REPORT :D!

Georgina Chen

International Volunteer for Taitung remote areas

This was an amazing, once in a lifetime experience that I will never forget. From the outgoing kids at Lidao Elementary School to the worship session for the typhoon victims, I gained a lot of knowledge and experience that is necessary when going off into the real world. It all began one weekend during a sleepover at Jessica's house that her mom introduced us to the program. After some discussion, I decided to join the program without any hesitation. Throughout the entire summer while I traveled around other areas of Taiwan and China, I waited for the week to arrive. August 5, all my family members knew that was the day I would be going to Taitung for a week of international volunteer.

It all began with a forty minute flight to the city of Taitung. As we all met in the airport for the first time, everyone was shy, since for some of us it was the first time meeting the others. We then took a bus to the restaurant where we all introduced ourselves and began our journey to all becoming friends. After dinner, we went to our ming su home where a friendly host gave us a warm welcome at the door. As soon as we opened the door to our room, a lizard crawled up the wall and the room was infested with mosquitoes. For the five minutes that I was outside, I got stung five times. I will never get used to mosquito bites for they are itchy and scar my legs; however, despite all the mosquitoes, the room was beautiful and was followed by an amazing breakfast the next morning.

The following day we created name tags and was introduced to our blog, which I think is very useful in keeping track of our daily activities. We soon got on the bus to Lidao which was followed by a terrible headache from the curvy mountain roads. At Lidao, we were introduced to a dirty computer and classroom of which we all put in our efforts to clean. I think this portion of the volunteer program was really memorable in that we all worked as a team and accomplished a goal together. The next morning, we finally met the children we would be interacting with. Not only were they outgoing and loud, but they were also disobedient at times; however, we all soon became friends and taught each other something new. They taught us their tribal chant while we introduced our American culture to them such as football and singing songs. Their singing was beautiful and sent chills throughout my body. Interacting with them was really unforgettable and my fortune to have been able to work with them.

That night was one of the most memorable experiences from this program. We barbecued with the children while they sang in harmony as the rain pattered in the background and the wind howled in the distance. I discovered that they all eat a lot but do not waste food and are amazing at barbecuing. Although we were all covered in smoke and the rain made our clothes wet, it was very joyful and exciting experience that we shared with the children. Unfortunately the typhoon came so we had to cut our plans short and leave Lidao in order to avoid any road blockages. After only one day of interacting with them, I felt sad to leave them- the kids all stood in the rain to wave bye to us which was really touching. If given a chance I would definitely want to visit them again and be able to stay longer. On the way down the mountain, we encountered various scary scenes- there were rocks piled on the street and streams of water pouring out of the mountains.

After returning to Taitung area, we were notified that the road had been broken soon after we left. Our plans shifted from the planned curriculum due to the typhoon so we ended up staying at a hotel that night. The next day was also ruined by the typhoon- all we were able to do was visit the church at Tamali to make sure everything was okay to proceed on with the events. We stopped twice on the way back to the hotel to look at the drifting wood on the beach. I had never seen such a sight! There were piles of wood everywhere laying on the sand. Although our plans were ruined by the typhoon, I feel as though the typhoon was a really big part of this volunteer experience. It helped us to create a real life situation in which we were on our own as kids and showed the power of mother nature. It made us experience the disaster first hand rather than on the news- since we were able to visit the disaster site up close.

The next day, we were finally able to work with the children at the church. As a group, we all sang, played games, and drew. We worked on a creating a play and making props for the stage performance. At night, we were invited to go to the elementary school in which all the typhoon victims were residing. Seeing all the mattresses in one classroom and all the victims made me realize how fortunate I am to have a family and a home to go to. We stood in the back as the priest of the church sang and prayed to lift the spirits of the victims. It was a very spiritual and uplifting experience that touched me in seeing that they wanted more than anything for their family to be safe- their house was not in the least important as opposed to their family being with them.

The next day, we returned to the church in the morning and continued to play games and sing with the children. We worked on our play as an entire group and ate boxed lunches together. After lunch, we were able to visit the disaster site first hand. It was something I have never seen- not only were the roads torn and broken, but the entire area was covered in mud and wood. It was ten times more scary than seeing it on the news. We then returned to the church where we performed our play and said a farewell to the kids at night. The priest awarded us with a gift with the colors of their tribe on a key chain. Before we left, everyone wanted to take pictures with one another and we had an enjoyable time shaking hands, giving hugs, and saying our goodbyes. Even just after two days of interaction we all seem to have become to close to a couple of the children at the church. I think they are all special in their own way and are noble for working with the victims by singing to them, organizing clothes, and much more.

I will NEVER forget this experience! Not only did I have a lot of fun and made new friends, but I also learned a lot and experienced my first typhoon and the effects of mother nature. Although shy at first when we first met each other in the airport, all of us soon became friends including Dr. Ryan Wang's children, Hannah and Howard. We all met in each other's room at night to play cards and hang out. All the children we met in Lidao Elementary School and in Taimali church have also become our friends and will never be forgotten. I will also remember the peanut mochi and the crunchy, sweet yams- they were delicious! All our memories have been set in stone for we have taken many pictures to keep the memory alive. Some improvements that I think would benefit the program would be to make it longer- I feel as though it would be even more memorable to be able to interact with one set of children for at least a week.

Thank you Dr. Wang for this opportunity to become an international volunteer. It was my first time traveling by myself and helped me gained experience that can be used in the real world. If given the opportunity, I would definitely want to come back again and work with the children. Thank you for everything- for taking your time to service the Taitung area, for driving us around in your car, for taking us to eat delicious foods, and for inviting us to come to Taitung! I am forever grateful for this opportunity and I hope that we will keep in contact and I hope I can come back to Taitung and service the remote area children.