Q14

其他Others

議題交流的部份，除了講師溝通外，既然名為”議題”交流，可能需要更有焦點的議題，並且建立一套稍有結構的小組討論，包括分組方式、場地、參與人員招募等等，以真正達到交流的目的。

對於這次的旅程，一言難盡；不過我就針對台灣學生的部分來說一下吧。首先是對於學生事前的聯繫，我們10位學生彼此都不知道誰是誰，也不知道要如何幫助這些僑生了解台灣文化。
我的意思不是要制式化。然而，我認為在行前台灣學生至少要開一次會，讓大家彼此熟識。如果可以，了解大家的專長，在特定的行程、活動上就可以比較精準的幫助外國人。比如說這次kiwi的台灣地理通；Roxy的原住民文化介紹；台灣歷史、文化面向(在下毛遂自薦，對於台灣民俗、戲劇、荷西、明鄭、日治研究、黨外運動，有些許了解。其他各領域的專家可以另請高明。)……(其他的台灣青年也很優秀，只是在下不能每位都熟識……)
另外就是行程的安排上，基本上ok！然而如果晚上有活動，白天可以鬆一點，不然大家會太累。此外，雖然不應該要有宵禁，然而我覺得對於病號的掌握是必須注意的。如果病號還去夜店，然後傳染給別人，對於整個活動的品質，也會有些許的影響。
僑委會跟Taiwanlook，你們很棒，謝謝你們！這趟旅程我學了很多，也更了解自己所居住、棲息(生態fu)的台灣！加油！希望能再次合作！

As I have been fortunate enough to have taken part in last year’s trip and was able to have spent some time with this year’s, I would just like to share some of my thoughts on the OCAC Culture and Heritage Camp for Outstanding Expatriate Youths.
Firstly, I would like to say that I believe that the idea of this trip is very admirable and that I am very grateful to the OCAC for giving me the opportunity to see more of Taiwan and the members of staff of Taiwan Look for organising an itinerary that offered an insight into the parts of Taiwan off the beaten track.
While I feel that I am unable to write fully on how successful the OCAC should view this trip, as I do not know their ultimate aim for this camp; I do feel that after the 1st two years, there is definitely still room for improvement.
One thing that I feel was lacking in the first trip and after speaking to members of the second is sufficient communication between the OCAC and the trip members. One thing that I found was that many people; and to be honest, myself included; that turned up on the first day of the trip not really knowing what we were doing, what the purpose of the trip was and as a result, with no real expectation. What made this worse was that some people actually had very little to do with the application process: much of it was done by parents, rather than the participants themselves. While I understand that this is probably bound to happen to an extent, my suggestion would be to include in the application process the requirement to write a short essay on why they feel they should be given a place on the trip and what they expect from it. I think that this would also ensure that people realise that it is a privilege to be selected for this trip, especially as it is fully funded by the Taiwanese government and ultimately tax payers in Taiwan.
A feeling I got especially this year was that there were some members who felt slight resentment towards having to produce the presentations shown at the end. I think again, this is partly down to a lack of communication. I think that this again stems from the fact that people didn’t know what they were signing up for. Again, as part of the application process, it should be made clear what is expected of each member and the application would become a de facto contract and I think that had this been made clear, everyone would have been perfectly willing to put in the time and effort to produce the presentations.
Obviously, one of the largest differences between this year’s and last year’s trip was the presence of the Taiwanese domestic members. While I think that this could potentially be a good idea, I think it very much depends on the Taiwanese members chosen. I feel that many of the Taiwanese members were able to get a lot out of the trip but especially at the beginning of the trip, there was a clear divide between the members from Taiwan and those from abroad. This divide was broken down as the trip progressed but there was still a lack of integration, be it either as a result of the language barrier or cultural differences. It was also down to the fact that some of the Taiwanese students saw this trip as a chance to see parts of Taiwan that they might not normally be able to see rather than as an opportunity to meet Taiwanese people who had been brought up in a different culture. While this is understandable and showing them those parts of Taiwan I’m sure is part of the point of the trip, I just feel that this is a bit of a wasted opportunity.
My final suggestion would probably be that it may be worth considering limiting the applicants to those over the age of 20. While I realise that this may mean that some may have to wait an extra few years to go on the trip but I think those years will really allow them to appreciate how much there is to be learnt on a trip like this. In both this year and last year’s trip, and I realise that I am generalising to an extent but it has been the slightly older members that have taken away the most from the trips while some of the younger members saw it as merely a good time and were unable to appreciate some of the places that they went or the people that they met.
I hope that some of these comments have been useful and I would just like to once again to the OCAC and Taiwan Look.