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Yu, Anna (Tzu-Hsuan) (游子萱)
To be honest, I hated this program at the beginning because my parents forced me to join. They said it "looks good on your college app", a family friend of mine did it and this program was part of the reason why he got into University of Washington. I hated this program because just the idea of spending two weeks in the middle of no where makes me want to stab myself, and I hate kids.
My brother Bryan died in a
terrible car accident five years ago, and starting from that day every single
kid that walks by me reminds me of him. That's why I don't like kids and I
already forgot what it feels like to interact with kids and play with them.
On the first day of teaching, I literally hated every single
students. There was this one kid her name was Niki and she loves to hold onto
people, and one day I had them line up and she was first, guess what she did?
She held onto my shirt, and the first thing I did was turn around and said
"don't touch me" and she gave me a puppy face, of course. But on the
second day, I noticed a boy in my class his name was Angus and he reminded me a
lot of my brother. He was eager to learn and definitely a hard worker. Because
of Angus, I eat lunch with my students, during recess I hang out with them, I
pay more attention to kids around me, just because I want to spend more time
with Angus/Bryan.
Truth is, even though I hate kids I still want them to like me, especially Angus. I have disciplines, I yell at them, I have them repeat the classroom norm over and over again, I make them apologize to other people and I make them bow when apologizing to show their sincerity and I make them keep apologizing until the person accepts. But, I play with them during recesses, I eat lunch with them, I act crazy in front of them, I didn’t care about my image, I dance and trip, I sing off key, I act immature. And so that way they can act crazy with you, have fun together and still respects you.
The best part of this entire two weeks was the water balloon fight. The entire school was split into two teams and we bought hundreds and hundreds of balloons. The fight itself wasn’t the best part, the best part was filling the balloons. That’s the part when everyone gets wet. I put down my teacher cape and blend in with the kids. We dumped water onto each other, we started to throw balloons at each other, push each other into that big bucket, getting each other wet. Just thinking about it makes me cry, tear of joy. That was another opportunity for me to spend more time with Angus.
We all cried. All of us. We were all choking when the teacher gave us a microphone and have us give a short speech. I wasn’t crying rivers, it was more like water fall, extreme. I don’t think I even finished my “short speech”. It was touching and the kids cried for us too. That day, I left Angus and it felt like leaving my brother for the second time. It hurt so much that all of the memories came back and I couldn’t control my tears.
I’m glad that my parents made me join this program, it gave me another chance, another opportunity to see my brother again. Fade, I would call it, I don’t really believe in things like this, but this time I will. This program gave me a chance to remember what it feels like to hang out and play with kids, a memory that was lost for so long.
Thank you AID, thank you mum and dad for giving me another chance to see my brother again and spend time with him. I really do appreciated.
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Jia, Veronica (賈其涵)
My dad told me about this program four days before the application deadline. I looked through the AID website and found the extensive amounts of documents needed to apply. I almost decided not to apply, since I had to get everything ready in four days, and it didn’t seem very possible. Looking back, I cannot even begin to state how happy I am that I decided to push through with the application. I am twenty years old this year, and in all twenty years of my life, I have never experienced anything even remotely close to AID. I am a very quiet person, who never really talks unless absolutely necessary. Being in this program, nobody would even believe that I’m that kind of person. AID has helped me open up as a person, and I am so grateful. Everyday I’m laughing and joking around with my newly found friends, and chatting away like I’m used to it. AID has completely changed me as a person, and I think this new person is who I truly am and who I truly wanted to be. I just never had the courage to show my true self. I have AID to thank, but also my new friends. The eight of us were thrown together randomly, but it really felt like fate brought us together. The six of us girls clicked together right away, as if we had known each other our whole lives. We had two boys in our group as well, and the first couple of days were really hard with them! We were so frustrated because we couldn’t get them to open up to us, no matter how hard we tried. Soon though, we were all crying over dumb jokes and exploding with laughter. When we were sent off to our schools, we had already become one family. We were all nervous together, but just the fact that we were together helped ease our nerves. Our bus ride was about 30 minutes, and the second we arrived; our assistants were welcoming us with handmade signs! We all got to know each other, and just after the first day we were all family. We grew to love our teacher and all the assistants. They helped us make teaching easier, and we had a blast during the two weeks. On the first day of teaching, I was ready to give up. The students were so unresponsive, and I felt like I couldn’t get through to them. I didn’t even think about the fact that they were just as nervous and anxious as I was. I had a heart to heart with my students, about how I really do care about them, and that’s why I flew all the way here to be with them and teach them. They understood, and starting the next day, we all bonded really fast and I really felt like they were my students, and I was a real teacher. We all learned together, and I learned valuable lessons from these children. Teaching is the most rewarding thing I have ever done in my entire life, and it cements my dreams of being a professor. I felt that the two weeks flew by way too quickly, because I soon found all of us, including our teacher and assistants, crying together at Chientan saying goodbye. I do love teaching, and all my students, but I honestly felt that the biggest and most important thing that I took from the program is the connections that I have made. These are lifelong friends that I will keep, because now we are honestly family. It kills me that I have to say goodbye to these people in just two days. I will do everything I can to keep these relationships, because I love these people. These are such valuable relationships, and it will take me a long time after I go home to get used to being alone again. We went through everything together, and I will never forget them. Thank you AID, for giving me such beautiful memories that I will have forever!
