2018 AID Summer
志工感言 (Reflection) >> Hawaii
# Center
1 Houston
2 SF-Milpitas
3 New York
4 Toronto
5 Orange
6 Chicago
7 Maryland
8 Seattle
9 Vancouver
10 Los Angeles
11 Boston
12 Atlanta
13 Denver
14 Miami
15 London
16 Cape Town
17 Sydney
18 Hawaii
19 Queensland
Chen, Irene (陳奕伶)
A.I.D. has been a completely different experience for me. Going back to Taiwan for a whole month not to visit relatives but to embark on a journey that would leave me with many, many cherished memories was something I never thought would happen. But it did. From the first week of workshops filled with guest lectures from experienced teachers to the last week filled with various beautiful places around Taiwan, I really didn’t want it to end.

Leaving Chientan after the first week and arriving at Ruisui Junior High was pretty eye opening. Although I was used to tutoring children, I had never taught a whole class. What my teaching partner and I had prepared was way too easy for our students and after the first day, we had to revise our teaching plans. Throughout the two weeks, not only was I able to connect with the students and learn about them, but I met a group of seven wonderful people and the best teacher and counselor. Teaching wasn’t easy, but with the help of my group, Sabrina, and George, it was a fun-filled two weeks and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

It was hard leaving having to leave Ruisui. The last week was really fun and I got the chance to revisit places I’ve been to with a different group of people. We were also taken to places I’ve never been to which made me realize how beautiful Taiwan is. Once the last day of the program arrived, I knew if I had the chance, I would do the program again. The first week may have been rough, but the last three weeks were worth it all. I’m glad I took this opportunity to assist individuals with disadvantages because I met a lot of wonderful people and I’m thankful for every one of them, especially my students. They taught me more than I could teach them in those two weeks and that’s what made everything count.

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Roy, Ariane (饒美台)
New, challenging, fun, and social are words that sum up my AID Summer 2017 experience.
I had many firsts as a result of participating in this program. One was being away from my home and family for an extended period of time. Previously, I never thought I would be as homesick as I was for the first week of the program. It was very strange because on one hand, I was meeting new people and making friends (things I love doing) every day, but at the same time, I was terribly lonely inside. This was a really important experience for me to have because I am going off to college soon and I cannot afford to cry every day the first week of college like I did the first week of the AID.
AID was challenging because I had to be independent. At the high school I went to, we had difficult assignments, but they were always laid out clearly for us by our teachers. In AID, there was no format or rubric that our lesson plans needed to follow. Although we did have training, for the most part, we were on our own. This was a challenge that I am glad I got to experience! Teaching kids English was tiring but so rewarding.
AID was so much fun. The best times were those spent with my awesome group, B1-3. We got along really well and formed close relationships. I cried while saying goodbye to my group members Grace, Sheryl, Jasmin, Richard, and Daniel. The most fun part of the program was the weekend tour between the first and second weeks of teaching.
I’m so thankful that I got to meet and get to know some really amazing people through AID. Everyone that I got to know was so intelligent, talented, kind, and fun to be with. That applies to not only the volunteers, but also the counselors and administrators. Thank you so much for letting me be a part of this program! I would not trade my experiences for anything.
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