My AIESEC exp

Hi my name is Nathan Leong and in mid November I started my AIESEC internship at Datong Elementary in the city of Kaohsiung Taiwan.

Initially it was a little awkward to start off with, as most of the students looked at me with the ‘who’s this guy’ kind of face, and not being allowed to speak Chinese didn’t really help the problem.  Although there were some students who were capable enough to engage in basic conversation, (words apart from ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’), most students would shy away and run off in embarrassment.

In the second week I started to give presentations to all the classes, an introduction to Australia, all in English of course. This gave me the opportunity to finally meet and get to know all the students and teachers, as we’d play some games at the end and become closer to each other. After this week I felt I was no longer a stranger to the school and now almost all the students would stop me in the playground to have a chat.

Apart from going around making presentations and teaching English, I was also lucky enough to have come during a particular period of the semester to participate in many other school events including the sports carnival, an English play and to go on a Hakka Excursion.

After my six-week internship, I can wholeheartedly say that I will definitely miss everyone’s company.  It has been a joy to be able to intern at Datong elementary, and I would totally recommend any other intern in choosing this same school, and I assure they will not regret their decision. Many fun times will be had so be prepared! 

Also here’s a video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbFv-K73ThA

And a picture compilation http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qr-8ZLICznw

Of my time in Datong Elementary.

6 Weeks at Kaohsiung

Taiwan- the small land filled with amazing food and friendly people.  The majority of the 6 weeks spent in Kaohsiung were spent at Ciaotou Junior High School, a school renowned for it’s baseball (Wei- Yin Chen used to go here). The teachers and students welcomed me with open and wide-stretched arms. (Warning: this post contains clichés)

I spent my time at school teaching them how to dance, the Australian culture and English.

On the last day, the teachers and students gave Gita and me a surprise that brought many of us to tears. I’m the one holding the duck (the Taiwanese have an obsession with it) and Gita’s the cute, little one in red behind me.

I am so grateful for the amazing and unforgettable experience that I’ve had. I have genuinely learnt so much from all the people that I have met.  If you’re contemplating on whether or not you want to do this project, go for it, you will not regret it!

Karin Wong

UNSW

Sydney, Australia