McCORDSVILLE – Mt. Vernon students welcomed Taiwanese students as they arrived on April 23 to visit each other for a few days.
Eighteen students from Taipei Municipal Neihu Senior High School visited Mt. Vernon students last week, getting to introduce themselves to each other and later going on different activities together, such as a visit to Conner Prairie, a Chinese character scavenger hunt in the Saraga International Grocery, and tasting some Chinese food at Benyue Restaurant.
Yi-Fan Lin, Mt. Vernon High School Mandarin Chinese Teacher, said that for their pen pal project this year, Chinese students were able to write back and forth a couple of times and have an online meeting with Neihu Senior High School students – with two students having the opportunity to meet their pen pal face-to-face.
“They said it was like a dream. They couldn’t believe it happened,” Lin said.
Lin said that during the visits, the Mt. Vernon Chinese classes had opportunities to interact with this group of visiting students from Taiwan and practice their Mandarin skills, getting paired up with Taiwanese shadow students and introducing them to the school and experiencing different Mt. Vernon classes. The students also collaborated on a fashion show to practice their dialogue skills.
“Students were able to practice their Mandarin skills with native speakers and their motivation to keep learning the language was inspired by these visitors as well,” Lin said. “I also look forward to getting to know those Taiwanese students since I miss being a teacher in Taiwan.”
Two pen pals who had the opportunity to meet were junior Reagan Britt and freshman Chi-Kung Tseng.
Tseng said that his first day at Mt. Vernon was good, and he was able to make new friends and play basketball. Tseng said it was also a crazy experience to meet Britt in person, complementing Britt on being extroverted and smart.
“I thought the trip gave us a different perspective of the world, and it allowed us to express ourselves to foreigners,” Tseng said. “We should cherish this rare opportunity. I think it’s not that hard to talk with foreigners. Just be confident.”
Britt said that she didn’t expect it but was a little nervous when the Taiwanese students arrived; however, the feeling quickly went away as they were “so easy to connect with.” Britt said speaking with Tseng was surreal after only getting to know him through letters.
“We actually talked about how we never thought we’d get to see each other in person,” Britt said. “I’m so glad I got to meet him because it is easier to learn more about each other in person.”
Dr. Scott Shipley, director of curriculum, was also there when the students met for the first time and said “from the very first moment when the students met on Tuesday, it was special to see the smiles on their faces and witness the students use their second language to converse as teenagers.”
Dr. Shipley said that while the previous administration at Mt. Vernon Community School Corporation had developed the international program several years ago, their last exchange with Neihu Senior High School was pre-pandemic. However, with Lin being classmates with one of the teachers from Neihu Senior High School, it allowed the partnership between MVHS and Neihu Senior High School to continue.
Despite the Taiwanese students having to return home after the few days of visiting, Lin said they are planning a trip to visit the same high school in Taiwan next summer.
“Those Taiwanese students and my students are looking forward to seeing their new friends again,” Lin said.