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Cheng, Michelle (鄭吉玲)
When I first stepped foot into the Chientan Youth Center, I felt overwhelmed and extremely nervous about the program. I had already met a few of my teammates before the orientation, and I was excited to see them again. Even though registration, saying goodbye to my aunt who dropped me off, and getting all the items from the counselors was quite a hassle, it felt like everything went by in a second. One moment I was receiving my duffle bag from a counselor, and the next moment, I was knocking on the door of my room.
The very first person I met was the girl who opened my room door for me. Not only have we become close friends, but she was also my teaching partner. I’m really thankful to the counselors for giving me this wonderful opportunity of meeting my teaching partner! I soon met the rest of my group. Although all 8 of us were girls, spending the past four weeks with them has solidified the friendship bond we started to make on the first day.
During training, my team and I worked with laughter and tears. Although we joked around with laughter all the time, we worked enthusiastically with teacher Michelle (representing Hsin Chu Middle School) to prepare a fun and informative presentation. During one of the meetings with teacher Michelle, she showed us last year’s Final Ceremony video and my teaching partner started to cry. Because of the video, we already felt a connection with them.
When we actually started teaching, I realized that making a plan for the day was not easy. My teaching partner and I had planned for the first day the night before with lots of detail. But when we actually taught, we realized that we did not plan enough activities for each period. The kids were mostly silent and the air just felt tense and awkward. As a result, we worked together and planned at least four or five activities in each period. After day 2, the kids had opened up to us a lot and the day flowed smoothly. Before teaching, I thought that as volunteers, we were teaching students who had to go to school to learn English. Little did I know that these students volunteered and had to receive high scores on a placement test to participate in this program. After I found out, I became curious as to why they would want to join an English camp. Back in America, not many children want to learn. Instead, it’s all about going on adventures and having fun. But in Taiwan, these kids love to interact with us teachers and learn about the places we have come from. These children live in rural areas and some face family issues. All of these reasons motivate the kids to focus on their studies, thus explaining why they want to join the English camp.
After two weeks of teaching, I felt as if I had been at the school for several months. I loved teaching and reviewing English with the children, chatting with them after school was over, and playing basketball with them. By the time the Final Ceremony rolled around, I ended up bawling my eyes out. These kids tried so hard every day to improve their studies and I really wanted to stay and help them out. I’m extremely thankful for Aidsummer for giving me this wonderful opportunity to help children learn a little bit more English and for giving me a wonderful team that I will be friends with forever.
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Kan, Andrew (簡仲廷)
When my parents first told me about this program, they only told me that this was a program to teach English. I didn’t know “Who, What, When, Where or Why”. “Who?" Well this was an easier question to answer. A quick internet search led me to a website called aidsummer.net. I learned about the numerous number of students who came from the United States and Canada and went to Taiwan to teach English. I was happy to see that I would fit in with a majority of the volunteers because of the small age discrepancy between all of us. Continuing to browse the website, I found the answer to the question “What?” This program was what my parents had told me. A teaching program, in which us teachers would not only teach English, but also have a cultural exchange with the students. Then the question of “When?” Almost all of July and into the beginning of August. My last summer with many of my school friends would be cut short because of this program, however, I didn’t let this fact deter me from applying for the program. “Where?” Volunteer teachers would be sent all over Taiwan to various elementary schools and middle schools. This was something that grabbed my interest. I did not have close relatives in Taiwan other than in Taipei, and having the opportunity to travel and learn about new parts of Taiwan was something I wanted to do. Finally “Why?” This was not a question that was clearly answered on the website. However, with some more searching, I found a page of the post reflections of past members in the AID program. These past volunteers mentioned the variety of food they ate, the positive experiences, and the lifelong friends made on the program. Now that I had a more comprehensive understanding of the AID program I filled out my application form and a couple months later was excited to see that I had been accepted into the program.
The first step of the program had been completed, it was time for the “learning” phase of the program at Chientan. During this time, we learned of various teaching techniques that could be used during our own teaching moments at our assigned schools. Though I learned a lot from the lessons themselves, I learned most from the teachers teaching them. There were moments when watching the
teachers teach when I thought “I should not do that” or “That’s a great idea.” I learned from watching the teachers go through their only teaching plans. After watching the teachers teach, we created our own teaching plans and taught them to our own groups. I learned the most from this activity. We can prepare a super-detailed lesson plan, but without being to cleanly execute it, the lesson is lost.
