Friday, August 22, 2008
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
From Tiffany - July 22
Service Learning Project
Today we visited two of the last scheduled schools where we suppose to teach English. I
n the beginning we were afraid to implement the curriculum Tanaka and I developed because we never considered ourselves English teachers.
Weeks before going into the classrooms, the social workers in Taiwan were constantly asking us to change our plans until we came up with a concrete lesson plan that can be implemented at all of the seven schools.
I remember the first day we visited the schools. The kids, aging from 5-12, were so happy to see us. Every time we walk in the room we would hear them say “Mei Guo ren”.
We’ll smile because we know that means “American” in Chinese.
For some of them, this was the first time in their life that they have ever seen a real American outside of TV. We received a total of 170 smiles as we walked in the hot sun all around Taipei County visiting school after school.
Even though the sun was scorching our skin, we never complained because we knew that this was strictly for the kids and we knew that this experience would impact their lives forever. From the first school to the second to the last, we enjoyed teaching. Majority of the kids knew most of what we taught them but they don’t use the English terms very often. This cross culture opportunity impacted both of us.
We were able to share what so many people take for granted which is our education. If you didn’t know it or not, majority of the students in Taiwan have to pay for a public school education when we get it for free.
It’s the little things like this that make you appreciate where you come from and why we say “I’m proud to be an American”. I never knew what this slogan stood for until I traveled outside of the country. We are being exposed to so many things that people on the other side of the world have no idea of. One thing I can say is that we’re blessed to have freedom. That term is so broad but no other country can truly define this word like the United State of America.
In the U.S., we were groomed with English. In Taiwan, you are considered educated and fortunate because of the English language. It felt good watching the group come together to teach all these kids American games with English structured into the rules.
I like it when I see the kids in my class write on the board the words and numbers I ask them to write. Sometimes they know it and sometimes they don’t but the beauty of the project appears when you see them helping out each other. I consider that progress. The shy kids and kids whose English wasn’t good really touched my heart.
On the first day they didn’t even want to stand up and introduce themselves or communicate with their other class mates. After our visit, you’ll see them talking and playing the games that we taught them with each other. It puts a smile on my face when I see them excited about being able to read and recognized words that I say and words that I wrote on the board.
Since I had my own class besides working with another person, I was able to utilize my hour to do a variety of activities so they’ll have something to remember. It’s not everyday that an American comes to teach you in your class. This was a special opportunity for all of us. Even though these kids were at the bottom half of the academic roster, they will be the blessed ones because they were able to meet us unlike the rest of the school.
When school starts, they’ll be the talk of the day because the group picture that we took at every school will be on display so the other students can see them. Yesterday the social worker almost made me cry when she told me that the students have been waiting on us for days to come see them. From that moment I realized that we are changing their lives forever.
Maybe this experience will one day inspire them to study in the United States because we were so welcoming and humble. At the end of the day we all feel good because we know we have touched dozens of lives even though it took a lot of work to get this project on the road. Sometimes after we visit a school we will say to ourselves that we should have had cameras because this is just like the real world. In my mind I knew that this was better than real world because they don’t change lives for the better on a daily basis like we have been doing. When they’re given projects, its for competition to eliminate a team player.
We need all our team players because it takes motivation and a group effort to successfully carry out a big project like this. Real World could never produce a project like this because they wouldn’t know what to do, how to do it, and it wouldn’t be in the best interest of the students. We sort of made history for JSU and Fu Jen Catholic University Language Center because this is the first time foreigners have ever participated in a Service Learning project.
This really motivated us to do a fantastic job because we are representing two profound universities. What we do will affect other students participation in future. I’m glad we were given the ground breaking ceremony. We put our hearts into the work we produced because we were in their shoes once in our lives.
This is something we learn from JSU, “Challenging Minds, Changing Lives”.
We definitely changed lives. To be honest, this was one of the best things I have ever done in my life besides growing up.
Mei- Chi always said that this experience will enlighten not only the students but us as well. I really didn’t know what she meant until we started teaching at the schools.
One special thing I did for the students so they’ll always remember this day, remember us, and remember this experience was create a certificate that stated that they completed Jackson State University Summer English Camp.
It was so cute and impressive. After each class we’ll all unite and present the certificates to each of the students. The smiles that they give us really touches our hearts because its a smile of joy and appreciation.
I bet they never thought that their summer school experience would include some Americans teaching them English. At the end of the day, we’ re all blessed to have each other. This experience will take us on a very long journey in life because we placed our hearts into our work.
Tiffany
Today we visited two of the last scheduled schools where we suppose to teach English. I
n the beginning we were afraid to implement the curriculum Tanaka and I developed because we never considered ourselves English teachers.
Weeks before going into the classrooms, the social workers in Taiwan were constantly asking us to change our plans until we came up with a concrete lesson plan that can be implemented at all of the seven schools.
I remember the first day we visited the schools. The kids, aging from 5-12, were so happy to see us. Every time we walk in the room we would hear them say “Mei Guo ren”.
We’ll smile because we know that means “American” in Chinese.
For some of them, this was the first time in their life that they have ever seen a real American outside of TV. We received a total of 170 smiles as we walked in the hot sun all around Taipei County visiting school after school.
Even though the sun was scorching our skin, we never complained because we knew that this was strictly for the kids and we knew that this experience would impact their lives forever. From the first school to the second to the last, we enjoyed teaching. Majority of the kids knew most of what we taught them but they don’t use the English terms very often. This cross culture opportunity impacted both of us.
We were able to share what so many people take for granted which is our education. If you didn’t know it or not, majority of the students in Taiwan have to pay for a public school education when we get it for free.
It’s the little things like this that make you appreciate where you come from and why we say “I’m proud to be an American”. I never knew what this slogan stood for until I traveled outside of the country. We are being exposed to so many things that people on the other side of the world have no idea of. One thing I can say is that we’re blessed to have freedom. That term is so broad but no other country can truly define this word like the United State of America.
