December 1993
East Wind
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Students Take a Cruise on the Love Boat
Chinese- or Taiwanese- Americans Can Take Classes,
Make Friends on Summer Study Tour of Taiwan
By Cindy Honj»
So you don’t want to go to sununer school, don’t feel like
working, but your parents are pushing you to do something produc
tive? Why not take a tour around the small but CROWDED island of
Taiwan? What’s more, if you have Chinese or Taiwanese roots, the
Taiwanese government will take you on this tour, teach you a little
about Taiwanese culture, attempt to teach you Mandarin, expose you
to a vast world of mostly Taiwanese- or Chinese- Americans (as well
as Taiwanese and Chinese stu-
friendships he made were the best part of the program, he said.
Li said the programs offered many opportunities to form
connections.
"You meet connections for life, (such as) business connection,"
he said. "Now, wherever I go, I have a place to stay."
Upon arrival in Taiwan, participants are escorted to their
respective campuses, and after a couple of days, the regular schedule
kicks in. The daily routine con
dents from other countries),
house you, feed you and gen
erally treat you like royalty for
a rather small fee.
The Overseas Youth
Language Tranining and Study
Tour is the official name of
this government program. But
imagine anywhere from 250 to
700 young, vibrant, potent
males and females ages 18 to
24 clumped together for six
weeks, and you get the more
popular name: “the Love
Boat.” On the Love Boat you
do not take a cruise, but you
can fly to Taiwan, live in
dorms, take language and cul
ture classes and embark on a
nine-day tour around Taiwan
with other people from
America and from around the
globe with Taiwanese or Chi
nese roots.
The study tour is a six-
week program held in mid
summer at one of two loca
tions in Taiwan: Chien Tan in
Taipei, where the program was
located originally, and Ocean
University in Kee Lung, a port
city in northern Taiwan. Chien
Frank Li (top row with glass raised), second year medical student,
at a Hai Zhomg Tian beer garden during 1988 Study Tour.
Judy Cheng(right) and friends at a Budhist temple in Taiwan during
the 1992 Study Tour.
sists of a morning language class,
crafts class, lunch, an afternoon
culture class, and then a field
trip. Nights are usually left free
as times to explore Taiwanese
nightlife or to simply hang out,
play sports or meet more people.
There is a curfew, but it is only
somewhat enforced.
Since the Chien Tan loca
tion is in Taipei, many of the
folks choose to explore the city.
"[Taipei] is so alive at night,"
said Hannah Lee, who lived at
Chien Tan." There's the night
market, food, shops, clubs, res
taurants and the infamous beer
ally."
At Ocean, however, the
night life is not as exciting as in
Taipei, so people are more likely
to hang around the dorm.
Students are placed into
the language classes based on
their performance on a test given
the first few days. The crafts
classes include making such
items as paper yo-yos, paper
carvings, flour figurines, masks
and paper cuttings. The culture
classes teach skills like sword
fighting, instrument playing.
Tan is the more luxurious locations of the two, but participants cannot
choose where they want to live. The session begins at the end of June
or beginning of July and lasts until mid-August.
Paying the majority of the costs (participants pay only $200 plus
air fare), the government does not seem to gain much in the trade.
But it does benefit, according to second year medical student Frank
Li, who attended the program in the summer of 1988. The study tour
inspired people to look at Taiwan in a different way, he said.
I think it re-established ties for people," said Li.
"A lot of people came back and even thought about working there."
martial arts, stick fighting and Chinese cooking.
Not everyone learns the art or talent, but they all attempt to
learn.
"For my culture class, I had to play a Southern fiddle," David
Lee said. "I sucked so bad they made me count beats instead."
First-year graduate student Mike Chen said the classes were not
meant to be taken seriously.
"Nobody studies or does homework," he said. Chen attended
the program in 1992 at Chien Tan.
The daily field trips are usually at places around the Taipei area.
Senior biology major Hannah Lee, who participated in the They have included such sights as the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial, the
study tour in 1990, also said the Taiwanese government benefited National Palace Museum of Art, Yeh Liu Park, the World Trade
from the program. While the government doesn't necessarily imple- Center, a martyr shrine, an amusement park and hot springs,
ment the program in an effort to get people to come back to Taiwan, After about 4-1/2 weeks of the regular schedule, everyone at
she it wanted participants to remember Taiwan. both locations takes a language test for their respective class and then
“[They] want to make a good impression on participants,” Lee embarks on a nine-day bus tour around the island. It is on this tour
said. that participants are given a glimpse of the best that Taiwan has to
Most of the participants have also given positive reports of their offer. From dramatic mountain gorges to scenic beaches, hiking trips
experiences. Junior biology major Judy Cheng, who participated in through bamboo to shopping trips in the night market, they see and
1992, noted how quickly friendships were made. A Bible study group do it all.
formed within the first week of the program, she said. Cheng also Hannah Lee and Judy Cheng both cited Hua Lien, a beautiful
said she enjoyed going to Taiwan because she got to see her relatives, mountainside beach, as being the most memorable part of the tour,
whom she had not seen in seven years. "It was so beautiful," Cheng said. "I usually think of Taiwan as being
Second-year medical student David Lee, who also attended the really dirty. Taipei is crowded and polluted, but the water was so blue
program at Chien Tan in 1992, was bom in Taiwan and had not been and just— beautiful."
back in 12 years. He said the program was a nice break for him Lee that Taiwan was interesting for her because she could see
between his undergraduate and professional school years. The where her parents were raised and where she was bom. While she