In summary, my project was to work in a community in Hsinchu, Taiwan where I had to take care of the elderly and teach art lessons with primary school students. In addition, I helped organize a summer camp for high school students to improve their English speaking skills and promote Malaysia’s culture. I also participated in a national dancing and cheerleading competition with the elderly people where I learned to communicate with the locals and adapt to their culture.
In addition, my partner from Thailand and I faced a lot of challenges especially when dealing with the community leaders and living in poor quality accommodation. In the beginning, it was very upsetting to have so many barriers to deal with by ourselves. Despite the challenges, we learned to work as a team and stepped away from our comfort zone in order to overcome the challenges and complete all the tasks given.
We also received a lot of support from the local communities who motivated us and treated us like we were their family, which helped us overcome with our obstacles. I am very thankful for all the support that was given to me and my partner.
On top of that, I am glad that I became more confident and mature, and I now acknowledge the importance of a positive mind. My partner from Thailand is 4 years younger than me thus I have to guide her in many things. This trained me to handle situations with patience and passion, which helped unleash the leadership qualities within myself.
Throughout this project, I also learned to travel alone in Taiwan. This is where I spent time alone to cultivate intuition, observe and analyze myself and everything around me. This experience had a great impact on me because I was never confident enough to do it alone. It has given me unsurmountable amounts of joy to have accomplished this in my early adult life. I also enjoyed traveling with my new friends and I appreciate all the stories that they shared with me. I did not only experience culture of Taiwan, but also from Thailand, Canada, Czech Republic and other countries!
This helped me widen my views and think in a broader perspective. In my opinion, I think to experience the world through your own eyes is not just a desire, it is an essential need of yours to grow and discover your strengths and interests.
This is a story from Lim Shiuw Vy | Universiti Malaysia Sarawak | All the best!
