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Mok, Kristina (莫文莉)
4 years. That is how long I waited to be an AID summer volunteer. I first came across this program after my cousin raved about being a part of another volunteer program for overseas Taiwanese youth. I was extremely ecstatic when I found out that I was accepted. My preconceived notion of my two week teaching experience would be teaching a classroom full of kids in an air conditioned classroom. Then after the students would go home, I can go into the city and do some eating, shopping, and exploring. It turns out that having an air conditioned classroom was the only thing that was true.
When I arrived at Dawu, Taidong after a 5 hour commute to teach at the only junior high school there, I wasn’t prepared for the physical surrounding. During the daytime the town was beautiful, with mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. However after nightfall, the place was dark with minimal lighting. There were little amenities so going to 7-11 became the highlight of our free time. We were warned about snakes and creepy crawlies that would come out at night. And indeed on the first night there, our group saw a spider the size of a human palm. It would be until a few days later that I would get a good night’s sleep.
Geography aside, what I also wasn’t prepared for were the students at Dawu. I had imagined that some of them would be rowdy and be on their phones during class. To my genuine surprise, each and every single student was very well behaved and mannered. While I was wiping down the blackboard after the first day of teaching, my students immediately stopped me and offered to do it instead. They said that it’s the student’s job to clean the classroom, not the teacher's. Never have I ever witness students offer to clean up a classroom.
Throughout the two weeks teaching the students and hanging out with them after school, I came to realize that it is the people that made my AID experience so special. Before joining the program, my mind was set on the tour offered at the end. However, during the two weeks there, my focus shifted towards caring about the student’s education and wanting to be the best mentor I can be. I realized just how important and meaningful this experience was to both the volunteers and the students there.
All in all, getting to spend two weeks with the kids was an invaluable and amazing experience. While I was almost always exhausted at the end of the day, I was happy because it was from teaching and spending time with them. From volunteering, I also gained a whole new respect for teachers. A lot of hardwork and coordination was put into AID Summer, and for that, I am thankful for everyone who was involved and part of my AID experience. Masalu!
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Liao, Louise (廖如玉)
This past month, from training week to teaching and finally the tour we’re on right now, has been a truly unforgettable experience. This isn’t my first time going off onto an adventure with almost all strangers but that doesn’t mean I knew what to expect. I was still worried about meeting with my roommates and teammates. But as the first week progressed and I started to get to know them, I started being able to enjoy myself more. Together, we made long and boring but necessary lessons endurable and maybe even fun. We complained a lot about not having wi-fi, but looking back that might not necessarily been a completely horrible thing. If nothing else, it forced us to talk to each other more, and gave us something to bond over.
As week two rolled around, we moved onto our school to actually begin teaching children. I was at Tainan Nan-Zi Elementary, where I taught Class C with Vincent Hsu. Class C was a mix of grade three to five students with the most advance English in the camp. I remember the first day standing in front of the class, wondering how in the world this will work. Some of the grade fives was quite literally twice the size of the grade threes. Girls outnumber boys three to one. And something I read on the AID website kept on repeating in my head: You will need more material than you think you’ll need. So the first day was spent thinking up of activities to do on the spot and trying desperately to memorize all the student names, but all in all I would say it was pretty successful. As the days progressed, classroom routines started to settle in, students became more comfortable to participate in class, and Vincent and I worked better together as a team. Another pleasant surprise was that the school also invited seven additional volunteers who acted as TAs. In the two weeks at the school, we became close as both co-workers and friends.
Now being on the tour, I find myself really enjoying travelling with these amazing people I’ve met but at the same time I feel sad that our time together is coming to a close. I’ll never forget these memories I’ve made here at AID Summer 2015 and I’ll forever treasure this experience. I am also very, very grateful to all the governmental organization who has made this possible, the principal, all the directors, teachers, volunteers, and students at Nan-zi Elementary and of course all my teammates.
