Michell Goes to Taiwan
Michelle Campbell leaves on August 19 for Taipei, via Hong Kong and she spoke to the Club about her expectations.
She thanked the Club for the opportunity. She has been talking to her first host family and is trying to work on the language which is very difficult as meaning depends not just on the words but on the tone as well. She has heard that students there are very focused and attend from 7 - 5 and then study and eat dinner so she's a little nervous that she may not be able to socialize much and make friends. She's going to be at a vocational school and there will be 3 other exchange students from the US so she hopes that will make it a little easier.
Others she has talked to say the first 3 months is hard and her experience in South Africa showed she was homesick but after a couple of weeks she started to enjoy it. Once you start getting used to it, though, the rest of the year goes too fast. What has surprised her is that she finds her friends don't share her excitment and their lack of enthusiasm for her is hard. She has lots of support from her family and from Rotary and the trip to Ottawa and the sharing circle they held there where people talked about their reservations and fears was very helpful in showing her she was not alone. She is looking forward to meeting new people and making new friends but she has found that only other exchange students really understand what she's going through.
Michelle says it really is a three year process - one to get ready, one to do it and a third to wind down. She realizes that she will meet people she may never see again and those she has talked to, even Cornelius, have a hard time letting go and going back to their old world.
Cultural differences and living styles will be the biggest differences she thinks. Population density in Taipei is several times what it is here and, of course, they don't celebrate things like Christmas and Thanksgiving, though her host family has said they are prepared to try.
She knows the experience will stay with her through her life and will help her as she grows and she knows it will mean a lot to her so she is grateful to the Club for the opportunity and the support.
In response to questions she said her first host mother speaks English and one of her host sisters is traveling to Haliburton. She didn't really know why her friends seem uncaring about her experience but wondered if it might be jealousy or that they are nervous for her. Some might find the entire scenario just too different.
Jamie thanked her for her very insightful and thoughtful presentation and offered the support of all the members. He said we all knew she would be fine and be a good representative for us. On the other hand, he said, if she changed her mind she can take over the store and he'll go. Steve added that we would all look forward to her e-mails and wished her the best.
Cassie will speak next week about her year in Denmark.