly say that I have discovered myself and my talents through this program. I was able to immerse myself into true Taiwanese culture and at the same time introduce my American culture to my students whom I consider friends. I was able to try new things that I probably would never have experienced in my lifetime such as rice harvesting and mochi making. I have made friends who I now consider my family. Now that my time here is coming to an end all the memories from the last three weeks are rushing into my mind. Time has passed to quickly, and I honestly wish that I could have more time in Taiwan to teach, to explore, and to enjoy with my team members. My AID experience has been unforgettable, and I wish that I could do it again next year. However all good things must come to and end, but the memories will continue on forever.
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Chui, Andy (徐胤)
AID Summer 2014 will be an experience I will never forget. Even though I signed up just to gain a new experience, I gained much more. Words cannot describe my experience at AID.
The first week at Chien Tan was a bit intimidating. With over 400 people in the program, getting to know people would be very difficult. However, I soon found friends in my group, A1-6 and also the next group over, A1-7, and also became very close with my advisor, Gary Lin. The first week was filled with seminars and unappetizing meals, but I managed to gain some useful information I’d soon use in teaching. The first week was a blur since I spent most of it half asleep in the seminars. When training ended, it was actually a bit saddening since I had to leave behind all the great counselors, roommates, and friends I had just met. After the initial sadness passed, nervousness set in as I sat in a tour bus set for Dong He Elementary School in Yunlin County.
As the bus pulled into the front courtyard of Dong He Elementary School, another pang of sadness set in as my group mates and I waved goodbye to the other group who had been in the bus with us. During the weekend directly preceding the first teaching week, my group and I became acquainted with many staff members of the school. The staff was very friendly and courteous and responded to our every need. It was also during this time that we visited the area surrounding the school. One of the most memorable places was a coffee plantation that the school staff took us to. Here we learned about the extensive cultivation of coffee in the town our school was located in and we even got to make our own. It was also during this time that my group spent countless hours preparing for the opening ceremony for our school. I will always cherish the times when we surrounded the piano and sang and danced. As the weekend came to an end, an even stronger feeling of anxiety set in as the clock ticked down to the start of teaching.
The opening ceremony was very awkward and did not go as well as we thought. But after brushing that failure aside, my group and I poured our efforts into teaching. During the teaching weeks, I learned the value of repetition and also the occasional outburst of anger. My students were initially very rowdy and seemed uninterested in learning English. After I gave them a very stern talk the second day, they began to be more receptive to learning English. During these two weeks, a bit of tension was felt between the members of my group. I realized that spending almost every waking moment with people I liked was not as enjoyable as I’d hoped. However, by the time teaching ended, my group had become very close. It was also during this time that we became very close with our advisor, who acted like a second father to us. I also became good friends with the security guard doing substitute military service at my school as well as the 18 year old son of one of the teachers at my school. I will never forget the time we spent at the table tennis tables just rallying and talking. As teaching pulled to a close, I realized that I was more sentimental than I thought. I had become attached to the three or four students in my class who were actually interested in learning English. I gave them some advice for continuing their education and further improving their English skills. On the morning that my group left, I shed a few tears as we waved goodbye to the staff and students that had shown up to see us off. They had really made the school into a home for us and the idea of possibly never seeing them again was cause for grief.
Right after teaching ended, the tour started. The first three days of tour were very stressful since it had been a long time since I’d slept in a different place each night. After a few days, I became friends with many of the people who rode my bus and the tour became much more enjoyable.
Overall, AID Summer 2014 was a very rewarding experience. Out of the many things I discovered, probably the most important one was that I will never voluntarily be an elementary school teacher. I also realized that humor was much more valuable than I could ever imagine. Had it not been for the many jokes that our group had cracked, we would never have made it through the two weeks of teaching. I would recommend this program to anyone.
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Lin, Yule-John ( 林耀宗)
I always knew about the AID program, but I never gave much thought to it. Taiwan seemed like a fantasy far away place from America and thus I did not ever think once that I would ever see myself in Taiwan doing something as extraordinary as this and learning so many new things and spectating so many extraordinary talents my fellow teachers had.