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Liao, Tina (廖宇婷)
I really enjoyed being here and getting the chance to teach these students. They were all really hard working and even though near the beginning students were a little more shy, I could still feel their enthusiasm and determination. Even though the class can get noisy sometimes and I'm not always able to keep it completely under control in the end what I discovered is what matters most is that the students were actually trying their best, helping each other out, and responding to me Even when they don't know the answer they would still give guesses or state the fact that they don't understand instead of staring blankly back at me. What really made me the most happy was when some students came up to me and asked to stay after school to help make stage props for the play with me and when they voluntarily stayed back and asked up to help them learn the dance/song. I think I am really fortunate to have been assigned the class I did because they are truly a wonderful, hard working bunch of students and for that I thank them because I may be the teacher in the class but they have also taught me a lot about myself and different things. I would also like to thank all the different teachers and other volunteers and helpers that have done their best to help make this trip a memorable and amazing experience. After this experience I think I may actually seriously consider becoming a teacher because I truly enjoyed every second of these two weeks and wish that it could have been longer.
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Ho, Fion (何若瑋)
This whole month just flew by quickly, from the training week in the city, to teaching at the countryside school, and finally the last week on a tour has been nothing but a really fun roller coaster. It’s full of ups and a few downs such as rainy days and technical difficulties however, the good completely outweigh the bad. A lot of time is spent with eight random strangers which results in strong, unbreakable bonds between friends at the end of the program. The strong bonds form not only within teaching partners, but also with the students and the teacher. With the help of social media, especially Facebook, the connections and memories will continue to stay strong long after the program ends. Unforgettable memories are made and will always be cherished.
The people are the ones who make the program the way it is, always welcoming and open. Everyone one is helpful and works together as they also want the best out of this experience, from the counselors who are always happy and energetic, to the teachers are really helpful and excited to share about their own experience in the countryside and at the school, and to the students who are curious about different cultures and would like to know more about life outside of Taiwan. The students are great and although teaching English may seem a bit tough at first, as time goes on, we learn to plan our lessons accordingly to the level of our students. Most students love activities and although they seem unresponsive, the students are listening, learning, and enjoying the class but uncertain of how to react. They also responded well to the games we learned from the speakers during the training week. Although the training week was full of rules and ice breakers, all the speakers shared about their various experiences and provided lots of great tips on teaching English as a Foreign Language in the countryside.
I would like to thank the AID Summer Program for this amazing opportunity and great life changing experience. This summer is a summer to remember, unique and rewarding.
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Pi, Keng-Shuo (畢耕碩)
I cannot believe AID program has ended. This month has been quite a journey of my life that I will never forget. This program consists of diversified aspects which made summer 2015 meaningful. From helping kids who are disadvantaged to learning local Taiwanese culture and traditions, this program both allowed me to give back and to gain in this past month.
In the first week of this program, I appreciated the organization of this program by gathering us together; however, I feel that spending one week in Chieftain was not necessary because some of the lectures could be condensed. After asking few of my fellow peers, we all agreed the general lectures are close to trivial and useless. It would have been more helpful if we went to our designated schools earlier and watched our English teacher teach in a real classroom. Living at Chientan was nice and I have made quite a few friends with my roommate.
Now, the core of this program is teaching. Throughout these two weeks, we have made a lot of friends at this school. The students are really friendly and respectful. For example, when I was walking in the hallway, most students would greet me by saying “老師好” or “你好” with a smile. In terms of actually teaching, it was really difficult in the beginning. Lacking prior experience in teaching a real classroom, it was really difficult to handle 20 students in MuDan junior high school. For example, the classroom is usually very noisy and one-third of the students would not even pay attention; however, director Yang consistently gave us useful advices in the daily meetings after school. These advices were extremely useful and after applying them in my class, it became easier to manage a classroom. To save time from writing on the blackboard, Victoria and I use a projector and powerpoint to execute our lessons. To end our lesson, we usually played a game, sang a song or showed a funny video.
Life at MuDan was not what I am used to in Vancouver nor Kao Hsiung. At first, I was not used to the limited shops and stores at MuDan because I was used to take 3 minutes walk to local family mart or 7-11 to grab a drink and snacks. Thankfully, there is some shops nearby which can fulfill my basic living needs. Not to mention, the military volunteers are super helpful when it came to buying stuff for the AID volunteers; they were very patient and diligent. For example, they would stay up in mid night to make sure everyone is well and if not, they would do their best to make sure everyone is comfortable. From these two weeks, I have made friends with the students, military volunteers and unforgettable memory with them.
