An end to my 2012-2013 year as a Rotary Youth Exchange Student! What a year it has been.
In a year...JUST A YEAR...I have experienced so much. When I look back on the previous nine and a half months in my life, I take a huge deep breath in. I think about the first night I arrived, my first day in the place I would call home for months, the hot, hot, hot weather, my first week of school...ooph...and then the rest of the year at the school, my challenging experiences with host families in the first months, Rotary frustrations with the language and culture, strong times of homesickness, language classes, the non-stop rain my winter vacation travels around the island, the CRAZY food that I ate, my day trips, my rides on the MRT, or a bus, at rush hour, my long walks, the many people I met, my friends, the fun, and with it all, the great amount of knowledge that I have from the experiences and the memories I have created, and how fortunate I am to have the experience to be an exchange student, who lived abroad from her country, friends, regular life, family, and then lived in Taiwan away from it all and created a life that I was successful in. Then, that is when I take that big deep breath out.
As I have throughout my year, I will continue to articulate and learn from the experiences as I continue my life back in the states. Although my year as an exchange student has come to an end, my year will "live on" for a long time to come. I am still Anna, but with a few changes! I may indeed be a bit taller, have lost a little weight here and gained some there, my hair is a little longer. But, more importantly than the outside changes, I have gained new qualities, strengths, and passions from the inside, that most people may not see. I know that during my year, I have gained this sense of inner peace. I roll with changes "like a pro," if you know my Anna stress! I learned how to better handle difficult situations with strength and respect. I have slept on four different beds and one couch and I have had a REALLY long sleepover with five very different host families. And yes I did it! I have the Mandarin Chinese language as one of my greatest passions and strengths! I have a tight group of friends who I have created incredible relationships with and who I hope to call lifelong friends. I have realized how much I appreciate the fresh, clean air that I am lucky to live around. To have the clean home, a bed, and food in my home to eat. But more than it all, I don't just have A family to live with, but I have MY family to live with and LOVE! My changes haven't been dramatic but certainly present. Although I don't know where I am going yet in life, I do know what is important to me and that feels good!
Thank you to the wonderful friends I have made this year. I met so many great people this year and I have incredible people who I now call great friends. All of you are from different countries and we all came into each others lives in such unique and memorable ways. The little adventures, the food eating, the long talks, the laughs and smiles, none of it would be the same if I didn't have you to share it with. You hold a special place in my heart!
Thank you to Rotary International, Rotary District 3520 Taiwan, District 5470 Colorado, and Rotary Clubs Vail and Edwards for your support as one organization for my exchange year. From the interview and application process and throughout the challenges and the great times, I appreciate you.
I have loved using my blog to share with you the exciting opportunities and new experiences I had throughout my year. My blog has been a fantastic way for me to muse about the times I had that were very exciting, scary at times, and oh so unique. You really were able to read and imagine my true feelings in each and every new experience that I had. All my blogs are written late at night after a great day or a couple days later after school, so I apologize for the times that my spelling or grammar was a little funky. My mother is as quick as lighting to let me know of a change needed in my late night editing sessions before I sleep…thank you mom! This year, writing has been the greatest way for me to reflect and release all the emotions that I go through on a daily basis. I highly encourage writing to you if you are embarking on any journey, big or small. Thank you to my friends and family who followed Anna’s Year Abroad in Taiwan this year, I appreciate you reading along!
I am beyond words excited to not just have A family but to have MY family! No more crazy WIFI or Skype connection to be the line in which we communicate. Our LOVE gave each other the courage and the strength to complete this year apart from each other. To my parents Jana and Steve, thank you for your support and love for myself and the incredible year I have had. I am so, so lucky to have you as my parents. Zach, you are the best big brother and you are never a miss when I need a laugh. Thank you! I love you!
Thank you.
Anna Trombetta
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Saturday, June 8, 2013
I Graduated!
Yes! Yes! Yes! I can finally say it...I have "graduated" from my year as an exchange student at Songshan High School of Agriculture and Industry!! You know, the place where I wear the bright turquoise and white striped uniform five days a week, am surrounded by thousands of Taiwanese students everyday, who yes...sometimes I cannot tell apart, where I spend two days a week at a farm, and the place where I have experienced SO MUCH! I might just be singing and dancing along to the music in my ears, as I lay in bed writing this tonight! Woooohoo!
My year of education at this school has not been an easy journey. More often than not, it was a difficult. There was surely not much to the education that I received in terms of studying a book or listening to a teacher. It certainly was a different sort of education. I will explain. In Taiwan, from a young age, the students are subject to a great deal of pressure about their schoolwork from both their parents and teachers. This so unfortunate and intense for the students. When I say intense I mean, a school day that starts at 7:30a.m. and finishes around 5:00p.m. For most students, a CRAM school follows at least one of their school days, ending class at 9:00p.m. In either case, a regular school day, or one including a CRAM school is always followed by a lot of studying. There is testing everyday, and school on Saturday and Sunday too. "Intense", may not be a word big enough to explain it.