In the U.S., we were groomed with English. In Taiwan, you are considered educated and fortunate because of the English language. It felt good watching the group come together to teach all these kids American games with English structured into the rules.
I like it when I see the kids in my class write on the board the words and numbers I ask them to write. Sometimes they know it and sometimes they don’t but the beauty of the project appears when you see them helping out each other. I consider that progress. The shy kids and kids whose English wasn’t good really touched my heart.
On the first day they didn’t even want to stand up and introduce themselves or communicate with their other class mates. After our visit, you’ll see them talking and playing the games that we taught them with each other. It puts a smile on my face when I see them excited about being able to read and recognized words that I say and words that I wrote on the board.
Since I had my own class besides working with another person, I was able to utilize my hour to do a variety of activities so they’ll have something to remember. It’s not everyday that an American comes to teach you in your class. This was a special opportunity for all of us. Even though these kids were at the bottom half of the academic roster, they will be the blessed ones because they were able to meet us unlike the rest of the school.
When school starts, they’ll be the talk of the day because the group picture that we took at every school will be on display so the other students can see them. Yesterday the social worker almost made me cry when she told me that the students have been waiting on us for days to come see them. From that moment I realized that we are changing their lives forever.
Maybe this experience will one day inspire them to study in the United States because we were so welcoming and humble. At the end of the day we all feel good because we know we have touched dozens of lives even though it took a lot of work to get this project on the road. Sometimes after we visit a school we will say to ourselves that we should have had cameras because this is just like the real world. In my mind I knew that this was better than real world because they don’t change lives for the better on a daily basis like we have been doing. When they’re given projects, its for competition to eliminate a team player.
We need all our team players because it takes motivation and a group effort to successfully carry out a big project like this. Real World could never produce a project like this because they wouldn’t know what to do, how to do it, and it wouldn’t be in the best interest of the students. We sort of made history for JSU and Fu Jen Catholic University Language Center because this is the first time foreigners have ever participated in a Service Learning project.
This really motivated us to do a fantastic job because we are representing two profound universities. What we do will affect other students participation in future. I’m glad we were given the ground breaking ceremony. We put our hearts into the work we produced because we were in their shoes once in our lives.
This is something we learn from JSU, “Challenging Minds, Changing Lives”.
We definitely changed lives. To be honest, this was one of the best things I have ever done in my life besides growing up.
Mei- Chi always said that this experience will enlighten not only the students but us as well. I really didn’t know what she meant until we started teaching at the schools.
One special thing I did for the students so they’ll always remember this day, remember us, and remember this experience was create a certificate that stated that they completed Jackson State University Summer English Camp.
It was so cute and impressive. After each class we’ll all unite and present the certificates to each of the students. The smiles that they give us really touches our hearts because its a smile of joy and appreciation.
I bet they never thought that their summer school experience would include some Americans teaching them English. At the end of the day, we’ re all blessed to have each other. This experience will take us on a very long journey in life because we placed our hearts into our work.
Tiffany
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
From Sam (MSU student) - June 23
A Typical Monday
After school, I decided to treat myself to some good ole American McDonald’s. It was not a good idea. Since I’ve been eating the healthy meals
After starting my load of laundry, I sat down with my Chinese textbook and started writing Chinese characters and preparing for our test we have tomorrow. At first, I was the only person in the Laundromat, but then I was joined by a lady and her two children; very curious children that is. When they entered, they noticed my book had Chinese characters on the front and they soon made their way over to where I was sitting. I could hear them talking amongst each other saying that how cool it was that I was a foreigner.
Well, to intrigue their imaginations a little more, I was so courteous to tell them the signature phrase in Taiwan- Ni Hao Ma- which means, “hello, how are you?” This excited these little kids and embarrassed them at the same time. They first laughed and turned away, but then turned back around to see if I had more. I put my pencil down and tested my elementary knowledge of Chinese. We had a very cool, short conversation about who I was and where exactly I was from. Their mom caught wind of our little conversation and did not like that her kids were talking to a complete foreign stranger and quickly called them back over to her side.
After gathering my clothes, I caught another taxi back home and put my things away. Since it is Monday, everyone was just laying around, not doing much. This did not go over well with me, so I gathered everyone and we made our way to get some supper. We didn’t walk far before we decided to eat at a Japanese restaurant called KoHiKan, meaning a coffee café. When we got back to the apartment, we all separated and went to our rooms to study. Our Monday started off just like any other Monday would and ended the same as it had begun… typical! --- Sam
From Mitch (MSU student) - June 19
Today in our first class we started off with an exercise where we had to go up to the board and write sentences in Chinese as Feng Laoshi called them out. It was very challenging for me, but I think it really helps when the pressure is one me and everyone is watching because it makes me not want to mess up. After that exercise we review vocabulary some more and then did our normal routine of going around the room and asking different people questions so that we can practice not only speaking and pronunciation but proper grammar as well.
In our second class we had a quiz where our teacher would call out a vocabulary word and we had to write the pinyin with the correct tone as well as the character for that word. It did not take long but was a lot more challenging than I originally thought. After that we learned some new grammar and then divided into groups of two to practice asking the questions using the grammar and responding with proper grammar. It is very repetitive but at the same time I know that practice makes perfect. Next we reviewed some more vocabulary and went over the dialogues in the book. I really like practicing the dialogues because it allows me to understand the grammar a lot better using it in real life situations.
After class we went to eat with a fellow student that was heading out to meet his parents in
When we got home I had to pack and get ready for my trip to
From Hannah - June 24
Today was a rarity in our usually busy and hectic schedules, a short day that ended at
From Sam (MSU student) - June 16
A Foreign Meeting
Today was a very interesting day. It started off rather diverse because everyone showed up to class at different times. Ben and I were the first to arrive at class, followed by Mitch, Michelle, and Hannah.
Tiffany was out sick for the day with a cold. After our routine of going to class for four hours, it was time to meet our Taiwanese Fu Jen students for our first session of English tutoring. We all drew letters out of a hat to see which group of students we would be paired with; I chose group C. We introduced ourselves, had some lunch, and asked each other questions about one’s culture.