AID was an experience that dynamically changed my perspective on how I viewed teaching kids. I had teaching experience before, but I realized how much greater experience I would need to learn and experience to become a really efficient teacher. For that, I gained more respect and inspiration for how much our regular teachers have to work to make a classroom lesson fun and memorable for the students. Though first week at Chientan was relatively boring because we had to take all these lectures on techniques to teach the students better, however, once I started applying it to real life did I really understood the meaning of it. Those lectures really did pay off. At the elementary school my group taught at, it was hectic and busy every day. Even so, at night we were always treated to something yummy, whether it was stinky tofu, different varieties of fruit, and even drinks. Then again, we were pretty tired every night, and during one weekend where we went to a water park, the guy teachers that I taught with and I were all sleeping there in a shade at the park. Even so I was very grateful that I was able to meet so many new people, friends, and I was very grateful that I was able to visit so many places and to eat so many new things. So far the tour week has been exciting, though freedom sometimes feel a little restrictive, I understand the need for rules and regulations for efficiency and safety. All and all, I’m glad I got to tour almost all of Taiwan and visit all the different types of Night Markets. There were definitely a lot of firsts here, like the first time trying the different Taiwanese foods such as mango ice and fried squids, first time going to the Earthquake museum, first time going to a waterpark in Taiwan, and a lot of other first things. Overall, it was a very memorable adventure, and I definitely hope that I can come visit in the future and maybe even see the kids I taught all grown up with hopefully even better English than I did.
I will definitely miss all the new friends I mad here, and though it will be harder to stay in touch with all the friends I met because they came from different parts of America, hopefully in the future, either back in America or all the way here in Taiwan, we could definitely try to meet up with each other and reminiscence all the AID experiences that we have. Because my AID experience has been a grandiose one.
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Zheng, Denise (鄭貝貝)
Three people in one group when most have six? Being secluded in the mountains with the nearest convenience store 30 minutes away by car? Forced to drink tea to show respect when I normally stay away from that stuff as much as possible? These were all thoughts that flew through my head as I learned more and more about where I was to teach for the next two weeks. It was only until after that I realized how fortunate I was to have been placed in Ali Shan. The chances of my being placed there were extremely small – about .71%, and it was (in my opinion) the best place to have been able to teach.
Even though our group was the smallest group around, it worked to our advantage. Working together was much easier, and there were less people to wait for. The seclusion in the mountains did not end up being an issue because of our access to Wi-Fi and our amazing caretaker/teacher, Kenji. Kenji went above and beyond what was required of him. He was our personal tour guide, showing us historical/touristy areas and telling us neat bits of information about the places we were at. He pretty much organized the entire trip for us and accommodated all of our needs. As for the tea, that took some getting used to. I still remember the first time we all sat down to talk with the Chairman of Education for the Ali Shan Area and how the tea never stopped coming. The faster I drank, the faster my cup was refilled. However, by the end of the two weeks, I realized I have come to like tea. In fact, one night at dinner, when given the choice of tea or apple cider, I immediately chose the tea. I also ended up buying five sets of tea and taking home a ton of tea gifted to us by the parents of the children we taught.
Moving on to the English teaching portion of the trip, we taught fourteen adorable students together. The original plan was to teach by ourselves, each taking five to six kids who were to be split up by their English level. After the first day though, we decided against it and decided to teach together. It was too tiring even as a group and teaching the whole seven hours by ourselves seemed like too impossible a task.
Each day was patterned in pretty much the same manner, except with different lessons and games. The one thing we had to keep in mind was flexibility. Though the games took a long time the first day, they slowly started to go by faster as the days went on. Having enough activities for the students to do was usually not an issue, but the reporters who came by sometimes were. We modified our teaching plans to accommodate them, which resulted in the children learning slightly less as we focused more on the Tea Conversation portion of the day. Plus, we had a lot of games planned that we never got to.
