Welcome to what is officially my first-ever blog post! In about 3 weeks I will be leaving to start my year as an "English Teaching Assistant" (ETA) in Taichung, Taiwan, and I am excited to share my adventures with you over the course of the coming year.
I welcome questions and thoughts you may have after reading anything I post here. I look forward to the discussions that will arise throughout the course of my year abroad; a significant part of the reason I am traveling across the world is to increase "cross-cultural awareness" (a big buzz-word right now!) and to spark those discussions.
As of this moment, I know only what I have read regarding Taiwanese culture, but soon enough I will learn first-hand what life is like and what makes this country so special. Similarly, there are many people in Taiwan with whom I hope to discuss the joys and challenges of living in the United States, and I look forward to this as well.
It is a goal of mine to facilitate curiosity, to open up conversation. This is an important value that I work to create in my classroom, and I strive for communication in all other settings as well. So please, ask me questions, search online for more information, look closely at my pictures --- learn something! Our world is beautiful, fascinating, and HUGE. Part of my responsibility this year is to try to bring even just a little bit of awareness to the people I encounter - both here at home and in Taiwan.
Below is the link to an article that was released by Clark University earlier this summer:
http://news.clarku.edu/news/2015/06/24/clark-u-grad-receives-fulbright-heads-to-taiwan-to-teach-english/
http://news.clarku.edu/news/2015/06/24/clark-u-grad-receives-fulbright-heads-to-taiwan-to-teach-english/
Stay safe, enjoy the middle of the summer, and I will be in touch again from Taiwan!
Sara
