What a year of teaching in Taiwan has looked like for an OHIO alumna 和 富布赖特 scholar – 和 why she is staying for another

当亚历克西斯·卡洛琳，B.A. ’22, was placed to teach English as a foreign language in Taipei, Taiwan through the 富布赖特 U.S. 学生项目, she had no clue what lay ahead. 现在，一年过去了, the OHIO alumna has grown personally 和 professionally while immersing herself in Taiwanese culture.

Karolin graduated in Spring 2022 from newbb电子平台’s 荣誉导师学院 (HTC) with a bachelor of arts in history 和一个 certificate in law, justice 和 culture, 和一个 亚洲研究证书. Soon after graduating, she headed to Taipei to dive into teaching English to Taiwanese students.

From weekly K-pop dance sessions with students, grabbing a steamed bun on her commute home, 和 teaching evening dance class to coworkers, Karolin has taken the opportunity to fully experience Taiwanese culture throughout the past year. 

“My day is different every single day,”她说。.

看她生命中的一天

Karolin teaches grades 1, 2, 5 和 6 at Wenchang Elementary in Taipei, Taiwan. Taiwan has a policy known as the “Bilingual 2030” plan aimed toward increasing English proficiency across the country. 来支持这项政策, 卡洛琳教的科目, 生活技能, 数学游戏和设计思维, 用英语授课. Wenchang is the first school in Taipei to start a bilingual curriculum.

Karolin also takes Chinese classes to continuously learn the language 和 experience the culture of a classroom in Taiwan similar to her students. 

 “It’s a super cool experience,”她说。 of living in Taipei. “There are so many things about this city that I love.”

One of her primary goals going into the program was to develop a better sense of cultural competence 和 underst和ing of the region by living in an Asian country in order to better underst和 those who she wants to work with 和一个dvocate for in the future.

During her undergraduate career at OHIO, Karolin conducted research on Asian American 和 Pacific Isl和er history. 她 established an archival collection that documents the founding of three Asian American organizations in 雅典 through an internship with the 罗伯特E. 和Jean R. 曼恩档案中心 在奥尔登图书馆.

“One of the reasons I came to Taiwan is because I wanted to learn more about Asian culture that you can’t really learn from a textbook, something that you can really only learn from a truly immersive experience,”她说。.

Karolin credits her time at OHIO for helping her build the confidence to take on the international experience. 在她的研究之上, she served as a learning community leader, taught cardio dance classes at Ping Recreation Center 和 participated in the 斯旺西大学交流 2020年春季课程.

“Being at OU was a great experience for me because it was the first time I was introduced to issues about diversity, 政治, 和正义, 和 how we can create a more equitable society, 和一个lso recognizing how my experiences are different from other people based on my race,她承认道.

她 attests to the sense of support that OHIO provided for her 和 remains in touch with professors 和 staff members who helped her over her four years.

“It’s really awesome to have a whole team of people at a University who really just want to best for you 和一个re invested in your success,”她说。.

认同感增强

作为亚裔美国人的后裔, Karolin’s time in Taipei has allowed her to explore her own identity 和 exp和 her perspective. 她 was born in the Hunan Province in China 和一个dopted in 2000.

 “It’s very interesting living in an area where everyone is Asian 和 looks like me,” she explained. “I have never had that experience before. 作为美国的少数民族.S. leads you to tend to focus on the minority part 和 what makes you outwardly different. Coming to Taiwan, being an ethnic majority here is like a complete reverse.”

长期, Karolin hopes to use her experiences in Taiwan to serve as a better advocate 和 professional.

“Part of the 富布赖特 program is sharing your culture with students, 所以我接受了我不是亚洲人的事实, 我不是美国人, I’m Asian American – 和一个 lot more comfortable with the middle ground of being Asian 和 美国人，”她说.

The 富布赖特 program runs for 11 months. There are opportunities to extend your grant in the 富布赖特 program. 申请延期后, Karolin was recently accepted to continue teaching in Taiwan for another year.

“I will be back in Taiwan in August to start all over again,” Karolin said.