When everyone was finished getting to know each other, we traveled to different classrooms to teach other simple songs to sing for Tuesday’s presentation. I taught my group how to spell
It was time to give them a challenge after spelling
Many of their responses were shocking. They all thought that Americans were friendly and smart. But, being an American and knowing our ways, I totally disagree. The big difference between people in
From Sam (MSU student) - June 9
An Adventurous Day
Upon waking up a little early, we decided to walk to school. It took longer than we thought and we were a little late to class. Luckily, our teacher was running a little late also. We took a test in our 8 o’clock class. I had studied the night before so I felt pretty good about it. Despite our doubts, we all made pretty good on the test. After school, we went to get something to eat.
Since we had nothing to do in the afternoon, we decided to eat at this restaurant called Yoshinoya. We all agreed that it was just about the best thing we have eaten this whole trip. When we arrived to the apartment, everyone was feeling tired so we all took a nap. Nonetheless, we all slept for many hours.
After we all woke up, we decided, once again, to take a trip into the city. Our destination was Taipei 101 shopping center. On the way, we met a peculiar fellow from Africa. He asked if we were from America and just what in the world we were doing in Taipei. We told him that we are from America and that we are in Taipei to study Chinese.
In comparison, he also was here to study Chinese, but he has been here for 1 year already and plans to stay for another 3. We were amazed that a fellow from Africa would come to Taiwan for 4 years to study. When we reached Taipei City Hall Station, we all got off the subway and made our way to the shopping center. During the daytime, Taipei looks dull and boring like a normal city, but by night, the city comes alive with lights, signs, and many people like us snapping photos, sight seeing, and shopping. The first store to catch our eyes was New York, New York. As soon as we entered the door, I was approached by three beautiful girls from West Virginia University. After our quick conversation, we found out that they too were here to study Chinese. We exchanged phone numbers and agreed to meet up one night to hang out. “Score one for the Gipper,” I said.
Our journey to the city and the shopping had made us very hungry, so we went to the basement of Taipei 101 to eat supper. To our surprise, there was so many restaurants to choose from I had trouble picking which one I wanted to eat at. We all went to separate places, but there was one restaurant that caught my eye- sushi. We finished our supper and decided it was time to head back to the apartment and call it a night. But, we still had one more place to go to; the marketplace. Most of us grabbed some breakfast foods and snacks, but the highlight of that grocery store was that they sold American made Gatorade! We traveled back to the apartment with smiles on our faces and fell asleep fast from the exhaustion of an adventurous day.
From Sam (MSU student) - June 2
Our First Day of School
Getting up Monday morning was a hassle for all of us because we were still getting over our jet lag from our arrival on Saturday. After a shower and getting dressed, we all assembled in front of our apartment to make our way to school. The students from Notre Dame met us at the 85 degree Celcius café in front of our bus stop, and after a few minutes of arguing about which bus to take, some of decided on the 802, and the others took the 513- little did we know that both buses go to the same stops. Before I climbed aboard the bus, I ordered a Cappucino Ice Smoothie from the café. Man was it good!
Upon reaching Fu Jen Catholic University, we were directed to room 220 where the dean of foreign languages, Mr. Lascek, greeted us to Fu Jen. After some opening remarks, we journeyed to room 210 where we were given our placement tests. Adam Jones scored the best out of us all, so he was moved to an upper level Chinese course. The rest of us were placed in the same classroom and begin with the basic Chinese grammar.
Our classes are divided into two periods; 8-10 & 10-12. Our eight o’clock teacher is Feng Laoshi and our second period teacher is Qiu Laoshi. When class let out, we all went to grab a bite to eat and head back to school for Orientation. After orientation, we caught the bus back to our apartment to rest. We then made our way down the street to the
We even persuaded some people to come to their windows and talk to us. I think they were curious to talk to us because we are Americans. It’s not often that these people see American citizens sitting on the roof top viewing the city. After a while we all got tired of the roof and we came back down to our rooms to get ready to go eat supper. Everyone decided that since we had eaten some bizarre Chinese cuisines that we were going to eat some good ole American style McDonald’s. This is when we got a little adventurous and we made our way into Taipei City. We road the 802 all the way into the city and got off at Ximen. From there, we roamed the streets and shot in and out of random stores scanning ahead for the next best thing. That’s when I heard someone say, “Look!” pointing up in the air at a tall building. In the windows, we could see arcade games as far back as the room would allow. We all decided that it was time for some kid fun. We played arcade games for about an hour and finally made ourselves leave before we ran out of money. After a little more roaming, we decided it was time to head back to our apartment. We reached home in time to find ourselves doing some homework and falling asleep in our bed.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
From Mitch (MSU student) - June 12
It has almost been two weeks now that we have been here in Taipei, Taiwan, and everything is still going great. The first arrival excitement has begun to wear off, but I think everyone is still having a fantastic time. Now that the excitement of arriving has worn off I am beginning to miss some of the conveniences of back home that most people, including myself, take for granted. However, there are enough positive things going on around us that I can easily look over the small things and enjoy other things that are unique to this culture.
Class is still going very well and the teachers are still very nice and encouraging. It seems that they make learning the content more of an opportunity than a duty. By doing that, I think I am really beginning to grasp the language. Today in our first class we were given our second test. If I were to be given the same test back home I’m sure I would have become really frustrated, but it seems I am learning so much here that the test didn’t intimidate me and I was able to do very well. I know that it is the way the teachers present the material that makes it so much easier to learn, because everyone did really well on the test, not just one or two people. In the second class we discussed directions. I think this is very important, because most of the time I am walking around with out a clue as to where I am going. Hopefully now I will be able to stop a native Taiwanese on the street and not only ask for directions, but also be able to understand what he/she is saying and find my location a lot faster.