As for the children themselves, they were super cute and willing to learn. However, their attention spans did not always last as long as we would have liked and some were not willing to participate in the games after a while. Luckily, Kenji started to bring out the cool prizes (as we only had candy and Chou Chou Le), which motivated the students twenty times more. Soon, there was active participation from a lot more students. The children did get a little too competitive because of the cool prize incentive and were sometimes rowdy, but they were good overall. Sadly, we did not get as close as we would have to them because of the typhoon that took away two teaching days. I will still miss them though as each had different personalities that made the classroom memorable. I wish there was a way to see how they end up growing up, but I guess that is where social media comes in!
AID Taiwan was truly an once-in-a-lifetime experience. The counselors here are so enthusiastic, cheerful and helpful, and the tour has been a great time to meet new people. I cannot say I did not had my moments where I wished AID was over so I could catch up on some sleep or just be lazier; yet, as AID is slowly winding down to a close, I am dreading leaving more and more. I have seriously been so blessed to have been able to be part of AID 2014.
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Chow, Cornelia (鄒佩琦)
In one word, AID Summer 2014 was rewarding. Starting with the week of training at 劍潭, I gained so much knowledge not just about Taiwan lifestyle and landmarks, but about how to teach children, break the ice, and combat apathy. Although the days were long and at times extremely gruesome, I went to bed every night feeling a little wiser. Parting ways with the rest of the AID Summer 2014 volunteer teachers, we travelled to our respective schools and I saw 安溪 elementary school for the first time. Contrary to my previous assumptions, the school was actually incredible: the grass was green, the buildings were big, and the principal and teachers were so welcoming. Ten days with those kids proved to be too little. The kids found a passion for learning English and although they started off a little scared and shy to speak English in front of us and each other, they soon became more more open. These kids taught me determination and their innocence and energy truly touched me. They're only 6 and 7 years old and yet they already live their life fuller than I do. Disadvantaged? I don't think so. Their lives may be a little harder, but they made better than the best of what they had. The experience at 安溪 elementary school in 台南 was unforgettable, but I wasn't just inspired by the students. The teachers, volunteer teacher assistants, and principal became my family. Our coach and mentor fell sick during training week and yet pushed through to be there for us every day. At the school, she was always there to take us to 7-11 when we needed little things and always ready with answers to questions we hadn't even asked yet. She truly inspired me to be proactive. The volunteer assistants, only 1 year older than me, took care of us in the most mature ways. They cleaned and helped us so much and we all became really close friends. The principal, this being her last year before retiring, spoiled us. Showering us with gifts, she also took us to all the most famous places in 台南. She taught me how to be welcoming and loving as well as poised at all times. Throughout the teaching experience though, I learned the most from my fellow volunteers. These seven people from all over America and also from England had do many different qualities about them. I expected the bonding experience to be difficult and exhausting, but before we knew it, all eight of us were laughing our heads off at inside jokes. From late night sessions of card games, Mafia, swatting at every bug with our electric flyswatters, and pleading the boys to kill spiders and lizards for us girls, we went from forced companionship to tight-knit friendship. These people left a strong impact on me and taught me things like tolerance and acceptance. I will never forget these seven people and everyone else I met on this trip. In one word, AID Summer 2014 was rewarding. I gained so many tangible gifts from the students and the principal, but the most rewarding were the experience and the friendships.
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Hong, Joyce (洪逸琳)
In all of the seventeen years of my life, I can honestly say that I have never had an experience as memorable as AID summer 2014.
I was assigned to Dong-He Elementary in Yunlin and the people and staff there were so welcoming and considerate of all our needs. They were the ones that made sure that we never went hungry and fed us the freshest fruits and gave us huge boxes of water so we didn’t get dehydrated and took us to the local night market to experience the culture and took us to a coffee café so we could understand firsthand how the famed gu-keng coffee is made and brought us to the doctor when we were feeling ill. They were the ones that cared for us in those two unforgettable weeks. Thank you to all the staff and teachers at Dong-He elementary.
