Foreign students teach local kids their culture in Mandarin

The exchange program, organized by the Youth Exchange Committee (YEC) of Rotary International and Youngan Elementary School, was aimed at broadening the vision of the school children as well as giving the exchange students a stage to practice Chinese.

“We hope such a program not only helps our children improve their international understanding but also gives rise to the visibility of Taiwan,” the YEC chairwoman Yu Chin-mei said.

“This is also a great opportunity for people-to-people diplomacy for Taiwan,” she added.

The school children were required to study different countries before the lectures, said Hsu Chin-ming, the principal of Youngan Elementary School, who added that she was confident such exchanges create a win-win situation for both local school children and the foreign exchange students.

The 46 exchange students from the U.S, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Russia, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Hungary, Austria, Japan, Australia, also enjoyed teaching the elementary students about their own countries.

“The kids are so cute and they are really eager to ask me all kinds of questions ... they also listen to me carefully, “ said Ann-Kathrin Sauer, a German exchange student who is studying Mandarin for one year at Taipei Municipal LiShan High School.

“They really show high interests in my country, and I am so happy to talk to them,” said another exchange student Hilko Paschke.

Lin Li-yeh, a sixth grader, said that through this program she learned more about different countries and traditions.”Someday I will also go abroad to promote the beauty and culture of Taiwan to foreigners,” she said.

The foreign students also observed that high school students in Taiwan do very well at school but they should enjoy life more.

Noting that most Taiwanese students go straight home or to cram school to study after school, exchange student Jordan Hatzialexiou of the United States said that “they are young and should enjoy life more, go out and explore the difference.”

Christoph Meseke, from Germany, said he was surprised by the amount of the time Taiwanese students devote to school and study, adding that “in Germany students don’t study that much ... and we don’t have that much homework. We do a lot of sports and we have a lot of free time.”

Sauer, meanwhile, said she was still unaccustomed to the timing of the school day, which starts at 7:30 a.m. and ends at 5 p.m., noting that German students go to school between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Hatzialexiou said local students should relax more through watching movies and hanging out with friends to enjoy life, adding that this is encouraged in the United States.

Although the foreign exchange students were not entirely used to Taiwan’s culture, they enjoyed the people they met, the places they visited, the food they ate and the traditions Taiwan possesses.

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