After we did a demonstration of our teaching plans, we were sent to our respective schools. I was sent to Fu Guang Middle School in TsinChu. Thinking we were prepared with our carefully planned lesson plans and knowledgeable guidance from our teacher was wrong. Teaching the students proved to be very difficult on the first day. Simply getting the students to stand out of their seats and participate in an activity could take five minutes. Explaining a game could take another fifteen minutes. The time spent doing what we considered “simple” tasks caused lesson plans to become very difficult to follow. Once again, we learned the most from the actual experience. We adapted and soon were able to construct lesson plans that kept the students engaged throughout the day.
Looking back at the past three weeks, I now understand that AID is not a program that can easily be explained by “Who, What, When, Where, and Why”. One’s experience from the program relies on how one chooses to approach and adapt to the numerous challenges the program has. No one has the same experience; the experience is what one wants it to be.
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Wang, Brian (王柏元)
Upon first seeing Shenkeng Junior High, the thought that I’d be a resident here for the next two weeks drifted across my mind, followed by the reassurance of air conditioning in the kindergarten. I slowly walked through the muggy weather into the conference room, not sure what to expect from the school officials I would be meeting. My colleagues and I we given a warm welcome, and following an overview of the ground rules, we were treated to a lively performance by the students. Afterwards, we met with our TAs, and sang “Happy Birthday” to Marnie. That night, we met Julius, a college student also visiting Taiwan, at the principal’s tea shop. The following days were filled with anticipation and uncertainty. We questioned ourselves whether or not the courses we were developing were adequate for the students. We spent the weekend creating teaching materials. After an awkward self-introduction to the students Monday morning, we entertained the staff, the TAs, the students, and ourselves with an on-stage synchronized swimming routine. We spent the afternoon getting to know our future students through Capture the Flag and Sharks and Minnows. During the next six days, I continuously modified my course to reflect the English skills of the three classes, and enjoyed the hospitality of Shenkeng Junior High parents and students at night. Our group implemented a rotation system, where the three classes would switch between a pair of teachers. I taught a morning of sports and had the student review the next day in the afternoon. I felt that adding actions to the words aided in retention. For example, “pass” was accompanied by the motion of throwing a football, “dribble” by the act of dribbling a basketball, and “header” by thrusting the head forward. Following teaching, the class participated in review activities, such as flyswatters, Simon Says with the actions taught, and a crossword-like game which emphasized spelling. Sports chants were also introduced to encourage our students to practice verbal English, as well as having each student create a menu and order dishes from each other. We also implemented activities discussed by the lecturers, such as the spelling telephone game and making s’mores. In between the teaching, we joined teachers from HePing elementary in various activities. I personally enjoyed picking tea leaves. With the arrival of Typhoon Matmo, we took shelter for a day at the house of one of our TA and student, and spent a night getting to know them outside of a school setting. Despite losing a day due to the typhoon, we were able to put together a play, “The Little Prince”, consisting of topics our group had taught over the past week. It was heartwarming to watch the students express what we had taught them to visiting officials and parents. Overall, it was a very satisfying two weeks at Shenkeng Junior High, and not simply a hunt for air conditioning. Afterwards, I participated on the post-teaching tour. It was wonderful sharing teaching stories with other groups, as well as bonding with the counselors. My favorite experience was the Nine Tribes Aboriginal Culture village, not only because of the rides, but also through watching the dances they performed. Through the post-teaching tour, I felt that I have experienced Taiwanese culture in a way I normally would not have on a regular trip to Taiwan.
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Su, Michael (蘇原皜)
This trip has been amazing. I feel incredible blessed to have met an amazing group of college graduates that work tirelessly from morning to evening in order to prepare a full day's worth of activities for rambunctious teenagers. AID has given me an amazing opportunity to reflect on my talents and my weak points. There were many instances when I realized I could not accomplish something satisfactorily and had to learn to trust my companions to take care of it. Luckily, my group was blessed with a diverse range of talents and everyone was ready and eager to share these talents. I feel that I have learned a new meaning to "volunteering" as I sadly realized that I worked much harder preparing these lesson plans than studying for my exams in college. Hopefully, I will be blessed with opportunities to volunteer like this in the future; I will definitely take them without hesitation!
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Wang, Kevin (王柏驊)
I didn’t really know what to expect when I was first told I would be coming to Taiwan to teach at a summer camp program for middle school students. I knew that some of my friends and acquaintances applied to this program, but apart from saying that I should totally take the time to apply for AID, they didn’t really say much other than to give tips about the application. After much debate, I ended up filling out the form and finding all the necessary documents with a few days to spare and sent off the packet to the designated office.
With the packet turned in, I started noticing I paid attention to my teachers more during class; not just what they taught, but how they taught, despite not knowing whether I would be admitted or not. I became more conscious of what I did whenever I helped others, and tried to make my explanations as clear as possible. To be completely honest, I did not think I possessed the confidence to teach effectively. After seeing the admission letter, I drifted back to the time I spent learning Spanish, brainstorming what worked, and what had the least effect on my learning of a new language. I attempted to rediscover the worksheets, puzzles, and games I had long forgotten.