After class we were asked to attend a presentation from the Eden Social Welfare Foundation. The presenter showed us some video clips of what the foundation has done in the past. The clips were absolutely heart wrenching. It made me realize how fortunate the majority of the people in the United States are. The foundation seemed like it has done more good in the past twenty years than I would ever be able to do in a thousand lifetimes. After the presentation he interviewed us, most of which was in Chinese because of the fact that the majority of the victims the foundation helps, as well as the majority of the staff do not speak English. The interview was frustrating for me because of my limited vocabulary, but I think the interviewers saw that we truly realized how blessed we were and how willing we were to help those that are not so lucky. I hope that we are all selected so that we may leave our mark, no matter how small.
After the interview and a pretty intense day of class we all concurred that a nap was in order. After the rejuvenating nap, we all had the same idea again, dinner time. Although the food here is very delicious and there is such a large variety, we felt it was time to get a taste of back home. We traveled to downtown Taipei to visit the one and only “OutBack Steakhouse.” The meal was probably one of the best steaks I have ever had. I do not know if it is because I have been eating rice and chicken a lot lately or if I was just really hungry, but I will never forget how wonderful that 11 oz. sirloin tasted.
After dinner we made our way back to the apartment to start on some homework and prepare for tomorrow. I think this week was just as good as last week and hope that all eight weeks go as smooth.
Class is still going very well and the teachers are still very nice and encouraging. It seems that they make learning the content more of an opportunity than a duty. By doing that, I think I am really beginning to grasp the language. Today in our first class we were given our second test. If I were to be given the same test back home I’m sure I would have become really frustrated, but it seems I am learning so much here that the test didn’t intimidate me and I was able to do very well. I know that it is the way the teachers present the material that makes it so much easier to learn, because everyone did really well on the test, not just one or two people. In the second class we discussed directions. I think this is very important, because most of the time I am walking around with out a clue as to where I am going. Hopefully now I will be able to stop a native Taiwanese on the street and not only ask for directions, but also be able to understand what he/she is saying and find my location a lot faster.
After class we were asked to attend a presentation from the Eden Social Welfare Foundation. The presenter showed us some video clips of what the foundation has done in the past. The clips were absolutely heart wrenching. It made me realize how fortunate the majority of the people in the United States are. The foundation seemed like it has done more good in the past twenty years than I would ever be able to do in a thousand lifetimes. After the presentation he interviewed us, most of which was in Chinese because of the fact that the majority of the victims the foundation helps, as well as the majority of the staff do not speak English. The interview was frustrating for me because of my limited vocabulary, but I think the interviewers saw that we truly realized how blessed we were and how willing we were to help those that are not so lucky. I hope that we are all selected so that we may leave our mark, no matter how small.
After the interview and a pretty intense day of class we all concurred that a nap was in order. After the rejuvenating nap, we all had the same idea again, dinner time. Although the food here is very delicious and there is such a large variety, we felt it was time to get a taste of back home. We traveled to downtown Taipei to visit the one and only “OutBack Steakhouse.” The meal was probably one of the best steaks I have ever had. I do not know if it is because I have been eating rice and chicken a lot lately or if I was just really hungry, but I will never forget how wonderful that 11 oz. sirloin tasted.
After dinner we made our way back to the apartment to start on some homework and prepare for tomorrow. I think this week was just as good as last week and hope that all eight weeks go as smooth.
From Michelle (MSU student) - June 17
Today it was really sunny in the morning. It was about 85 degrees, but it felt like 90 degrees. Half of us are still walking to school.
We usually stop at Seven-Eleven, a convenience store, and we grab some breakfast. We have tried many of the different types of breads. The kind that I have gotten I have liked. They have so many teas and juices. I love trying something new every day. In our first class we went over chapter four vocabularies. The vocabulary is still pretty simple because most of the vocabulary we have already learned.
Tomorrow we have a test on chapter three so tonight we are all going to study. The vocabulary is not too hard yet, so I think we will all be fine. In our second class we played a very competitive game. It was boys against girls. Sam, Zach (our friend from Pennsylvania), and Mitch were on one team and Hannah, Tiffany, and I was on another team. The object of the game was to write five characters with our hands on each other’s backs, and the last person had to run to the board and write the correct character.
It was a very challenging but fun game. We were able to use clues to help our team mates figure out the characters. After a very competitive game we could not agree on who won the game. Our teacher said we tied, although both teams disagreed. As our prize we each got a can coffee, which we needed because we were so tired! After class we all met in another room and had lunch with some other foreigners and students who attend Fu Jen Catholic University. We had many different types of pizza. One pizza even had octopus on it! I was too scared to try it, but Sam tried it! They had another good pizza, which had meat and peppers. I really liked it. We tried pearl tea. I thought it was not too bad, but I do not think I would order it again. After lunch, we went to English Summer Camp again. It was so much fun. The day before we had to prepare performances with our groups. Our group did the cha cha slide. It was so much fun teaching them how to dance. Other groups danced, sang, and one group even performed a skit. We had a marvelous time meeting students from Fu Jen University. After our performances we had to go to the fourth floor to get a blessing and certificates. Only Tiffany and Hannah went because we had to go back to the apartment to let the waterman in. After we got back, most of us took naps. A few of us woke up before others, so they went ahead and had dinner. I went to Ximen to eat dinner later. We are able to communicate better with other people. After we got back from dinner, we all began to study. We had to prepare for a test in our first class on chapter three. Most of us are learning how to study better. Our teachers really help us comprehend everything. I really enjoy going to class and trying new things every day. We have so many plans for the weekend! We are so excited about being in Taiwan and being to make our dreams come true.
We usually stop at Seven-Eleven, a convenience store, and we grab some breakfast. We have tried many of the different types of breads. The kind that I have gotten I have liked. They have so many teas and juices. I love trying something new every day. In our first class we went over chapter four vocabularies. The vocabulary is still pretty simple because most of the vocabulary we have already learned.
Tomorrow we have a test on chapter three so tonight we are all going to study. The vocabulary is not too hard yet, so I think we will all be fine. In our second class we played a very competitive game. It was boys against girls. Sam, Zach (our friend from Pennsylvania), and Mitch were on one team and Hannah, Tiffany, and I was on another team. The object of the game was to write five characters with our hands on each other’s backs, and the last person had to run to the board and write the correct character.
