Teaching Coordinator Victor Li
It’s 6:30 on a cool March morning. Alarm clocks all over Northern Taiwan rang. 23 students rolled out of bed, they were tired but excited. Some ate quickly and put on their school uniforms, others were too nervous for breakfast and just got dressed. It’s 6:50 and cameras were being turned on, faces counted. Everyone was ready, dressed, and getting a little anxious. What’s going on? The elite Pen Pal Program students were preparing for the online meeting with their pen pals from Las Vegas!
Traced back to September 19, 2022, nearly eighty students lined up at an unassuming classroom. Their goal? To interview for a chance to participate in the International Pen Pal Program! After a competitive audition, 23 students were selected to join the program. They were at the start of a 5 month journey that would culminate in meeting their pen pals in a group video conference.
Before that though, they had to prepare. They attended classes every other week, and learned all the things they would need to know to make their experience a memorable and successful one. Classes included online etiquette, how to write a formal letter, how to present Taiwan to others, and even how to beautify and decorate their self introductions.
Throughout these classes, students also had several opportunities to write letters to, and receive letters from, their pen pals. They got to know their new friends and learned more about the US and The Meadows school.
After weeks of classes and buildup, these 23 students could finally participate in an online meeting where they met their pen pals “face to face” for the first time. Each pair was allowed some time to share a little more about themselves and to chat freely.
Once the initial nerves were overcome, and common interests were remembered, the conversations became more natural and dynamic. To end on with a memorable challenge, all the students in the program, as well as their pen pal partners, participated in a Kahoot competition, to show just how much they learned about their friends’ country, and what they knew about their own.
While this year’s program is now over, we also look forward to telling you about the next one. See you next year!
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