In terms of the tour in the last week of this program, I feel that touring in big groups is very time consuming and overwhelming;most of the time are spent in waiting for others in a very hot weather. Not to mention, touring in big groups reduces the amount of freedom in the last week of this program; I did not feel like I am in vacation. All of my group mates and I agreed that touring only in small groups like C1-6 would be optimum. In addition, there should be more choices offered to AID volunteers because I feel like I am bound to this set schedule set by AID program coordinators with almost minimum freedom; however, I would like to thank AID program coordinators for planning a well-planned itinerary in which there are a lot of interesting places that I should visit in Taiwan.
In all, I am glad I have participated AID program which allowed me to perform productive tasks in this summer as well as to understand Taiwan culture better through teaching in rural areas, and touring around Taiwan. Thanks OCAC, MOE, and HAC for making my summer the best summer I have ever had so far.
Last but not least, I would like to dedicate my sincere gratitude for my fellow group mates in C1-6. Helen: Thanks for your angel-like smiles which brightened my day during this program. Kean: Thanks for your lovely jokes and comments about everything. Eva: Thanks for sharing your special music and caring for me throughout this program. Luke: Thanks for waiting for me, being there for me and performing with me during this wonderful program. Victoria: Thanks for being my special one during this program. Not only were you an excellent teaching partner but also an amazing friend. Although I did entertain you by doing nothing, your smiles do exactly everything they needed to do to enlighten my mood; thank you. Thanks for all those wonderful card games and I'll never forget our memories together.
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Chang, En-Yu (張恩毓)
These past four weeks have been a complete whirlwind. Even though waking up early every morning to either lesson planning at Cheintan or teaching students at Fu Guang Middle School was difficult, I have never had the urge to work harder before. It has always been a dream of mine to teach English at a rural place and to be able to fulfill this dream this summer has been a thrilling adventure. It was my goal each day to make sure that my students learned more than they think they could and have them realize how fun English can be. It was my goal to let my students know that they are genuinely loved every day despite the hard times they may give me and to talk to them as individuals, to instill the confidence that there is great potential within them, and to befriend them. Furthermore, I made it my goal whenever I was not in a school environment to get to know my group members on an even more personal and deeper level than just scraping the surface with small talks. My whole heart was focused on relationships because I know that the ignited spark of a bond can shape or even transform something that may seem trivial in the beginning to becoming something incredible. It was only when I made an effort to understand the students on a one-to-one level was I able to connect with them and recognize their abilities. It was only when our group overcame obstacles, clashing habits and routines, and different ideologies did we become a tighter-knit family. There is always that one thing that once triumphed over, constructs itself into a bridge for us to walk across. I have learned to slowly let go of my fears by using them as a motivational challenge to encourage me to take risks. This trip has been by far, one of the most memorable events of my life and I deeply cherish it.
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Weng, Curtis ( 翁仲緯)
AID summer program has been an amazing experience that I'm glad I partook in. From the moment I arrived at the airport, I felt that everyone from AID was extremely welcoming. At Chientan Activity Center, I met over 400 other passionate volunteers, and it was very easy to make new friends from different parts of the world. The lectures at Chientan were long, and often tedious; however, it was a great chance to bond with the people I would be working with for the next two weeks.
The teaching weeks were tiring and stressful, but nonetheless rewarding. From the very start, my group mates and I got along very well. One of the closest relationships that I formed was with the Taiwanese volunteers that we were paired up with. Over the two weeks, my bond with my students and my volunteer partners strengthened immensely. When the closing ceremony came to a close, it was evident that we achieved our goal. The children performed their closing performance amazingly, and were begging the principal to extend the camp from two weeks to one month next year. Over the course of the teaching period, I never really thought about leaving the school. When the time finally came, I was shocked, to say the least. The thought of never seeing the children and teachers from the school again overwhelmed us all, and ended in a teary farewell.
