A Reflective Experience for me, a Testimony for them | Adventurer's Journal
Choosing the right project can make your trip a much needed reflective stage to discover how much you have changed and what you want to do in life. I have previously internalised the positive influence that a 2-week volunteer trip can have on a person, and yet I still underestimated how much impact this one-and-a-half month trip could have on my life.
My Global Volunteer program was held at Su’Ao (苏澳), Yilan (宜兰), Tai Wan, and the place that I worked at is called Baimi Wooden Clog Village. It is actually quite a famous tourism spot in Yilan, whereby tourists can sign up for a tour to understand the history of wooden clogs, trying out the various wooden clogs and even holding a competition wearing a trio wooden clogs, and last but not least the DIY experience of creating a wooden clog keychain of your own. What is different about this wooden clog museum is that this business was initially created as part of a blueprint to develop the Baimi community. In Chinese, this is called 社会营造 which is known as Community Development. Hence it is a way to provide jobs for the locals, and the profits earned goes into developing this community.
WORK
Sometimes, I helped out in guiding foreign tourists on making the DIY keychains with my proficiency in English. However most of the time, I worked at the activity centre located behind the museum. This is where most meetings were held and plans were made. During my period of stay, the main goal of the organisation was to enhance the exposure of the community, so as to earn more profits for further development. Hence my job scope surrounds several projects that contributes to this overarching blueprint of development.
For example, one of the projects that I was involved in is the Su’Ao Camp for Primary school students. This is an initiative created to expose more students outside Yilan to Su’Ao area, by engaging them in a 3D2N camp that include many spots in Su’ao. In this camp, I helped to create the camp booklet, prepared game station questions, and also presented about Singapore to them on one of the nights to increase their global insights.
Another initiative I helped out with is with the international marketing. In the effort of increasing exposure of this place to other countries, I helped to create a website for them which includes writing the history in both Chinese and English, and including their content and development etc. I worked normal office hours like them (8.30am - 5.30am) for 6 days a week, participated in many meetings with my colleagues, and I felt like I am part of them where my contributions do matter. I also helped out with other initiatives such as writing minutes for meetings in Chinese and also transcribing villagers’ history, which I did face some difficulties due to lack of proficiency in proper written Chinese and their dialect.
When being able to have such a close participation in a field you feel passionate about in another man’s homeland, it is indeed a privilege. From the daily immersion and observations of ideas input and management style of the local staff, I believed that I have adopted some of them which will eventually lead to an exchange of ideas when I return to Singapore.
Accommodation
As one of the AIESEC volunteers, originally I was supposed to stay at the hostel behind the museum. However it happens that as part of the blueprint, they decided to convert this hostel building into a backpacker hostel. Before that, I had a chance to stay in this big house alone for 1.5 weeks, before I moved over to the manager’s house located 5 minutes drive away from the workplace. I remember initially when I was staying at the hostel, it was really dark even at 6pm and hence I did not go out. I also managed to battle flying cockroaches very often there, and now I have conquered my fear towards them.
I spent the rest of the time staying at my manager’s house. It was great to experience the host family stay, and I was very well taken care of. The host family took many opportunities to bring us out to have meals, to check out the night markets and even bring us to one of the daughter’s dance concert. I felt really touched and appreciative for all the things they have done for me.
Perhaps it is a small town. My colleagues stay near each other and hence are really hospitable. For example, every Saturday night, all of them will gather at one colleague's house for a stayover. On special occasions, they will also invite each other to eat at their homes. I had the opportunity to stayover at few of my colleagues’ home, and it just gives you another whole new level of experience being a Local in the province. They really treat you like a Family, take good care of you, and I felt so welcomed I felt apologetic.
Normally after work, they will also bring me and the other AIESEC volunteers to eat and shop at the night markets and other places. I was also invited to eat at my manager’s mother house whom I call her AhMa, where she would always cooked a feast for every meal.
As their roads were wide and less congested, many of them have their own motorcycles and would ride that as their main transportation mode. Hence, I had ridden on their motorcycles for many times - starting with two hands on shoulders and gradually I grew so at ease that I do not have to hold on to them anymore.
Free Time
My work requirement is as long as I fulfill 30 days out of 6 weeks I can schedule the rest of my time as any way I wanted. Hence, I got to have around 2 weeks of time to explore the other places in Taiwan.
As my managers really cared for our learning, so he would sign us up for opportunities that enable us to explore the various places. For example, I went to the West side of Taiwan like Chiayi, TaiChung with the villagers for their annual tour for 3 days 2 nights, and also went to Taitung for 2 days 1 night to understand about various established community projects and to visit a flea market. I also had the opportunity to attend a kitchen appliances expositions in Taipei to check out the suitable equipments for the kitchen of the new backpacker hostel. On the other rest days, I actively explored the various provinces of Taiwan. I walked a lot, and rode O’bike in Su’ao a lot. Due to the differences in the accessibility and structure between our countries, I did things that I do not have the opportunity to do in Singapore. For example, I would wake up at 6am and go out to explore the street of Su’ao for 2 hours. I also cycled long hours on O’bike and visited various places in Yilan, and in total covering 30km in one day where I got terribly tanned.
All the new things that I have attempted have somehow touched the previously hidden human potential of mine, and ultimately I learnt surprising things about myself and achieved a fruitful self-discovery in the process. I also took the train at Su’ao station and explored other parts of Yilan at my own free time such as Luodong and Yilan city, and also even took bus to Taipei to meet up wit my EP buddy. There was a lot of freedom, choice and fulfilment in these.
People
Definitely like all other trips, the highlight is the contact with the people we meet - the conversations and learning carried out with the new friends being made. My colleagues range from 23 to 50+ years old, yet I am able to communicate and interact with them well. I remember how my colleagues would bring their homegrown vegetables to share with us. That’s when I learn from them that most of them have farms at their house and their houses are at least around 2 stories tall due to the space they have.
I also am happy to have other AIESEC volunteers with me, such as from Hongkong and Malaysia. It’s really fun and I realised it it a very effective way to understand their cultures, and observe their working ethics. There is really a lot that I have learnt from them as they were all outstanding individuals.
Beyond that, being added into someone’s daily life for 6 weeks, you became a testimony for the cause that this group of people is working for. Looking into this window of a small community in Su’ao, witnessing and understanding that a small part of the world is working hard everyday to make a change in their community. Knowing the history of a community from the scratch, seeing the Passion of the locals when they discuss details with angst, witnessing their persistence and hard work which will continue even after you left, somehow I feel gratified, yet hollow when I think about why I am not feeling the same way for the nature, history of our ancestry and all these important things in life back in my homeland.
During this trip, I no longer feel like a tourist or a short-term citizen, I felt like a Global Citizen part of the bigger team of the humankind to do our part in making the world a better place for our future generation and mother nature. Without this trip, I will never know how rich simplicity is, nor know how big Yilan’s sky is. I felt like a part of me is being questioned constantly, it felt a bit strange, and even uncomfortable, but I believe it is a necessary positive starting point as it leads to the lifelong journey for me to figure it out.
Tai Wen went on a Global Volunteer program from 22nd May to 3rd July 2017. Her project is Embrace Taiwan-- Fairy Tale in Wooden Clog Village.
