Spring Break in Taiwan: Day 4

Day four dawned bright and early, arriving at school and heading to classes with our host students. I’ve slipped very much back into my rhythm, in terms of language and general comfort in Taiwan.

I feel very lucky that my summer in Gaoxiong allowed me to adjust so quickly. I’ve talked with the other Park students and some of them feel like everyone is staring at them. I feel that a bit as well, but not to the same level—but I think I might just be used to it. Taiwan is in no way a monolithic culture, but when roughly 99% of the population is of Chinese descent, anyone of non Asian descent tends to stick out quite a bit.

Classes were intensive and relaxed at the same time. I get the impression that the students here are a little burnt out from 8 classes a day from 8am to 5pm. But everyone is wonderfully friendly, and very curious about who we are and what we’re doing at the school. There’s been a lot of exchanged instagrams and selfies.

I’m starting to feel the effects of homesickness but in a different way than I expected. Of course I miss my home in Baltimore, my friends and family, but right now I really miss Gaoxiong. I miss the routine I had carved out for myself that I’ve unconsciously thought of as what living in Taiwan is like. I miss my nightly ritual of walking down Wenzao Street to buy myself dinner, snacks, boba, more snacks, and breakfast. I miss hanging in coffee shops to study. Part of me misses cramming to finish the homework on time. I miss quiet moments alone on the bus, and mad dashes around the city with my friends. Part of me really misses the freedom that my time in Taiwan before afforded me. Another part of me is so happy for the structure this trip has provided, how everything is so thoughtfully and carefully planned. Today that structure was weighing on me a bit, and around lunch I was itching to hop on a bus and strike out for some midday adventure.

I started feeling more at ease once we ate lunch at the cafeteria (that usually helps a lot), after a quick wander around in the school, in which Sarah and I found a music room and jammed out, and when I purchased what I think was the equivalent of celery Gatorade. The rest of classes, American Literature, Human Geography, Ecology, passed without anything too crazy happening. An interesting aspect of this part of the school, the international school, is that all the classes are taught in English. So while it’s definitely a struggle to parse what’s going on between students, at least it’s easy to understand what’s actually going on in class. A couple of the teachers also incorporated some of Baltimore’s history into their lesson plans, and gave us room to answer questions about our home. It was raining too hard to play basketball, so a group of students and I spent our last period, PE, on the roof next to a hydroponic mint garden, chatting and enjoying getting some fresh air.

All and all, today was by far the most exhausting day yet. I was so drained that by dinnertime with my host family, I dejectedly defaulted to English when Mandarin started to hit my ears like wet slabs of tofu. But it was also an incredibly rewarding day, and I’m super excited for our final day exchanging with Hong Wen. Goodnight, and goodmorning.