大家好, 我想要感謝所有曾經幫助過我的人,因為有這些人,使我在台灣學習的期間非常難忘。

首先,我要感謝美國政府以及Ｉ　ＥＡＲＮ台灣。沒有他們，我今天不會站在這裡跟大家說話。

再來是文藻華語中心的所有老師，因為你們的幫助，我的中文能力進步許多。

還有我們輔導員ＡＢＢＹ，不論在哪裡或什麼時間，她總是負責得照顧我們。

最後，我想感謝台灣人。謝謝台灣人讓我認識台灣這個美麗的國家。台灣人或許是我遇過最熱情和友善的人。而這也成為我學習中文最大的動機。

我也要特別感謝我的朋友以及接待家庭。我在台灣認識的好朋友是我遇過最真心的人。

這些朋友是我台灣之旅最好的精神支柱，所以我從來沒有感覺到寂寞。他們會是我在台灣最好的回憶，我永遠不會忘記他們。雖然我就要回美國了，我希望和大家保持聯絡。

還有我的接待家庭，因為我的接待家庭，我了解了台灣家庭生活。他們也對我很好，我會想念他們。

ＩＥＡＲＮ的朋友們，很高興認識你們，我很開心能夠跟你們一起來到台灣。

最後，我要再一次謝謝所有人。

Thank You Speech

Hello everyone! I would like to extend my warmest gratitude to those who have made my time in Taiwan memorable and exciting. Firstly, I want to thank the United States government for funding this fantastic adventure as well as I-EARN Taiwan for facilitating the scholarship. Without these two bodies, we would not be standing here today giving these speeches. Secondly, I would like to thank the staff at the CCL whom has been extraordinarily helpful in aiding our Chinese language development, Abby for being available and responsible for us no matter when and where, and the people of Taiwan for welcoming us into their beautiful society. The Taiwanese are perhaps the warmest and friendliest people I have ever met. The hospitality and kindness that everyone unceasingly demonstrates has served as the most powerful motivation for learning Mandarin. 

I want to give a special thanks to my friends and host family. I believe my closest friends are some of the most genuine people I have ever met. I don’t think there was ever a moment where I felt lonely or unloved. My friends have served as the greatest social support throughout this journey and I will always carry a special place for them in my heart. Even though I will be returning to the United States soon, I intend on staying in contact with them. They are will be undoubtedly the greatest memory I will have of my time spent in Taiwan. My host family has allowed me to see how a traditional Taiwanese family lives every day. They have been so kind and hospitable and will be greatly missed.

To my I-EARN friends, I just want to say that you guys are awesome! McKenzie, it is so awesome that we both love Spanish! Plus, we are from neighboring states! I think it was destiny that we were selected for the same program! Nora, I love you and your corny jokes. Ben, although I haven’t mastered the art of talking ghetto, I think you put me on the right track. You are hilarious. Our trip to Taiwan has been a life changing experience for all of us. With that said, I would like to thank everyone again!

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Growth in 台灣

Every once in a while I like to ponder on what my life was like just a few years before I decided to embark on this amazing journey here in Kaohsiung. Two years ago, I was living in a small farming community known as East Bend, North Carolina with a population of roughly one thousand people. Growing up, I have always had a strong desire to go abroad and see the world but I have never had the chance to do so. I knew that someday I would reach my goal but never in my wildest dreams would I have known that I would be moving to Asia shortly after I turn eighteen! Before coming to Taiwan, I have never left the United States, let alone the east coast! It is interesting to reflect on where fate can lead you and what kind of opportunities may arise when one takes the initiative to find them. With that in mind, it is safe to say that earning a full scholarship to study Chinese is perhaps the greatest opportunity I have had thus far. 