It was a very challenging but fun game. We were able to use clues to help our team mates figure out the characters. After a very competitive game we could not agree on who won the game. Our teacher said we tied, although both teams disagreed. As our prize we each got a can coffee, which we needed because we were so tired! After class we all met in another room and had lunch with some other foreigners and students who attend Fu Jen Catholic University. We had many different types of pizza. One pizza even had octopus on it! I was too scared to try it, but Sam tried it! They had another good pizza, which had meat and peppers. I really liked it. We tried pearl tea. I thought it was not too bad, but I do not think I would order it again. After lunch, we went to English Summer Camp again. It was so much fun. The day before we had to prepare performances with our groups. Our group did the cha cha slide. It was so much fun teaching them how to dance. Other groups danced, sang, and one group even performed a skit. We had a marvelous time meeting students from Fu Jen University. After our performances we had to go to the fourth floor to get a blessing and certificates. Only Tiffany and Hannah went because we had to go back to the apartment to let the waterman in. After we got back, most of us took naps. A few of us woke up before others, so they went ahead and had dinner. I went to Ximen to eat dinner later. We are able to communicate better with other people. After we got back from dinner, we all began to study. We had to prepare for a test in our first class on chapter three. Most of us are learning how to study better. Our teachers really help us comprehend everything. I really enjoy going to class and trying new things every day. We have so many plans for the weekend! We are so excited about being in Taiwan and being to make our dreams come true.
From Tanaka - June 17
I have been in Taiwan a little over four months now.
Joining other students from JSU and MSU will be a bit of a change for me given that I have become so accustomed to living as a Taiwanese. I have lived with regular students, attended regular classes and eaten traditional Taiwanese foods daily. I have adapted well into this different yet similar society. I have made many friends and we do things that any friends do; we hangout in each other’s dorm rooms and talk exchange culture. We talk about relationships, we go shopping, we go out to dinner…… These girls have truly embraced me.
Leaving these close friendships behind will be a challenge for me because I have come to know and cherish my time in Taiwan’s countryside university, Diwan.
Now I must embrace this new experience of living with new students even the change of scenery will take some adjusting to. They are all well adjusted in the classes and I have to play catch up but I’m sure it will be ok because I’m always up for a challenge. I
look forward to attending Fu Jen Catholic University yet I hate to say good-bye to my home at Diwan University.
---- By Tanaka (JSU’s first exchange student to Taiwan)
Joining other students from JSU and MSU will be a bit of a change for me given that I have become so accustomed to living as a Taiwanese. I have lived with regular students, attended regular classes and eaten traditional Taiwanese foods daily. I have adapted well into this different yet similar society. I have made many friends and we do things that any friends do; we hangout in each other’s dorm rooms and talk exchange culture. We talk about relationships, we go shopping, we go out to dinner…… These girls have truly embraced me.
Leaving these close friendships behind will be a challenge for me because I have come to know and cherish my time in Taiwan’s countryside university, Diwan.
Now I must embrace this new experience of living with new students even the change of scenery will take some adjusting to. They are all well adjusted in the classes and I have to play catch up but I’m sure it will be ok because I’m always up for a challenge. I
look forward to attending Fu Jen Catholic University yet I hate to say good-bye to my home at Diwan University.
---- By Tanaka (JSU’s first exchange student to Taiwan)
Monday, June 16, 2008
From Ben (MSU) - June 13
Today was a relatively slow day.
Today in class, my classmates and I were trying to get our teacher on a tangent so we wouldn’t have to learn so much. HA! It is just like in good ole’ America! We still ended up covering quite a bit.
I don’t know how we let this happen. We will have to try harder next time. We got her to talk about Chinese holidays.
It was pretty cool to find out the here in Taiwan they celebrate both February 14 and July 15 as their Valentine’s day. I sure am glad I am not from here. I don’t think I could do Valentine’s day but once a year on my budget… or shortage there of.
I also learned the word for hotel, so being the smart guy that I think I am, I asked her if a person could use this same word for a hostile. She, being the smart teacher that she is, responded back to me (in Chinese of course) that yes, a person would use this word… however you would put pian yi before you say this word. That is the tip for the day. Do not ask silly questions such as this one in a class where only Chinese is spoken. After we got out of class, we went to Yoshanoyia, which is a near by (and very tasty) Japanese restaurant.
I got the chicken and rice bowl. It is a very hearty lunch because it had chicken, rice, broccoli, green beans, and these cool little beans where you bite them and squeeze the bean out of the covering. Also, I cant forget to mention the most awesome ice tea in the entire world.
People back home can defiantly relate to this tea because its good ole` Lipton’s Lemon Ice Tea! After getting absolutely stuffed on such a good meal, we all decided to come back and take a nap. Well, that nap turned into more or less a five hour sleep. I was so out of it that when Sam’s phone rang, I thought it was the alarm to get up and go to class the next morning. Crazy I know. Not only was it like seven pm, but it would have been a Saturday anyways so we don’t even have class. What in the world was I thinking? After taking a nap, we all decided to go to dinner. Apparently while we were sleeping, there was yet another thunder/rain storm because the roads and everything outside was absolutely drenched. Good ole` rainy season. After dinner, we waited on Sandro and Zack (two of our friends that we have met at the school) to come over so we could go mingle with the natives of our own age. We had a lot of fun. Not only did we get to experience Taiwan night life, but we also got to practice everything we were taught in the past week in our Chinese class. Everything was a challenge: figuring out where we were going, trying to get ourselves there, trying to get in the door, getting ourselves back home, and of course (as I said) mingling. We ended up coming back pretty early because we have the whole host family thing in the morning. Everyone had to wake up early to meet their host family at the school. I guess that is where the next journal is going to pick up, so mine is now complete.
Ben
Today in class, my classmates and I were trying to get our teacher on a tangent so we wouldn’t have to learn so much. HA! It is just like in good ole’ America! We still ended up covering quite a bit.