I use the word "unfortunate" when explaining the education system here, because it simply just is. As a girl who will proudly say, I really enjoy school, homework, and learning, there was not ONE day that I spent at this school where my heart didn't hurt for my classmates and the other students here in Taiwan. Lucky for me, because I am an exchange student and I chose to spend my year learning the Mandarin Chinese language, I had no ability to be an actual part of class everyday, attend the hours of class on weekends, or complete all the homework required. But, I did have the opportunity to spend everyday in the back of my classroom or in the library as an observer, while studying the language I so wanted to learn.
As my classmates and other students study to get that A in order to fulfill their parents expectations, I watched and studied three books of Chinese. I watched as a room of students dressed in turquoise in blue sat quietly for fifty minutes every class because they are not allowed to raise their hands and ask questions. My room has fifty students, sitting at fifty brown and green desks in a white room, a chalkboard (not a whiteboard, or a SMARTboard), a closet to store the trash cans and the dust mops for them to clean the room in the morning, lunch, and afternoon, and that's it. They sit in the same classroom for every hour they are at the school including lunch. Their ten minute breaks in between each class of the day, are spent studying or sleeping. At age 17 and 18, they still have an hour for nap time and eating lunch. They don't enjoy a class like P.E. for fresh air or exercise, but instead bring their books and study as they walk around the track or sit under a shaded tree. I could probably go on, but I am going to stop here. All of that, are things that are missing so much CREATIVITY AND LIFE. Think about those two words for a second. Creativity and life...such wonderful words full of creativity and life themselves. I could write about the way my education has been for the last fifteen years, but, I think for most of you, the differences are obvious.
And again, it is just simply put by saying it is unfortunate. From the moment I walked into the school on September 5, 2012, I was ready for a learning challenge, to meet the classmates I would be spending a year with, and the teachers that could help me with my Chinese.... because boy....I knew I was going to need it, and to live the life of a Taiwanese at a Taiwan high school. But soon after September 5, all my hopes, which at the time I don't think were set to high....were slapped right back in my face. None of it was seemed to even be a possibility, no matter how hard I tried. The first month at school, I held back that lump in my throat to not cry, until I arrived home and could let it out to my pillow. Every day that first month was the same. The next day, I would get up and try again at school, entering my classroom, attempting conversations with my teachers, and my classmates, trying to find ways to challenge myself with ways to learn at the school, and become a part of the life that I threw myself into! But as each day went on, my hope was dwindling and so was my positive attitude.
This education system in Taiwan completely influences the culture and people. For me, it is too much and in too many ways. Education in Taiwan takes over lives. It is the reason for lack of family life in the country, the reason most people are so shy and insecure. It is the reason they lack interest in the world they live in and the people in it. Taiwanese rarely show their emotions and seem to lack creativity from within. For many, it seems they just don't have a LIFE that means something more than studying and moving on to the next test. This hurts to write, but hurts even more to see and experience first hand. I wish I could just snap my fingers and make things better. It seems like it could be so easy to change. But this is life in Taiwan.
As the year progressed, my language improved. It was easier to accept the way of life here and conisder it all a challenge and do what I would needed to do to be successful at school and on my exchange. I was often able to help the English teacher with her English class. I found this was a great way to exchange language. When I had the opportunity, I shared myself with my classmates and teachers, even if I knew I wouldn't get much back. I know that as I return home to the US and continue with high school, I will continue to reflect on my experience here in Taiwan and realize many other things about my exchange for the past year in Taiwan.
But, I DID IT!!! I have learned a lot about an education system and experienced what a Taiwanese school and classmates are really like. I was given my completion certificate from the school principal and made a small speech to the graduating class. My classmates gave me a nice going away party full of unhealthy snacks and some not so good karaoke. I am glad we got to spend our last moments together having a little fun! Thank you to the teachers and students at Songshan High School of Agriculture and Industry for hosting me at your school!
My year of education at this school has not been an easy journey. More often than not, it was a difficult. There was surely not much to the education that I received in terms of studying a book or listening to a teacher. It certainly was a different sort of education. I will explain. In Taiwan, from a young age, the students are subject to a great deal of pressure about their schoolwork from both their parents and teachers. This so unfortunate and intense for the students. When I say intense I mean, a school day that starts at 7:30a.m. and finishes around 5:00p.m. For most students, a CRAM school follows at least one of their school days, ending class at 9:00p.m. In either case, a regular school day, or one including a CRAM school is always followed by a lot of studying. There is testing everyday, and school on Saturday and Sunday too. "Intense", may not be a word big enough to explain it.