By starting a new life here, I have been able to challenge myself in ways that would have not been possible in the United States. Given that studying a foreign language in depth is not very common in my country, one is usually given a lot of unnecessary appraisal for it. Unfortunately, when this happens you tend to not know what your limits are and where you stand as a competent language learner. In Taiwan, I have been lucky enough to meet people who challenge and push me thus enabling me to go further than I could before. This of course is not exclusive to learning a language. My closest friends that I have met in Taiwan whom I love to death are my nastiest critics. At times, the things that they say can be brutal and quite excessive. Yet, through their creative ways of showing affection for me as their friend, I have learned to endure a heavy amount of criticism. Back home, I was known to suffer from a horrid mental illness known as level four perfectionism (let’s pretend there are four levels). So, with anything I did whether it was a term paper or speaking Chinese for that matter must be well above adequate. I absolutely despised having my flaws blatantly pointed because I felt that if I did not reach a certain standard, I was simply failing. Now, I know this is a terrible mentality and there truly is no such thing as perfect. I’ve learned to enjoy life a little bit more and pursue my interests for the sake of its sheer enjoyment. I have met people who are far more talented and/or intelligent than I am. Instead of comparing myself with those people, I found that I should learn from them. The most successful individuals I have met are the most passionate and carefree and that is the type of person I aim to be. 

It is easy to refer to yourself as an open-minded person when living in your native context. When exposed to another culture or way of thinking for a brief period of time, anyone can nod their heads and say “I understand”. But, true understanding of another culture or way of life can only be achieved by living it day to day. It is not enough to simply smell it, you have to taste it. The broadminded person that you think you know yourself to be is challenged when living abroad. At times, you are confronted with a mentality or a habit that drives you absolutely bonkers. For example, my definition of cleanliness does not match up to my host family’s standard. Being reminded the importance of cleaning a room that is seemingly already clean is not necessarily my cup of tea. Nevertheless, I have to tell myself that there are different ways of looking at things and there is always a reason for every action and mindset. Culture is like a puzzle: each piece is fitted in a unique way thus creating a beautiful picture. You cannot take a puzzle piece from another puzzle and apply it to the one you just made because it simply won’t fit! This can be applied to something as miniscule as cleaning habits to something far more profound because in the end, your way of thinking may not necessarily be consistent with the greater picture. 

Finally, I have learned to become a lot more appreciative of where I come from. It is our background and past experiences that shape who we are. I believe that every aspect of my life, big or small, has had a colossal impact on the person that I am today. When I came to Taiwan, I was a teenage boy seeking adventure. Now, I see myself as a young adult with far more insight and knowledge about the world. My yearlong journey in Taiwan has been a stepping stone to an interesting and fulfilling life ahead and I can’t wait to see what awaits me in the years to come.

Introduction
大家好！我叫敖媚聲，今天我要告訴大家　＂謝謝＂。我在台灣認識了很多朋友。

Thank host family
首先要先謝謝我的寄宿家庭，我很高興能住在她們的家。雖然她們只是兩個很平凡的人，但她們卻過的非常的 快樂。他們常常說好多笑話給我聽，而且既漂亮又聰明，最重要的是他們幫助我很多。我有很多美好的回憶，比如和Jubbie一起去韓國，或是和Ya-Shu Mommy 一邊看“愛上巧克力”一邊吃水果。這些都是我在台灣很難忘的回憶。離開台灣後，我真的會想妳們。

Thank wenzao文藻
我也要謝謝文藻。 因為文藻有很多的外國學生， 所以我也認識了韓國人，西班牙人，墨西哥人，德國人，印尼人，日本人和法國人。歐洲人真的很愛抽煙！我們都來台灣學中文，也常常練習中文。 我也在文藻上很多西班牙文課。 因為我在美國學過西班牙文所以我在文藻上西文課的時候也可以認識其他台灣學生。在健身室也可以認識台灣朋友。文藻好棒！

Thank IEARN,
我想對美國政府，美國的納稅人，AIT, NSLIY, 跟iEARN 說聲“謝謝” . 謝謝你們給我這個機會。我很喜歡在高雄的生活，也很喜歡在台北，墾丁，和花蓮的旅行。我希望回家以後能還記得台灣跟中文。中國和美國是兩個富強的國家，所 以謝謝你們幫我這個美國學生來台灣學中文。

Thank NSLI-Y Crew and Abby
我也要謝謝Abby.