I arrived in Taiwan somewhat nervous of the one-week teaching camp at Chientan Youth Activity Center. The night before the day I headed off to Chientan, I blamed my pitiful amount of sleep on the air conditioning unit that stubbornly refused to drop below 28 degrees Celsius, but perhaps it was also a mix of excitement and apprehension. Not having made a Facebook, I hadn’t met any of my colleagues, much less the teacher in charge of the program for Fu Guang Middle School. At Chientan, I remember lessons stressing the importance of teaching plans, and then scrambling to the dorms during afternoon break time to work with group members to finish them. When nighttime came and we met with our teacher, we wrote the entire schedule on a whiteboard and then spent a good hour or so shuffling around lesson topics, games, and vocabulary terms. It might sound boring on paper, but personally I found it engaging to discuss how we were going to teach the students. Of course, there was time for bonding with group members as well. Whenever we took a break from creating teaching plans and material, we would meet up to chat and play fiendish card games to get to know each other better. After Chientan, which culminated in a visit to a night market, my seven colleagues and I were shipped off from Taipei to Guanxi, located in Hsinchu. The weekend before teaching started, we tweaked our teaching plans to what we thought would be appropriate and made some posters and worksheets. I eagerly waited for the teaching experience to begin.
The first day of teaching, I remember waking up slightly late, getting to school, and then practicing our dance and hastily constructed song for the opening ceremony. I thought back to what I was told several times before first period: Don’t use Chinese. Use it as a last resort. And as much as I would have liked to reenact the stories I heard of teachers concealing their Chinese proficiency and listening in on complaining students, I quickly found out that I needed to use Chinese to get my students to do anything at all. Perhaps it was because I spoke too fast, or perhaps the students were not accustomed to receiving instructions in English, but whatever the case, I ended up using lots of Chinese throughout the two weeks of teaching.
By the end of the camp, I saw Murphy’s Law demonstrated so many times. If we didn’t blow through our teaching plans by the first period, it was a good sign that the material was challenging enough…until you test the students the next day only to find out that all they remembered were the silly words and phrases that they were interested in. That being said, it was a wonderful feeling to see the students so engaged on certain topics, particularly when relationship vocabulary, games, and candy were involved.
Looking back on the time I spent teaching, I really enjoyed the experience of teaching a group of students. Although it took quite a bit to get some kids to participate during class (read: use ice cream and toys), I thought it was enriching to take a look at how teachers work effectively and help out students at the same time. I’m not sure if I let my students on to this (Shoutout to B Class), but I really miss them despite knowing them for only ten days. Thanks to the AID program, I was able to make many friends from all over. I’ve gained valuable teaching experience that I could not get easily anywhere else, which will no doubt be useful in the future. To those considering whether or not to apply to the AID program in the future, I’ll say this. It may be a struggle at times to stay awake and soak up all the lessons thrown at you in the first week and juggle having to create a lesson plan. It’s not guaranteed that the students will be totally cooperative at first (but they’re still lovable nonetheless). And I’ll definitely guarantee that your teaching plans will not work perfectly the first time through. But is the program worth it? Yes.
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Cheng, Yung Chuan (鄭詠全)
[Roger Yungchuan Cheng]
[ID: 9322]
[Group: A1-8]
This camp really changed my life. During these two weeks of training, I realized how hard it is to be a successful English teacher. Meanwhile, I found another family in my group – A1-8. Throughout the weeks, my group members and I changed from complete strangers into an unbreakable family. We laughed together, ate together, went to the night market together, tried fried crickets together, taught together, played American dodge ball together, threw water balloons at each other, watched horror movies together, went shopping together, ran in the rain together, danced together, and played cards together… There are just way too many memories that connect everyone so tight that nothing can ever separate our group. AID summer camp changed my life so much that I feel like I am ready for anything, especially anything involved with teaching. During the first week of training, I learned a variety of teaching strategies, games, review exercises, class managements, and teaching plans. Although writing the teaching plan and daily working journal is exhausting, it helped me understand the world through a teacher’s paradigm. AID summer English volunteer camp provided me an irreplaceable experience of teaching. I never taught any English class before… I really appreciate that this camp gave me an opportunity to be an English teacher. I have to say that being a teacher is absolutely not an easy thing to do. We have to learn how to coordinate with the kids while trying to inspire them to learn English. Above all, the hardest thing was keeping the kids entertained while try to talk to them with English. Sometimes, the kids just don’t want to listen to you. Other times, kids don’t want to participate because they couldn’t understand our instructions.