I don’t know how we let this happen. We will have to try harder next time. We got her to talk about Chinese holidays.
It was pretty cool to find out the here in Taiwan they celebrate both February 14 and July 15 as their Valentine’s day. I sure am glad I am not from here. I don’t think I could do Valentine’s day but once a year on my budget… or shortage there of.
I also learned the word for hotel, so being the smart guy that I think I am, I asked her if a person could use this same word for a hostile. She, being the smart teacher that she is, responded back to me (in Chinese of course) that yes, a person would use this word… however you would put pian yi before you say this word. That is the tip for the day. Do not ask silly questions such as this one in a class where only Chinese is spoken. After we got out of class, we went to Yoshanoyia, which is a near by (and very tasty) Japanese restaurant.
I got the chicken and rice bowl. It is a very hearty lunch because it had chicken, rice, broccoli, green beans, and these cool little beans where you bite them and squeeze the bean out of the covering. Also, I cant forget to mention the most awesome ice tea in the entire world.
People back home can defiantly relate to this tea because its good ole` Lipton’s Lemon Ice Tea! After getting absolutely stuffed on such a good meal, we all decided to come back and take a nap. Well, that nap turned into more or less a five hour sleep. I was so out of it that when Sam’s phone rang, I thought it was the alarm to get up and go to class the next morning. Crazy I know. Not only was it like seven pm, but it would have been a Saturday anyways so we don’t even have class. What in the world was I thinking? After taking a nap, we all decided to go to dinner. Apparently while we were sleeping, there was yet another thunder/rain storm because the roads and everything outside was absolutely drenched. Good ole` rainy season. After dinner, we waited on Sandro and Zack (two of our friends that we have met at the school) to come over so we could go mingle with the natives of our own age. We had a lot of fun. Not only did we get to experience Taiwan night life, but we also got to practice everything we were taught in the past week in our Chinese class. Everything was a challenge: figuring out where we were going, trying to get ourselves there, trying to get in the door, getting ourselves back home, and of course (as I said) mingling. We ended up coming back pretty early because we have the whole host family thing in the morning. Everyone had to wake up early to meet their host family at the school. I guess that is where the next journal is going to pick up, so mine is now complete.
Ben
From Hannah - June 11
Wednesday June 11, 2008 was a long day.
Our classes began at 8 AM and ended at 3:30. In my first class, we reviewed for our upcoming test on Thursday. We looked over the Pinyin and characters from Lessons 1 and 2. Additionally, the teacher reminded us how large numbers are written in Chinese because this would also be on the test. When the class ended at 10 AM we were all well aware of the information we needed to study for Thursday’s test.
In my second class, we learned a valuable skill. The teacher showed the class how to ask for directions. Then he taught us how to give directions. We then broke into partners and used maps to ask our partners where certain buildings on the map were located (ask for directions to a place). The partner then gave directions using the newly acquired vocabulary and other landmarks located on the map to answer the questions. This skill will really come in handy if we are ever lost here.
After the second class ended, it was lunch time. I had an errand to run. So I did that instead of eating lunch. Everyone else ate pasta at a restaurant with our new friends, these African students from a Portuguese-speaking country. When lunch time was over at 1:30 we returned to school for the second day of Chinese Knots. On this day, we made Christmas brooches. Making these brooches was fun and took the entire two hours.
Our classes began at 8 AM and ended at 3:30. In my first class, we reviewed for our upcoming test on Thursday. We looked over the Pinyin and characters from Lessons 1 and 2. Additionally, the teacher reminded us how large numbers are written in Chinese because this would also be on the test. When the class ended at 10 AM we were all well aware of the information we needed to study for Thursday’s test.
In my second class, we learned a valuable skill. The teacher showed the class how to ask for directions. Then he taught us how to give directions. We then broke into partners and used maps to ask our partners where certain buildings on the map were located (ask for directions to a place). The partner then gave directions using the newly acquired vocabulary and other landmarks located on the map to answer the questions. This skill will really come in handy if we are ever lost here.
After the second class ended, it was lunch time. I had an errand to run. So I did that instead of eating lunch. Everyone else ate pasta at a restaurant with our new friends, these African students from a Portuguese-speaking country. When lunch time was over at 1:30 we returned to school for the second day of Chinese Knots. On this day, we made Christmas brooches. Making these brooches was fun and took the entire two hours.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
From Hannah - June 4
Wednesday, June 4 began our official second day of classes. This day was an eventful day. In addition, to our two language classes we had a cultural class in the afternoon. In the 8 AM language class, we worked on pronunciation and verbally forming sentences using the vocabulary words in lesson 1. The second class at 10 AM continued to focus on lesson 1. However, the format was a little different. We were broken into groups of two and played Merchant and Patron, where partners took turns buying and selling items mentioned in lesson 1. At noon our language classes end for lunch.
Adam and Ben ate hamburgers at a restaurant near the University. Sam had dumplings in the schoolʼs cafeteria. Michelle, Tiffany, Mitch and I had lunch at the Subway sandwich shop near Fu Jen. Sam met up with us at subway, and then the 5 of us walked back to campus to the classroom where the culture class was held.
This was the second day of Calligraphy class. So, we all new what to do to set up: take out our ink, ink dish, the bamboo brush protector, the felt, paper, paper weight, and brush. Then wet the brush and pour ink into the dish. Once everything was set-up the calligraphy teacher showed us another style of calligraphy different from what we learned the previous day. This style is more fluid than the style we learned on Tuesday. We practiced the saying the teacher gave us and then came up with sayings of our own. The class ended with us watching an artist draw pictures of the Taipei 101, a lotus flower, and other Taiwanese things. The class then disbanded at about a quarter to 4 PM and we headed home for the day. ---- By Hannah
Adam and Ben ate hamburgers at a restaurant near the University. Sam had dumplings in the schoolʼs cafeteria. Michelle, Tiffany, Mitch and I had lunch at the Subway sandwich shop near Fu Jen. Sam met up with us at subway, and then the 5 of us walked back to campus to the classroom where the culture class was held.
