A Warm Welcome to Taiwan!
Students were very excited to begin the program. We woke up early morning to the hotel's buffet breakfast which students found to be a delicious way to begin the program. We then gathered by groups (Blue Crew FTW!) and made our way to campus. Our orientation began with a campus tour which discussed some of the school's philosophy and how the architecture related to the schools values. Orientation continued with some inspiring speeches and discussions about safety which helped to ease a lot of the Blue Crew's concerns.
The day ended with a Chinese Dinner featuring some students from a local elementary school who performed a traditional Lion Dance. Lion dances are usually done to bring about good luck and fortune, especially when a new business or program is right about to begin. After their performance, the kids joined us for dinner which provided the group their first opportunity to speak with locals. The blue crew did a great job piecing together what Chinese they remembered and was able to ask our two visitors Melanie and Allison about their lives. Though the blue group was nervous about having the conversation in Chinese, they did it! It was good preparation for the language pledge which is to begin tomorrow!
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