Two strategies that I learned throughout these two weeks of teaching are the implementation of competitive group competitions and the establishment of personal connection with each student in the class. Competitive group competitions maintain student interests and push them to actively participate in class and thus improve their learning experiences. Besides pushing students learn new things, we as teachers also teach the students how to work as a team. On the other hand, the creation of personal connections with the kids helps the teachers to connect their minds with student’s minds. Once the students find common interests among the teachers, they will automatically talk to the teacher and learn more things from the teacher because of their increased familiarity. Once the teacher assimilates his or her mind with the kids, he or she will know what the kids are thinking and thus know how to deal with them when facing different situations. Each and every child is special; we just have to discover their hidden abilities! No child should be left behind. As long as we keep a positive and energetic attitude, we can inspire the kids and maybe alter their future!
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Ho, Jonathan (賀錫平)
My time at ChienTan was not great. The only work that we really got done was when we worked on the working journals at night and even these turned out to be virtually useless once we actually started teaching. Some of the teaching games were useful but the rest of the lectures ended up being way to optimistic concerning the English levels of the children. When we actually started teaching we had to start with the very basics such as the ABCs even for the fifth grade students that we taught. I feel like we would have been able to teach better if we had been immediately sent down. Since we learned how to teach as the two weeks went on, I feel like four weeks of teaching would have been much better for the children. I cannot speak for the rest of AID but personally, I would have much rather spent another week with my children than on the tour. Sure we didn't have as much work to do but teaching the students felt so much more fulfilling and so much more fun.
Other than the lack of good English teachers in Sandi Elementary School caused by the Taiwanese education system there is nothing negative I can say about the two weeks spent at Sandi. While the children were sometimes difficult, it was expected and ultimately, they were all good children who were determined and excited to learn English. I really loved the people who helped us out there and could not have asked for a better experience.
Finally, the tour was underwhelming to say the least. I could say some good things about it but it was dominated by disappointment and discomfort. I really hope that in the future they will design the tour in a way where we can actually see stuff rather than spending countless hours on the bus. If not that just let us stay longer with our students even if we aren't teaching. Throughout this week I, as well as my fellow group members, have been missing my children. I really hope that we can be given some freetime with them in the future. As it is now, almost every kid has to go home right after school leaving us no time to talk outside of the classroom except during breaks. I wish I could have spent more time with them and learned more about their backgrounds and how they live outside of school. I know that indigenous life is very difficult especially in places such as Sandi and I wish I had more opportunity to better understand their lives, which was part of the reason for my choosing this program.
I think that there are many things that AID could have done better. Primarily, AID should focus much more on the actual individual schools rather than trying to teach as though they are all the same. Part of Taiwan's charm is how unique every area is and by ignoring that we perform a great disservice to those we are supposed to be serving.
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Cheng, Annie (鄭亦倩)
This past month has been an unforgettable experience. I was able to grow in many different ways. When I first found about my acceptance I was overjoyed. I knew not everyone makes it in the program and only a select few gets the opportunity to fly to Taiwan and discover it's beauties. However, as the summer got closer, I realized all the fun and exciting the states could have offered me and I became rather hesitant about coming and spending my entire summer. I wanted more times with friends instead of just the week before AID and a week after AID before I move in to college. Taiwan is so far and the time zone is so different I was afraid I wouldn't be able to spend quality time with them before I leave to a college 5 hours in air away.
Teaching has always been one of my passions. I love children and especially love teaching them and AIDs has given me that opportunity from teaching us how to teach at chientan to actually using many of the games that were introduced to is in our real classrooms. The classes were very helpful in teaching us how to class manage and how to introduce a lesson to repeat, repeat, and repeat again. Although the meals could have been placed on the table a little later so that it would still be warm when we get there, the chientan facilities were much better than I expected the air conditioning very strong and cool that I sometimes get goose bumps in the classroom. Overall, the classroom and lecture was very well organized and helpful. The icebreaker also allowed us to meet many new people. I really like having a theme song that almost everyone knew the lyrics to- it was simple and easy. We were also fortunate enough to have Kevin as our teacher, bumblebee as our counselor, and to have met the people who we have become friends with. With these new people, I have been able to become more independent such as learning to do laundry myself and learning to spend my money more wisely.
Teaching English in Chuanghua Dahu Elementary was such a memorable experience. I was able to discover my love for teaching and experience the living style in rural area of Taiwan. The students are very polite, whenever we walk through the halls they well say “老師好” even if they weren’t my student and I have never met them. The students here also clean very well after themselves, unlike students in the states- who have janitors to clean for them. The children were although at first very shy and would hardly repeat after me during the first morning, however, I realized they actually really liked Chris and I when they came to us during breaks and asks us questions and how to pronounce certain words. However, the students got much more engaged with class when they realized that the points they earn for their team resulted much rewards at the end of the day. It wasn’t until the last day, I realized how attached some of the kids were- I did not expect fourth – seventh graders to cry for a teacher who assigns homework and tests. It was a very special moment and it got my eyes watery too.