This was the second day of Calligraphy class. So, we all new what to do to set up: take out our ink, ink dish, the bamboo brush protector, the felt, paper, paper weight, and brush. Then wet the brush and pour ink into the dish. Once everything was set-up the calligraphy teacher showed us another style of calligraphy different from what we learned the previous day. This style is more fluid than the style we learned on Tuesday. We practiced the saying the teacher gave us and then came up with sayings of our own. The class ended with us watching an artist draw pictures of the Taipei 101, a lotus flower, and other Taiwanese things. The class then disbanded at about a quarter to 4 PM and we headed home for the day. ---- By Hannah
From Mitch (MSU student) - June 5
Today was the third day of real classes and the sixth day we have been here.
Classes are going really well and the teachers are fantastic. In the morning we practice pronunciation which I really like because I am not that good at and it gives me ample opportunity to improve my speaking. It was a little overwhelming this morning because I was asked to pronounce a word that I was continuously unable to say correctly. However after a few deep breaths I was alright and ready to continue. I know that as long as I continue trying I am bound to become much better. After our first class we went to our next class which is a little more relaxing for me because we focus mainly on grammar. I like it a little better because the teacher is really outgoing and makes the class funny, but provides a great learning environment as well. He said that today was the last day he is going to speak English. For some reason I am not really that worried about it and actually look forward to it because I know that it will help our comprehension immensely.
I am finally getting over the jet lag and think everyone else is as well. I still get kind of tired around lunch time but I can notice it being later and later everyday that I get tired. I hope that this is a sign that I will soon be completely over it. As long as we have things to do it seems I can keep my mind off being tired, which really helps. After class today we got our student identification cards which I think will be a really cool souvenir.
Once that process was completed we met Mrs. Piletz in the student lounge to discuss how we were holding up and she told us who our host families would be. At first I was against the idea of doing the host family thing because my family was a host family for a girl from Germany for a year, and I didn’t think I would be able to put up with some of the stuff she had too. However, after long consideration, I realized that not only was this a once in a lifetime opportunity, but I am strong enough to put up with it especially if it will help improve my Chinese like I know that it will.
Mrs. Piletz informed me that the family I will be staying with has a son two years younger than me that studies Spanish. I do not consider myself fluent by any means, but I know enough Spanish to carry on conversations. I think this will give us more of a bond, and at least a way to communicate if the family’s English and my Mandarin are not proficient enough. Plus I always enjoy the opportunity to work on my Spanish since I do not get a chance to do so any more.
Tonight we ate at a Chinese restaurant that I really enjoyed. I have a week stomach that can not yet handle a lot of the food here so I was happy to eat something besides corporate American restaurants. I hope that I will be able to find more places like this or at least know which foods I can easily eat so that I can fully immerse myself in the culture and venture away from my American ways.
The first arrival excitement is starting to wear off and I am starting to feel real comfortable here. However some things are starting to bother me. One such thing is the way that everyone here, besides at the university, stares very hard at us. At first I thought it was really cool but now it is starting to become a nuisance. I know that I will get over it because there is nothing I can do about it. It just seems that this is the first time I have been a minority and it’s a different feeling. It gives me a new respect for the exchange students that come to Mississippi State by themselves.
Classes are going really well and the teachers are fantastic. In the morning we practice pronunciation which I really like because I am not that good at and it gives me ample opportunity to improve my speaking. It was a little overwhelming this morning because I was asked to pronounce a word that I was continuously unable to say correctly. However after a few deep breaths I was alright and ready to continue. I know that as long as I continue trying I am bound to become much better. After our first class we went to our next class which is a little more relaxing for me because we focus mainly on grammar. I like it a little better because the teacher is really outgoing and makes the class funny, but provides a great learning environment as well. He said that today was the last day he is going to speak English. For some reason I am not really that worried about it and actually look forward to it because I know that it will help our comprehension immensely.
I am finally getting over the jet lag and think everyone else is as well. I still get kind of tired around lunch time but I can notice it being later and later everyday that I get tired. I hope that this is a sign that I will soon be completely over it. As long as we have things to do it seems I can keep my mind off being tired, which really helps. After class today we got our student identification cards which I think will be a really cool souvenir.
Once that process was completed we met Mrs. Piletz in the student lounge to discuss how we were holding up and she told us who our host families would be. At first I was against the idea of doing the host family thing because my family was a host family for a girl from Germany for a year, and I didn’t think I would be able to put up with some of the stuff she had too. However, after long consideration, I realized that not only was this a once in a lifetime opportunity, but I am strong enough to put up with it especially if it will help improve my Chinese like I know that it will.
Mrs. Piletz informed me that the family I will be staying with has a son two years younger than me that studies Spanish. I do not consider myself fluent by any means, but I know enough Spanish to carry on conversations. I think this will give us more of a bond, and at least a way to communicate if the family’s English and my Mandarin are not proficient enough. Plus I always enjoy the opportunity to work on my Spanish since I do not get a chance to do so any more.
Tonight we ate at a Chinese restaurant that I really enjoyed. I have a week stomach that can not yet handle a lot of the food here so I was happy to eat something besides corporate American restaurants. I hope that I will be able to find more places like this or at least know which foods I can easily eat so that I can fully immerse myself in the culture and venture away from my American ways.
The first arrival excitement is starting to wear off and I am starting to feel real comfortable here. However some things are starting to bother me. One such thing is the way that everyone here, besides at the university, stares very hard at us. At first I thought it was really cool but now it is starting to become a nuisance. I know that I will get over it because there is nothing I can do about it. It just seems that this is the first time I have been a minority and it’s a different feeling. It gives me a new respect for the exchange students that come to Mississippi State by themselves.
From Michelle (MSU student) - June 3
Tuesday was our first “real” day of class. We were all anxious to find out who are teachers were going to be, and what their class was really going to be like. We were all on time. We are all in the same class except Adam and Ben.
