Heaven is a Place on Earth

It’s not just a Belinda Carlisle song (parents, back me up on this one!), but I get the honor of reflecting today on the blog for Day 4.

Our Itinerary was packed as usual. We left our hotel at 8:15am to make our way to our partner school, The Affiliated High School of National Chengchi University. It was here where your students were greeted by their Taiwanese counterparts.

After a meet and greet and campus tour, students from both schools met in the auditorium to discuss the Forum topic. Every Taiwan trip has included a Forum where students from both schools collaborate and exchange viewpoints and perspectives. This year’s topic: What are the essential qualities to a successful High School? Students were broken into 8 groups and challenged to converse, collate and disseminate their viewpoints. Tomorrow, they will make their presentation.

Some students are choosing to use technology like Canva or Padlet while a couple of groups are going to use old-fashioned markers on paper. The beauty is that while each group contains 8 groups of 5 students, the qualities each group deems essential to a successful school, and the method of presentation, will likely all be different. The beauty of collaboration and the exploration of ideals between two cultures is the purpose of the forum. Students will finish their presentations tomorrow.

After the forum, students spent the day at Dihua Street, renowned for its historical significance as a hub of commerce, culture and architecture. Streets were lined with traditional herbal medicine as well as modern coffee and tea shops, juxtaposing Taiwan’s past with its present. We then made our way over to Dadaocheng Port, once a maritime hub of commerce, now more of a tourist spot to watch the sunset over the Tamsui River.

The best part of the night, however, was the AYCE (All you can eat) Hotpot at Mala Hot Pot (my subjective opinion).

Those unfamiliar with the concept of AYCE hotpot, there are basically two rules. 1) Don’t waste food. 2) Don’t let the establishment make money off of you (kidding, but not kidding :)). In all seriousness, we were joined by some students and faculty from our partner school. We had some experienced hot pot veterans and some first timers, but all managed to have a good time. The beauty of this restaurant is that friends share camaraderie with each other, forge new memories (and taste buds), all in a country far away from their comfort zones. The endless Haagen Dazs doesn’t hurt either (while easy to procure in the states, it is a luxury item in Taiwan, import tariffs and all).

In summary, I genuinely consider myself lucky to be a chaperone on this international trip to my cultural home away from home in Taiwan (I was born in the US but my dad is from Taiwan). Your kids have so much potential and such bright futures ahead of them. I have witnessed their kindness, their curiosity, their breaking out of their shells and their willingness to push beyond their own boundaries. The trust you have given us to shepherd these experiences with your children is not a duty any of the chaperones take lightly, but it is one that I am honored to share with my colleagues. To see the smiles in their faces over a shared meal, to see them collaborate with their counterparts halfway around the world, and to encourage them to be their authentic selves at a critical juncture in their young adult lives…. I truly consider myself to be lucky to be a chaperone for these international trips.

I’ll end with this last photo. A tenth grader is sharing their social media contact with someone they just met earlier that day, halfway around the world. This was done in a restaurant in Taipei. This moment was forged between the partnership we have with AHSNCCU. I get to witness it because I work at this school. I am a teacher because I believe in the potential of both these kids.