A Second Year                                    1   2   3   Next

Helen Wang

After completing the AID summer camp last year, I had no concrete plans to return the following year. That following year was the summer before the start of college, and I had thought I would stay home to prepare.

            However, when the application deadline for the 2007 AID Volunteer Program approached, I had a different viewpoint about the summer before college. I realized that I should spend my summer volunteering, instead of being at home, probably doing nothing. I decided that if I were given the opportunity to teach again, I would take it.

            Upon arriving at Taoyuan Training Center, memories of the year past came flooding back. I could not help but compare this year’s courses to that of last year’s. I felt that the courses and lectures this year were better prepared and much more interesting. The skills taught by the teachers became useful in the weeks to come, and the teachers gave us the motivation to lead our own group of students.

            This year, I was assigned to teach at Chung Shan Middle School at Beigan. Beigan is an island in the Matsu group of islands, off the coast of Taiwan. I did not want to pass off this amazing opportunity to live somewhere most native Taiwanese people have never been. For two weeks, my mode of transportation not only included car, but also jet and boat. A trip downtown entailed a ten-minute car ride up and down the mountainous landscape. Downtown was only a street about two blocks long, fit with several restaurants, the airport, and the sole 7 Eleven of Beigan island.

            Beigan is a beautiful island. The view from my dorm window had the beach, Turtle Island, the mountains, and the ancient stone village of ChinBi. After settling into my dorm, I went out onto my balcony several times to savor the beautiful view. On a clear day, I could see the coastline of China beyond the blue ocean from the front of the school. The sunsets, since I was never up early enough to see the sunrise, were gorgeous, and it is something I will miss forever.

            Teaching at the middle school level was completely different from teaching at an elementary school level. At Chung Shan, the students had a good foundation, which caused my colleague and me to re-evaluate our original teaching plan. We could not base our lessons on just single vocabulary words and the alphabet. We had to delve into the mechanics of the English language, which made us even re-evaluate our own ability in English grammar. By teaching some basic grammar points, we saw that our students came to understand the English language better. The students could correct their own mistakes, and the result of their improvement showed explicitly in the closing ceremony performance. My colleague and I wrote a short musical inspired by a movie we showed them and also by the students’ own ideas. The musical was very successful.

            Overall, my second year at the AID Summer Volunteer Teaching English program was a great experience and something unforgettable. Although I miss my students from the year past and the memories, I am glad I was able to meet new people, teach new students, and see new things. I hope that one day I would go back to Matsu and see all the islands again, and relive the memories that I made with my fellow teachers.

            I also hope that Matsu will be available for volunteer teachers in the future. Despite the fact that it is on the “frontlines,” the islands are beautiful, clean, and something worth another plane or boat ride. The teachers are very hospitable, kind, and considerate. The students are very enthusiastic, intelligent, and caring. To be able to go somewhere that most Taiwanese have never been is a great opportunity and privilege.

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