Meeting great new friends, teaching English to active, but hardworking children, and touring the beauty that is Taiwan are all memories that I will cherish for a long time.
Thank you AID Summer 2015!
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Tsai, Eric (蔡承翰)
Throughout the 3 weeks, I’ve learned lots about not only the Taiwan culture, but different strategies regarding ways to teach and express your feelings. I’ve learned that there are unique ways to make teaching extremely memorable and interesting. On the other hand, I also realized how different the Taiwan culture is. They acquire a strict intense learning and is heavily focused in terms of testing. However, they lack lots of daily-life common knowledge, similar to the term “Street-intelligence” that we call it. Most likely it’s because that they have to spend majority of their time studying and focusing on getting into outstanding schools. This was revealed through our creative teaching because the students loved it incredibly. Even though it was a short two week education that we provided the students, but the students enjoyed it and even sent many love back to us. Throughout the tour, which was the week after our teaching, many students still contacted us and cared about our whereabouts during the week. It’s incredible how we were able to enlighten their seed of interest in the English culture in two weeks. Although our teaching weeks began slow, but days went by quickly after the first week. Next thing we know, we were finished out two week teaching and it was a bittersweet moment. Seeing their growth within two weeks made me realize how much power an individual have to manipulate students and stimulate their interest. Also, I realize how sweet Taiwanese students are because they kept asking when we were able to visit them. One thing that I strongly agree to is the discipline that Taiwanese students have compared to children from North America. They have so much respect for not only each other but the teacher as well. To conclude, throughout the month, I’ve learned different ways to teach, experience the life in Taiwan, and last but not least, met numerous talented yet awesome friends that I will never forget.
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Lee, Christopher (李効叡)
After an exhausting but quick period of two weeks, we have sadly said good-bye to our students. I am sure the students will remember us for the rest of their life, as I will for sure also remember them for the rest of my life. I hope that we played a major role in their life as well as having a lasting impact on their future.
What I set out to do from the very beginning for my students was to inspire them, and help them develop a passion for learning English. However, after actually getting into the classroom and teaching, I found out how difficult my initial goal was. From the students disobeying our classroom etiquette to students' lack of interest in lesson content, I was flabbergasted and overwhelmed. I had to find a way to get these students to become interested in my lessons while also having them behave. I feel like I have accomplished the latter, but the former had been a bit uncertain for me. After around the first three days, I finally started toning up my voice, which made the students much more obedient. Along with toning up my voice and starting to enlist punishments, I also began to repeat vocabulary and incorporate greater amounts of activities which involve utilizing the vocabularies. I did this because I decided to ask students individually how I can improve and make them more interested, and many of them simply said the lesson material were too hard. After renovating my teaching framework, everything began to roll out much more smoothly and I could tell my students were much more engaged. These two weeks of teaching had been a blessing for me because it was what I came to the AID Program for: to assist individuals with disadvantages. I wanted to give back to the community internationally, and not only was it beneficial for the children, but it was also very helpful to me. It was opened my eyes to many different experiences, be it living, teaching, teamwork, leadership experiences. Once again I would like to thank AID, sponsors, and government for hosting this program.
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Liu, Fang Ju (劉芳如)
Entering AID, I had no idea what to expect at all. The only impression of it I had was my brother's reminiscing words of one of his summers: I miss AID and Taiwan! We were all thrown into an unfamiliar environment and forced to work with some really cool people from around the world. I felt really lucky to have been assigned to a group containing such dynamic personalities. I loved every single person in my group because each person brought a certain spice to my whole trip. Each day of teaching brought up different challenges, funny stories, and cute kids who had 10x more energy than my sleep could provide for me. Despite having to teach the youngest group of children at my school (thus having the smallest attention span and knowledge in English), every teaching day was very rewarding. The two weeks of teaching flew by and it all ended before I could even begin processing the great opportunity that has been given to me. AID has allowed me to learn a lot of things, see the cultural differences in Taiwan and experience something I will probably never experience again. I have met so many amazing people and will cherish the memories made at AID forever.
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