Field Trip

Monday and Tuesday, I was fortunate enough to join the 5th graders on a field trip to Yo Ma lie, which is a farm-like resort. There are fields of tall grass that they roll and grind to put in certain foods, which the kids got to experience. There is a driving range, archery range, downhill grass skiing hill, water park, and many other fun outdoor things. The "camp" reminded me a lot of Sherman Lake, the Y camp that I interned at last spring. Since it was all Chinese, I really don't know what they were focusing on (at SL we focused on character development, conflict resolution...), but they did similar group activities during the time. What I thought was awesome is that counselors took over and we teachers got to do whatever we wanted. It was nice to do all the activities with just the adults. Even though we have language barriers, I got to bond with some teachers. Jeff, the military volunteer that helps out with translation and my classes, got to go along to translate and have fun! I'm sure if was a great break for him....his job seems so dull. We had a lot of fun! The downhill grass skiing was so funny. The slowest ski lift in the world took us and our robot-looking sleds up the hill. At the top, we sat on this strange sled and took off. It didn't go that fast...but the reactions of the other teachers was so funny. There aren't many opportunities taken by the Taiwanese to be adventurous. I've noticed they avoid situations or activities that may have a small danger factor. So this was funny. They were scared at first. Same with golfing and archery. The women were too afraid to try, and they guys had probably never tried before, and were really terrible. It was so funny. I'm no archer or golf pro, but I know enough to look like I know what I'm doing. They all watched me before they tried. When we were golfing, I HAD to take video because they were so awful. One of the male teachers looks like an uncoordinated teenage girl trying to dance or something...so funny!
Monday night we had a bonfire and did some dancing. It was awesome. Again, the language barrier...but I felt as if I bonded with the students. I participated while the other teachers watched, but I did't mind at all. I had a great time. We played some games, sang some songs, and then had a little candlelight service. It was all familiar to me having worked at camps and been a camper myself; so even though I didn't know what they were saying, I had a good idea about what was being said.
All in all, the last two days was a great break from school and a great chance to have a good time with the kids. I'm so grateful that the school invited me to go along!