Another factor that heavily influenced my AID experience was the people in my group, A1-6. The seven other people in my group were the ones who got me through the rough patches during the teaching period and encouraged and advised me when students were being rowdy and didn’t want to pay attention. They were my rock and support group. They were also the ones that amazed me with all of their talents. Alone, we were unremarkable but as a group, we were unforgettable. After being stuck with the same people every day for almost every hour, every minute, every second, we became a family. To any future AIDers out there reading this, just remember that your group will become your life support and your greatest resource. Your group members will be the ones you share teaching ideas with and thoughts for improvement in the classroom. Your group members will become the ones who you ask for advice. Your group members will be the ones who stay awake with you till 3 in the morning making powerpoints. Your group members will become your life-long friends. Thank you to all the A1-6 members for making my AID experience so extraordinary and treasured. I’m sure that my time at Dong-He would not have been the same without every single one of you there.
The students themselves also had a great impact on my time in Yunlin. Of course there were the few rowdy kids that just couldn’t stay still and wouldn’t listen to directions and made you want to pull your hair out, but then there were also the sweetest kids who just really wanted to improve their English while having fun. During the teaching week, one of the songs my teaching partner and I were teaching the kids in preparation of the closing ceremony was “Count On Me” by Bruno Mars. Two of the kids really moved me deeply with their perseverance and dedication to learning this song. During the break periods every day while other kids went outside to play ball or cards, these two kids would sit in front of the computer and replay this song over and over hundreds of thousands of times while singing/humming along and doing the hand motions that we taught them. It was truly the most heartwarming thing I've seen and it really touched me seeing how badly these kids wanted to master the English language through this song. Thank you to all the students at Dong-He for giving me memories that will last a lifetime.
Lastly, a huge thank you to all the counselors (小灰灰) for always helping us solve whatever problems come up and becoming our close friends through the process. Tour week would not have been possible without all of you guys helping every step of the way.
AID has definitely been one of the best and most life-changing experiences of my life and has helped me connect with so many new people from around the world. I know that I will constantly think about and treasure the relationships and memories made during these four weeks here in Taiwan.
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Lin, Ze-Wei (林澤瑋)
I know someone will read this, so I should make this good. When this post reflection is read, it may be an entire year from when I wrote it but that’s ok because I’m pretty sure this reflection will go out to help other future AIDers joining or curious about AID.
SO IF YOU’RE CONFUSED OR WANT INSIDE INFO, READ ALONG.
Hi, my name is Sam. The reason I wanted to make address this reflection in the manner of which I chose was because I too read several reflections before I arrived to AID. I was confused on what to expect and interested about what to learn from the overall experience. By the way, in this reflection, don’t expect a long winded essay.
So first things first, you have to remember that AID is not just a teaching experience or international volunteering. It’s a camp too, made for American Born Taiwanese like you to be introduced into more culture. So don’t worry about failing in your teaching or worrying too much in working on stuff. Just have fun.
If you’re reading this from the perspective of someone about to go to Taiwan for AID, please don’t do too much. Buy a lot of American style gifts and pack whatever they tell you (I strongly suggest a fan). When you meet your teachers from the schools, you really want to make sure that you thank them properly for all the work that they had to put in just to bring the program into their school and provide you with a home.
For me personally, this experience was truly life changing. I learned things that I never expected would happen. For example, I developed a love in performance and for the first time, learned to manage kids. My photography and video editing skills also improved and I learned that I can actually sing decently. I’m certain that everyone joining AID will receive similar experiences like mine even though they may be with slightly different styles.
Another thing, keep in mind that everyone in AID is a POWERHOUSE. As in, literally everyone is super skilled or amazing in at least one aspect. I was literally shocked when I started to talk to my group members just to find out how impressive their resumes were. (SHOUTOUT TO GROUP A1-6) Anyways, in just my group alone, we had a theatrical composer, nationally recognized violinist, professional photographer, trilingual speaker and artist. Plus, nearly every person in our group could lay 2-5 instruments or happened to be Presidents in 2-5 organizations. I’m not saying that every group had the same fortune as us to have individuals with that many widespread talents, but we were regularly surprised by how smart people were and how impressive they work together.