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Hsei, Wendy (謝宛儒)
Aid Summer was one of the most unforgettable experiences I have ever had. I've met so many wonderful individuals who helped me along the way. It also opened my eyes to the lifestyles of people living rural areas and made me realize all of the things I took for granted. At my home and school back in America, I had so many things that the people here wouldn't even dream about. My parents worked so hard to move the family from Taiwan to USA and give my brother and I the American Dream. I never thought to truly appreciate what they did for me until now.
When I first arrived at Chientan Youth Activity Center, I was so nervous yet excited to be on my own for the first time. I was also worried that I wouldn't be able to make new friends due to my shy personality. Despite my fears, I quickly bonded with my room mates and other people there because of our common interests. All of the lectures given during training week seemed boring at first but later became extremely helpful. It gave me the exact information needed to prep us for teaching. Many parts of my teaching plan consisted of the games and activities we practiced during these sessions.
I still remember the feeling of anxiety when I arrived at our elementary school. While we were performing our opening ceremony dance, sixty 5th graders stared at us with scared yet curious faces. We then played many icebreakers in an attempt to loosen the tension. Our first day slowly became a mess because we underestimated our students. The majority of them already knew the basics which was what we were planning on teaching them. They were also extremely shy and quiet due to the fact that they came from different schools. No one wanted to answer questions or take part of the games we prepared. However, a few days and many awkward pauses later, they slowly opened up and willingly participated in activities. I noticed that they were having fun learning which made me overjoyed. I had a feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction knowing that I'm doing my job right.
My group was different and taught at two schools for a week each. This meant we had a shorter amount of time to really get to know the students and their personalities. Nevertheless, their liveliness gave me energy to continue teaching in the hot and humid classrooms. Outside of class, we ate lunch and played PE games such as dodge ball or badminton together. The most memorable moment was when we had a water balloon fight in the field after class ended. The teachers, including me, were the obvious targets for the kids. They had so fun drenching us in water so the point where we looked like we had just taken a shower. All good things come to an end. Right when they became comfortable with us, we had to say our goodbyes. I still miss their smiling faces and eagerness to see us. However, many of the kids added us on Facebook which I find adorable. In the short time I had spent them, they brought me so much happiness
Outside of school and teaching, we spent all of our time with each other and our wonderful teachers Jocelyn and Jason. They took us on many adventures and made everyday exciting. Together, we went on a yacht, biking around the local neighborhood, shopping at different night markets, and tried a variety of foods, including fried crickets! They also took care of us along the way as if we were their children. They went above and beyond in ensuring that we were safe at all times. Our parting after the last day of school was truly heartbreaking. I never thought I would bond with someone in the short span of three weeks, especially a teacher. Many tears were shed that day even though we told ourselves that it was not a goodbye and that we will see each other in the future.
Tour week so far has been really interesting and all very new to me. We got to go to numerous tourist spots and learn about what unique attractions. Taiwan has. I met even more people of all ages. Together, we choreographed dances and arranged songs to perform for the upcoming talent show. This brought the people on this bus closer as we work effectivly as a team.
I joined this program thinking I would gain only teaching experience but in the end, I got so much more. In one month, I've explored many parts of Taiwan and made friends and memories I will never forget.
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Huang, Formosa (黃于峮)
One month of AID Summer Overseas Youth English Teaching Program is definitely the best summer I have ever had. At the beginning of this program, I did not think that I would enjoy this program as much as I did. During the first week of training at the Chien-tan Youth Activity Center, I dreaded waking up at 7 A.M. everyday and attending a full day of long, unending lectures. However, I began to find that our awesome A1-8 team, Roger, Yi, Naomi, Emily, Wendy and I, was the best group and had the best teamwork, as we fight for our chance to go to the Shinlin Night Market before everyone else. Our instructor, Jocelyn Kuo (also our baby-sitter, bodyguard, chauffer, mom, and friend) and Jason Chu (also our entertainer) were the most supportive and caring teachers I could ever ask for. They helped us as we tried to earn our awards, accumulating team points. They even walked to Shilin Night Market in the stuffy and humid late night to buy us bubble milk tea, fried chicken steak and donuts to treat us when we, the highest point recipient, were not given the chance to go to the night market. The dormitory and food at the Chien-tan Youth Activity was good, and even better than I expected. The counselors were also really friendly; shout-out to Jacky!
Our group was the only group, which was assigned to two schools, in Meinong, Kaohsiung, for the two weeks of teaching. During the two weeks of teaching, we were being very well taken care of by the Kaohsiung Congress and her team. Personally, I think we were extremely lucky to stay in a wonderfully equipped Home Inn, Hu Mei Yin, with fresh air and a beautiful mountain view. My bubbly teaching partner, Naomi, and I shared a big room with a U.S. king sized bed for the each of us. We were also served delicious and different kind of handmade and bought breakfast. The boss and his family were the kindest people we met in Meinong with great hospitality. We took every single chance we had after school to explore the place. We biked really closed to the mountains and had various types of cuisines for the amazing dinners at Qi-san. I will never forget the times we had together, especially on the typhoon day, with no school, instant noodles for lunch as we were trapped at the Home inn and a full 3 course meal at the 7-eleven convenient store.