最後我要謝謝Ben, Brandon, 和 Nora。從認識到現在，我們都在一起。Ben,還記得我們的第一個學期中文課嗎？Brandon, 我們“represent the South“ 然後也一起練習西文。我特別要謝Nora. 你是我最好的朋友。 和你們在一起我有很多美好的回憶.

我很感激所有我在台灣遇到並幫助過我的人，感謝你們為我做的一切，我會永遠記得你們的，謝謝台灣！

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Growth in 台灣
Thank you again for the role everyone here has played in helping me learn and grow here for the last 10 months. Taiwan has deepened my understanding of the world in multiple ways and I’m so thankful to be given this opportunity and highlight some of the ways while I’ve been here.

Living in Taiwan, I’ve learned how to be alone. Living abroad isolates you in a way that being in a high school in the US doesn’t, and a part of my growth here has been marked by being by myself and being OK with it. Living about an hour away from school, I had about two hours to reflect, think, read, study, listen to music, chat with a fellow commuter, or make a new friend as I’ve taken public transportation. I’ve walked and rode my bike to the train station. Part of my personal growth in Kaohsiung has been learning how to be satisfied with the montonous parts of my day. It’s not always fun; however, being able to persevere through the lows makes the highs that much more rewarding.

Another takeaway from my year in Taiwan has been a better perspective on Asia and differences between Western and Eastern culture. The importance of family and community here is reflected in young adults who live with their parents, the young man who gives his seat to an older woman on the MRT, and how 帥哥literally means “handsome brother.” Taiwan is different from America in a plethora of ways and discovering those differences that go beyond the language difference has given me insight into how Asia looks out and interacts with the world.

Finally, my Chinese! It’s been awesome to go from being unable to communicate with my host mom to having conversations about when mangos will come back in season. I’m thankful for all the friends Ive made at Wenzao, and I can’t express how grateful I am for this year. Thank you all.

這個學期， 我跟Nora作了一部影片. 我希望你喜歡 “美國的刻板印象”. 台灣人覺得我們很喜歡漢堡.  
This semester, Nora and I made a movie. I hope you like “American Stereotypes”. Taiwanese people think we eat a lot of hamburgers.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEOtW_G72dw

有的人喜歡看電影還是去海邊. 我覺得這些休閒活動很好玩但是我做的東西比較特別… 比較不一樣. 我很喜歡招牌好紹的動物! 在美國, 我有很多寵物! 有兩隻貓(可是第一隻貓非常胖, 你可以說他是”兩隻貓”). 也有兩隻狗! 他們都是笨蛋. 所以每個東西他們決定做我想非常白目, 非常奇怪. 所以, 我拍照! 我也對危險動物有興趣. 我家人最喜歡的地方放暑假是南卡Hilton Head. 那兒有好多鱷魚! 好酷! 我的父母在運動的時候, 我就跟鱷魚牌照! 好可愛! 不幸的是這個城市不可以是我住的地方. 那些鱷魚一定要吃我貓跟狗. 我覺的鱷魚要想”ㄇㄇㄇ那隻貓好像非常好吃!” 太可憐了! 她不會跑一砲… 她太胖了! 我的狗可以是小吃蛋是我的貓一定要是招牌菜! 我覺得那些鱷魚都是廣東人. 那麼, 你們現在知道我很特別的人. 還是我跟你也喜歡做每天的東西. 我喜歡寫. 我覺得語言是藝術. 你就可以寫你的想法和感情. 然後我喜歡看書和網路. 我的朋友們覺得我是老人因為我對新聞有興趣. 如果你不知道什麼東西, 你要是笨蛋.

The Bensons Do Taiwan