Lastly, please remember to be kind and close to your counselors, because they really deserve more than people realize. They work from early in the morning to late at night for your sakes. If you get the chance, show some appreciation.
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Yen, Kevin (嚴威)
My experience with AID Summer 2014 was amazing. I learned so much about Taiwanese culture and food and customs that I feel I will carry on these memories for a lifetime. Teaching the kids was a unique experience that helped me grow and develop greatly, and I feel it was prepared me to take on future endeavors with a new attitude. Whether it was learning colors to weather, the children showed an almost limitless capacity for learning and growing, something that inspires me to take after them in their quest for learning. Such curiosity and thirst for learning is incredibly admirable and I hope to one day be able to pursue education with such passion and fervor. Learning to interact with and mesh with not only the children but my group members as well, has taught me that all people learn differently and that respecting their differences is key to fostering a healthy relationship with them. AID Summer 2014 has made a lasting impact on my life, and I believe that I am a better person for having participated in this program.
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Chen, Chris (陳敦臨)
The first time I received the acceptance letter to AID I had a mixture of different emotions. I was feeling both exited and scared at the same time. Exited for a different flavor to teach on the other side of the world. Scared for all the obstacles that had yet to confront me. Although, this may be my second time coming back to Taiwan, but this is my first experience correlating to teaching a subject I myself am not strong on. All my nervousness of teaching English almost completely disappears during the first training week. Throughout the training week numerous teaching professionals shared their wisdom to us on the beauty of teaching. I personally learned a lot throughout the first training week like different class management strategies, different teaching ideas, and different solutions to common problems that will often occur during teaching. I also have learned the true value of having a team. Throughout the whole program I have worked with five of the most awesome friends a man could ask for. My friends and also my team members; Alexis, Kimberly, Alice, Annie, and Allen are all the nicest, the most responsible, and the sweetest people on the planet. In addition, I also met a lot of bright individuals from all across the world. Throughout the program my friends had helped me solve many of my problems that popped up; they had slaughtered the word “loneliness” from my personal dictionary; and they had taught me the true meaning of the word “team”. After the first week of training, my fellow team members and me were transitioned into Dahu primary school to teach elementary English. At Dahu, Annie, my teaching partner and me were assigned the intermediate level class. At the beginning of the first teaching week I had overestimated the children’s knowledge on English. I had made the pre-test based on my experience of elementary English, and not on the reality of the student’s wisdom. Espying on the students scores of the given pre-test, I was worried of the students status so Annie and me completely changed our lesson plan to complement the students English level. With the adoption of our new lesson plan, my students’ English level gradually advanced one day after another. With the sight of advancement in view, I was less worried and starting to feel proud of my students’ growth. After the first week was over, we were taken to different places to go exploring for the weekend. Some places we went were the ribbon factory, mochi factory, and the big budha temple all located around the Changhua region. In addition, we also watched a movie at a mall located around the Taichung region, and went to Lugang (Changhua Harbor). The places we went were all amazing and interesting that illustrate the cultures and customs of Taiwan. Not long afterwards, the second week of teaching had come. At first the day had gone by very slowly, but then the closing ceremony is right into view. After the closing ceremony the good byes with the students are now evident and the beginning of the tour week began. During the days of the tour we traveled to myriad of places to get more familiar with Taiwan. During this week it has been fun and unforgettable. Not only had I had more time to enjoy time with my friends, but also I had explored a variety of culture richness of Taiwan. Lastly, I would like to say that AID is one of the most unforgettable experiences I had ever experienced. AID had helped me gained my confidence and independence, and helped me met possible lifelong friends. Therefore, I am very thankful to have a chance to be a part of this spectacular organization and will highly recommend many of my friends to join it.