Teaching at Zhongtan and Guangsing elementary was the best part of this AID Summer Program. The schools preferred us to teach the students about their Hakka Culture in English so Naomi and I taught our kids, ranging from 5th to 6th graders, about the very unique Hakka food, while Roger and Yi focused on Meinong attractions and Emily and Wendy taught their kids about the Oil Paper umbrellas. My favorite memory was at Zhongtan elementary when we played water balloon fight with our mischievous but cute students. Children from both schools were spectacular but in comparison, Zhongtan elementary had a lower English level but they were more responsive and willing to learn while Guangsing was the opposite. However, I am really glad to have such a wonderful teaching partner and roomie, Naomi, for us to lean on each other, as we conquered all the difficulties and challenges. Hard work really does pay off. Teaching all 14 days, rehearsing our opening ceremony dance till midnight, staying up late every night for our teaching plans, enduring the heat and sticky and smelly polo’s, breaking down on the first day, were all bits and pieces that help remind me of the memories we had together, as a team, as a class, or as a school. Every child is like a snowflake, each is unique. So as long as we are willing to spend the time and have the heart to teach the kids, they will be successful. As we try to teach our children about life, they teach us what life is all about. Together, we embrace these memories and keep them in our hearts forever.
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Chen, Alvin (陳冠宇)
These few weeks have been a once in a life time experience. I have had a great time meeting my group of 7 other fellow teachers, and learning about where they came from and what they aim to accomplish in this program. And in these few weeks we definitely came closer and became like a family. Going to the countryside was an eye opening experience because sometimes and take some luxuries for granted, but seeing the conditions in the countryside made me appreciate the material goods that I have a little bit more. However, the countryside still gave me amazing experiences and the kids we taught were very memorable. Being in the rural parts of Taiwan also made me really see just how beautiful Taiwan is. The elementary was wedged in between two mountain ranges, and had water sights and just plain awesome scenery. The kids didn't make us feel nervous but instead made us feel welcomed and they really helped us when we were having a hard time with the teaching since it was my first time teaching English to elementary students. Not only the kids were amazing the teachers and teacher assistants who helped us out were amazing too they really helped calm us and guide us through the rough waves of teaching the children. Also it was a really amazing to learn about the Hakka culture which I am apart of but never learned anything of so it was amazing to learn about the Hakka culture. It was also very great to interact with the children and learning about them and their different quirks they become like great friends to me. Besides being a teacher to them I also become a friend. We played basketball and had water balloon fights with them it was an amazing experience. It was also fun to experience the rural areas to see how different it is from the city and how much happier the kids are in the rural areas just being around nature and not really caring about anything and living life the way it is suppose to. That made me realize that I should cherish every moment i have and not over think things and live life simply. And the group that I taught with made me realize a lot of things like it taught me patience and teamwork which will be very helpful in the future. Being with them also taught me that in life there will always be that one group of people that you will never forget and this will be the group that I will never forget. We have gotten so close in these two weeks and they will always be my second family. All in all this was an excellent experience in which I found a second family through the 7 other people I taught with, the teachers, the assistants, and the children we taught. This will always be a memory I will never erase from my memory.
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Long, Coleen (龍科霖)
Receiving the acceptance into the summer AID program, I could not have been more thrilled. I remember screaming a bit and having a nonstop smile on my face. Nearing the end of tour week, I can honestly say that this summer program has been one of the most rewarding, exciting, and beautiful experience.
The first day at the Chientan Activity Center, my roommate, Jessica, left the room and I was outside waiting for 10 minutes, praying that I would be able to get along with her. When she finally came to let me in the room, we bonded immediately. It was as if we had known each other for longer than one minute. From that moment on, my experience at Chientan continued to exceed my original expectations. My group members, Jessica Tea, Jessica Chow mein, Isauna “my other half” Mitchell, and Audrey “oh man” Hao, became my sisters and best friends for this trip and for forever.
Arriving a week later at Dong Hua College in Hualien, nerves were at an all time high. How were the children going to behave? Would they have the desire to learn any English at all? When we first stepped in to the unknown classroom, second and fourth graders were scattered throughout; some sitting at their desks and some walking around playing with friends. The moment first eye contact was made, my nerves disappeared. I could tell these children desired to have a lot of fun the next two weeks, while hopefully learning some new English at the same time. During the next two weeks my class had many ups and some downs. Although occasionally some intense classroom management was needed, the kids would always enjoy the competitive lesson activities we planned for them each day. The best part about my kids was getting to know each other better after school and on breaks, more as friends. They constantly nagged about whether or not my teaching partner and I had girlfriends, and showed us some hilarious Chinese and Taiwanese YouTube videos. I also received about 10 drawings of Perry the Platypus by the end of the fifth day of teaching. Those children will forever be in my heart and mind after this beautiful experience.