I use the word "unfortunate" when explaining the education system here, because it simply just is. As a girl who will proudly say, I really enjoy school, homework, and learning, there was not ONE day that I spent at this school where my heart didn't hurt for my classmates and the other students here in Taiwan. Lucky for me, because I am an exchange student and I chose to spend my year learning the Mandarin Chinese language, I had no ability to be an actual part of class everyday, attend the hours of class on weekends, or complete all the homework required. But, I did have the opportunity to spend everyday in the back of my classroom or in the library as an observer, while studying the language I so wanted to learn.
As my classmates and other students study to get that A in order to fulfill their parents expectations, I watched and studied three books of Chinese. I watched as a room of students dressed in turquoise in blue sat quietly for fifty minutes every class because they are not allowed to raise their hands and ask questions. My room has fifty students, sitting at fifty brown and green desks in a white room, a chalkboard (not a whiteboard, or a SMARTboard), a closet to store the trash cans and the dust mops for them to clean the room in the morning, lunch, and afternoon, and that's it. They sit in the same classroom for every hour they are at the school including lunch. Their ten minute breaks in between each class of the day, are spent studying or sleeping. At age 17 and 18, they still have an hour for nap time and eating lunch. They don't enjoy a class like P.E. for fresh air or exercise, but instead bring their books and study as they walk around the track or sit under a shaded tree. I could probably go on, but I am going to stop here. All of that, are things that are missing so much CREATIVITY AND LIFE. Think about those two words for a second. Creativity and life...such wonderful words full of creativity and life themselves. I could write about the way my education has been for the last fifteen years, but, I think for most of you, the differences are obvious.
And again, it is just simply put by saying it is unfortunate. From the moment I walked into the school on September 5, 2012, I was ready for a learning challenge, to meet the classmates I would be spending a year with, and the teachers that could help me with my Chinese.... because boy....I knew I was going to need it, and to live the life of a Taiwanese at a Taiwan high school. But soon after September 5, all my hopes, which at the time I don't think were set to high....were slapped right back in my face. None of it was seemed to even be a possibility, no matter how hard I tried. The first month at school, I held back that lump in my throat to not cry, until I arrived home and could let it out to my pillow. Every day that first month was the same. The next day, I would get up and try again at school, entering my classroom, attempting conversations with my teachers, and my classmates, trying to find ways to challenge myself with ways to learn at the school, and become a part of the life that I threw myself into! But as each day went on, my hope was dwindling and so was my positive attitude.
This education system in Taiwan completely influences the culture and people. For me, it is too much and in too many ways. Education in Taiwan takes over lives. It is the reason for lack of family life in the country, the reason most people are so shy and insecure. It is the reason they lack interest in the world they live in and the people in it. Taiwanese rarely show their emotions and seem to lack creativity from within. For many, it seems they just don't have a LIFE that means something more than studying and moving on to the next test. This hurts to write, but hurts even more to see and experience first hand. I wish I could just snap my fingers and make things better. It seems like it could be so easy to change. But this is life in Taiwan.
As the year progressed, my language improved. It was easier to accept the way of life here and conisder it all a challenge and do what I would needed to do to be successful at school and on my exchange. I was often able to help the English teacher with her English class. I found this was a great way to exchange language. When I had the opportunity, I shared myself with my classmates and teachers, even if I knew I wouldn't get much back. I know that as I return home to the US and continue with high school, I will continue to reflect on my experience here in Taiwan and realize many other things about my exchange for the past year in Taiwan.
But, I DID IT!!! I have learned a lot about an education system and experienced what a Taiwanese school and classmates are really like. I was given my completion certificate from the school principal and made a small speech to the graduating class. My classmates gave me a nice going away party full of unhealthy snacks and some not so good karaoke. I am glad we got to spend our last moments together having a little fun! Thank you to the teachers and students at Songshan High School of Agriculture and Industry for hosting me at your school!
Friday, June 7, 2013
Wulai Waterfall
This past Friday, I headed up to the mountains of Wulai with my friend Sister Mary-Beth. We visited the famous Wulai Waterfalls that are tucked behind the lush green mountains surrounding the city of Taipei! In just thirty minutes you can get to the traditional village and see the waterfalls.
We hiked in to one waterfall, and then we were able to hike around the waterfall and see it from all different vantage points. The weather was hot and humid, but the sun was shining and the afternoon didn't bring the big thunderstorms that it has been. It really turned out to be a perfect afternoon spent with a good friend, enjoying the scenery, talking, and getting some sun!
Thank you Sister Mary Beth for taking me on this afternoon adventure and being a great friend to me this year! I will forever remember the special times we had together.
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