In the International Department at NEHS, I met one of the most diverse and passionate groups of students. Many of the students were of mixed Taiwanese identities; Austrian, Korean, Columbian just to name a few! The students were very welcoming to me as another foreigner joining them in Taiwan. Not just the students however, but teachers too. In the IBSC department I met many expat teachers from the United States, South Africa, Jamaica, and more! The diversity of department showed me how each persons experience of Taiwan has been unique to shaping who they are.
One of my favorite moments of the entire internship experience was getting to watch the students put on a production of Disney's Winnie the Pooh Jr. Students from 1st grade to 10th grade all worked together to put together a memorable production. Thr singing, dancing, and sets were executed impressively in a one take act. They multilingual skills of the students were especially impresisve as many of them had different levels of English and Chinese speaking abilities. Still, they worked together and communicated their thoughts and ideas clearly to one another.
With the IBSC teachers, I was able to talk to them about their journeys teaching in Taiwan. Many of them had a passion for teaching for a very long time and saw Taiwan as not just a destination but just another oppurtunity to work with students and help them succeed. They asked for me to share my own journey with langauge learning and academia that brought me to Taiwan (You can click here to look at it!). They illuminated to me the many paths I can take with my future career and reminded me that the world is open to anyone who is brave enough to explore it.