Our first class is at 8:10 a.m., and it lasts until 10 a.m. We had one break. Our teacher is really nice. She worked on our pronunciation a lot. She was very patient and understanding. She asked us what we wanted to learn and we told her we wanted to know the basics, how to get around, learn traditional characters, and most importantly work on our pronunciation. So far she is a great teacher. I really enjoy being in her class.
After class we go to another one from 10:10 until noon. This teacher is called Pharaoh. He is really cool. He was so funny, but at the same time you could tell we would learn a lot in his class. He also asked us our expectations and explained how class would work. He said we would have at least two tests a week. We worked on conversation skills, which was very helpful. He made learning so much fun. We also had a break in that class too. After class we couldn’t stop talking about how great our teachers are. I’m very excited to see how much we can learn. Around noon we went and ate lunch at subway. It was really different from the American Subway, but it was ok. Afterwards we had our first afternoon class. It was calligraphy. We walked across campus to another building and met our teachers. At first we had no idea what was going on. They were so nice to us and helped us get all of our equipment together. Before we started to paint, we went up and observed our teacher draw four characters. It was pretty impressive how this man made the characters so beautiful. After a few demonstrations, we went back to our desks and started to paint. At first it was difficult. We had to use half of our chair and keep our back straight and keep the paintbrush straight up and down. A few minutes later, our teacher came around to each student and held our brush and helped us stroke the characters in the correct order. We were in class for about two hours, but the time passed by really fast. We decided to get really creative with the four characters and embrace different styles of writing. After class we cleaned up all of our materials and headed for our apartment. We were still getting use to riding the bus and trying to figure out which bus led us back to our apartment. We got in line and waited for the bus to come. After about a ten-minute ride, we got off walked less than a block, and got home and relaxed. It went over all of the grammar and characters we had learned that day. Everything we learned was pretty much a review, but it helped tremendously. Now we can go to restaurants and not have that much of a problem ordering food. We did not have much homework, but we were able to practice by conversing with each other. It was great having roommates that understood, and helped you practice your Chinese speaking skills. Overall we had a great day. We were really excited about Wednesday’s classes and calligraphy again!
Our first class is at 8:10 a.m., and it lasts until 10 a.m. We had one break. Our teacher is really nice. She worked on our pronunciation a lot. She was very patient and understanding. She asked us what we wanted to learn and we told her we wanted to know the basics, how to get around, learn traditional characters, and most importantly work on our pronunciation. So far she is a great teacher. I really enjoy being in her class.
After class we go to another one from 10:10 until noon. This teacher is called Pharaoh. He is really cool. He was so funny, but at the same time you could tell we would learn a lot in his class. He also asked us our expectations and explained how class would work. He said we would have at least two tests a week. We worked on conversation skills, which was very helpful. He made learning so much fun. We also had a break in that class too. After class we couldn’t stop talking about how great our teachers are. I’m very excited to see how much we can learn. Around noon we went and ate lunch at subway. It was really different from the American Subway, but it was ok. Afterwards we had our first afternoon class. It was calligraphy. We walked across campus to another building and met our teachers. At first we had no idea what was going on. They were so nice to us and helped us get all of our equipment together. Before we started to paint, we went up and observed our teacher draw four characters. It was pretty impressive how this man made the characters so beautiful. After a few demonstrations, we went back to our desks and started to paint. At first it was difficult. We had to use half of our chair and keep our back straight and keep the paintbrush straight up and down. A few minutes later, our teacher came around to each student and held our brush and helped us stroke the characters in the correct order. We were in class for about two hours, but the time passed by really fast. We decided to get really creative with the four characters and embrace different styles of writing. After class we cleaned up all of our materials and headed for our apartment. We were still getting use to riding the bus and trying to figure out which bus led us back to our apartment. We got in line and waited for the bus to come. After about a ten-minute ride, we got off walked less than a block, and got home and relaxed. It went over all of the grammar and characters we had learned that day. Everything we learned was pretty much a review, but it helped tremendously. Now we can go to restaurants and not have that much of a problem ordering food. We did not have much homework, but we were able to practice by conversing with each other. It was great having roommates that understood, and helped you practice your Chinese speaking skills. Overall we had a great day. We were really excited about Wednesday’s classes and calligraphy again!
Monday, June 9, 2008
From Tiffany - May 31
We all woke up to be ready by 11:00am.Chris, a teacher a Fu Jen University, came to take us to the school.
The school was so beautiful and big. We toured the language center and the school so we can become familiar with our new community. When we arrived to the school, we were greeted by the staff of the school and the Notre Dame students. Afterwards we took our placement exams to determine which classes we will be in. Everyone was so shocked about the school and the warm welcome from the teachers and the students. The language center was unique. Since the classes are small, we will learn so much. The teacher will be able to work with us one on one, unlike American classes. After we toured the center we went home and toured the neighborhood so we can become familiar with the area.
On Sunday JSU’s Taiwanese exchange student, Peiying, and her parents took us all out to eat dinner and dessert at 3 different restaurants. We were so full and tired of eating but we didn’t turn anything down. Everywhere we went people were smiling because they never saw Americans before. We smiled back and offered to take pictures with them. Later on that night we rested to prepare us for the first day of school.
This is going to be interesting.
From Tiffany - May 29
Before I begin, I would like to thank God for blessing all seven of us with this opportunity of a lifetime.
We have struggled so much and sacrificed so much to make it to
I arrived at the airport around
During the mandatory advising sessions, we had hours to break the ice but we still stayed in our comfort zone. It was these moments that forced us to join hands in this educational movement. After we went through security, our parents all waved bye because it will be two months before they see us again smiling with many stories to tell about our journey. On the plane we were separated but we regrouped at the airport in
What a warm welcome. Our greeters were so nice and sweet. They made us feel welcomed. On the ride to the apartment in the rain, we loved the scenic view. Watching all the Chinese characters really put our minds to work because we have to use what we learned in class. After 20 minutes of driving, we arrived at our apartments. We were so happy for this because dorm life can be stressful. After we got settled we went to sleep so we can wake up early to go visit the school.
From Tiffany
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