Choosing my favorite moment of this entire month is near to impossible for me. Within the multitude of wonderful memories I made with my children and my group members, one currently sticks out in my mind: the fancy dinner. On the first Friday at Hualien, we were invited to go eat a nice dinner near the Paradise Resort. My roommates and I were beyond ecstatic. Each of us ended up wearing one of the others dresses. Representing the shared sisterhood we had developed in the previous two weeks. We all looked absolutely amazing, and may have over dressed slightly, but had fun doing it.
As my time with the AID summer program is nearing the end, I can sincerely say that I will always appreciate and cherish the friendships, memories, and experiences made in this month. B1-7 forever <3
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Chen, Katherine (陳任怡)
Many people joined the program with expectations. I decided to enter the experience with none in mind. I thought that this would allow me to get a full experience without bias. The first thing that stood out the most was the people I was with. The 7 other girls that I have gotten close to is a bond I will never forget. It is something I now cherish and am sad to let go of. To be honest, I was unsure of my experience with children. It turns out that the kids were outstanding. They all had different personalities with varied English speaking experience. They were all so obedient and listened to what we said. When we had to say good-bye to them my group was sad to let them go. Even though you grew up in a different country, you have a deep bond with the children. I value my grandparents and the heritage of my mother and father. This makes connections with the children even greater than normal. We were treated with such respect from school faculty as well as counselors in the program. I can’t say definitely that I am any smarter or wiser at the end of this trip, but I know that I am a better person. I have found connections that I did not have in life. I have learned things about relationships, friendships and people that I don’t think I could have elsewhere. I gave up personal things to go on this trip, but I have also gained things in my life.
The camp is busy to say the least. It seems that there is always somewhere to go, things to do, and places to see. My mind was never idle. The only time allowed for my mind to wander is during tour week. Tour week was a very different experience in comparison to the weeks at school. For one thing, it was many counselors telling you what to do, where to go, what to wear, etc. At first I know this was very unpleasant to many of the older program members, however I think that the counselors work harder than anybody else. Even though during our weeks at school we spent endless hours at school, the counselors were in charge of making us happy. I have a feeling that it is not easy to make 400+ Americans happy.
From this trip I have learned things about myself and the Taiwan people. The people here have taught me how to be more hardworking, stronger, confident and made me want to help even more people. I think that volunteer trips such as this help people understand what it means to be human. What it means to travel to another country to people you don’t know, and want to help. I hope that I have also inspired the children to do the same. Maybe one day they will also be able to help those in need. They could travel to places they didn’t know of before and hopefully, be passionate about English. This means increased job opportunities as well as a more enriched life.
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Kuan, Yun (關昀)
Although I’ve been to many similar summer camps in Taiwan before, this one really stood out. It was the first time we were fully in charge of a class and had to do all the behind the scenes work.
My main motivation for coming here was to socialize and so that I’d have something to do in Taiwan; however, this experience was much more than that. I grew from it and learned a lot about myself and Taiwan.
The first week we were at Jian Tan Activities Center. We roomed with 6 people per room. My room had my group: Justine, Emily, and Angel, as well as two girls from another group: Sydney and Sean. We got along right away and knew it would be a fun experience. To be honest the first week was pretty un-eventful since it was a lot of planning and lessons. There were lots of long lessons on English teaching in Taiwan, class management, and lesson planning. They motivated us by giving each group points for participating and the group with the most point got to go to the night market more than others. The best part of the first week was going to the night market.
When we got to the elementary school we taught at, we were absolutely amazed. Our vision was that it would be hot and humid with lots of mosquitoes and no air conditioning, but it was the complete opposite. There was no AC, but that was okay since it was totally unnecessary. The air was clean and dry, and the temperature was like back in Oregon. The best part was that the view was gorgeous. Since we were near the top of Ali Mountain, we could see all o Jia Yi City.
Teaching was actually better than I thought. I had never been very good with kids, but these kids were so disciplined that it made our job much easier. Since I taught the oldest class (5th and 6th grade), they behaved well and weren’t too shy. My teaching partner was Patrick and every night we had to work on our plans for the next day. That was a bit stressful, which was why we were relieved that there was a typhoon day on Wednesday of the 2nd week. On that day we played cards, watched movies, and ate food. The closing ceremony was very fun since our kids performed very well. They did the Cup Song and Count On Me by Bruno Mars. I was afraid they wouldn’t get the lyrics in time, but they truly proved me wrong by singing really well.
The tour week was pretty alright. I was a bit upset since our group was suddenly split into Bus 1 with a bunch of people we didn’t know. I understand that we should meet new people, but there’s really no point when there’s only one week and we had already gotten to know people in our old bus. I really enjoyed the amusement park and the aboriginal dancing.
Overall this has been a pretty good experience. I think my favorite part was actually being at Tai Ping (the village we taught at). I will definitely go back and visit when I need to get away from the crowded and stuffy city life of Taiwan!
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