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Huang, Hsing-He (黃星賀)
When called upon to complete a reflection on the past four weeks, one would imagine the average volunteer would pen stereotypical pieces filled with phrases such as “I will miss everyone so much” or “I can’t begin to imagine how quickly this program has passed.” However, this particular reflection will include none of those phrases. Instead, this will be the story of a transformation. A transformation of a particular student from delinquent to scholar, from stranger to brother. That student is a third grader at Anxi elementary in Tainan, Taiwan. His name is Leo.
Leo, according to many of the teachers at Anxi, was a delinquent by any definition of the term. He never participated in any activities, never responded to teachers’ queries, and often got into fights. This I was made aware of by the Anxi Elementary administrative staff. Going in to day one, I was braced for the worst.
As per the teachers’ predictions, Leo refused to engage in any discussion or activity whatsoever on that first day. He slouched in his chair, occasionally glanced at me with severely uninterested eyes, and overall presented a miserable husk of a child.
During one particular break, Leo was still sitting at his desk, and I decided to break the ice between him and the rest of the class. I went to his desk and stood next to him, and with a coaxing voice, asked: “Why won’t you participate, Leo?” At this time, the rest of the children had already made nametags for themselves complete with hand drawings of activities and foods that they enjoyed. Upon my questioning, Leo once again looked up with those uninterested eyes.
I asked him something else—“Do you have any older brothers?” Slowly, a shake of the head. What came next surprised me.
“Laoshi, will you be my older brother?”
I’ll never know what inspired Leo to ask that question, but the results were evident. Every morning, he would come to school earlier than any other kid and stand in front of my dorm, waiting for me to wake up and get ready for the day. After class, we would go out and play ball. During the final examination, Leo showed a 1300% improvement from his pretest.
Leo is representative of everything that this program stands for. He changed from a stranger to a brother, and through the English language, became the best of friends. This is possible only through AID. This is possible only through English. This is possible only through Taiwan. A huge “thank you” to all of the above.
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Hsiao, Gregory (蕭睿杭)
This past summer, I have had the privilege of participating in the AID 2014 summer program. Before the start of the program, I remember sitting at home in Houston, Texas wondering what I was going to teach these Taiwan born kids and how I was going to get through to them. I struggled trying to find interesting games and methods of teaching these students and making them appreciate the English language.
However, when I arrived in Chientan Center, I saw that I was not alone in this journey to finding ways to teach these children. At Chientan, my experience was wonderful due to the fact that I met a lot of new people from different backgrounds and the fact that I got to work with them also. At Chientan, I found the teachers to be very effective in getting their information across by having us be competitive with each other. Not only did this method help me retain the information, but it also helped me memorize the materials. Moreover, the games I learned to play at Chientan helped me in later scenarios with the students. Thankfully, the teachers were both patient and understanding and were willing to help me with difficulties I had in developing my teaching plans.
In some cases, the students showed signs of wariness and were unamused by the lesson plan, so instead of panicking and continuing with the lesson, I was able to use one of the games I learned at Chientan. Although this scenario occurred more often than I had expected, the games really helped me get the materials across to the students.
The first day in class at Riu Siu Middle School in Hualien, I was no longer feeling signs of doubt or nervousness. I felt prepared and was ready to teach the class in a fun manner. As the first day had shown, the games and lesson plan I had prepared had worked pretty well with the students. And many of the students would even stay in during break time due to their eagerness to talk in English with me and my teaching partner. Since the first day to the last, the students were always eager and excited for each day’s lesson plan. They loved the activities and would often retain the information because of the games.
If future AID Summer teachers were to read this, I would recommend to incorporate more games to help the students learn rather than just lecture to them. As a result of games and a fun classroom, many of my students ended up receiving all A’s on the post test, with the lowest grade receiving a mark of -4. But the most important thing to remember is to always over prepare your lesson plans. Because many of my friends had trouble maintaining their class due to the lack of materials they had.
In retrospect, I had a lot of fun during this program and if I have the time next year, I will definitely return. I just hope that in the coming years, the AID teachers will come to have as much fun and meet as many interesting people as I have had.
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