Student comments 2018#

Although students had found it tough adapting to the living conditions and the language barrier made it difficult for some to communicate with the local children, the experience of meeting new people and making new friends made the trip a great success. Here are some comments by students at the end of the trip.

Knowing that an eleven year old has to carry such a big responsibility at such a young age is socking. Most of the children’s parents have to leave Baiwan to work in order to be able to support their family and being able to come to Baiwan to teach the children English and new skills was really rewarding as you know that you’ve played a part in the children’s lives, no matter how insignificant.

The one thing that motivated me to carry on going throughout the week was the smile that you can see on the children’s faces after they manage to learn the ukulele chords and strumming pattern and this made me realise that a lot of us take what we have for granted and that a lot of thought and planning goes behind every lesson that teachers teach.

The kids in Baiwan were amazing because they helped me and told me that I am a nice person. It helped me boost my confidence… I had a challenge where I was scared when I was teaching the kids …but I gave it my all and I was so thankful that I got to teach the kids.

Baiwan is definitely a place I would never forget, the experience has definitely opened my eyes to see the struggle of the children and how they cope through independence, friendship and creating a bond between Island School students and the Baiwan students. As sad as the community’s environment is, knowing I am making a difference definitely makes me and certainly everyone happier.

It goes beyond me that I would enjoy teaching and dealing with children, as I have always found children annoying. Despite not being able to speak in Chinese and understand their language, I was still able to feel a sense of connection with some of the children.

I started teaching some of the kids when they were in primary school and they are all grown up and actually say “Hi, 淽蔚”. I wasn’t expecting them to recognize me because I won’t count myself as a very important person in their life. After realizing that this will probably be my last time going to Baiwan, I was really upset since I didn’t get time to say goodbye to them.