Schools in America: Back home, the buildings are usually spread over a big campus. My high school was about the size of two cities blogs, including a main building, auditorium, science wing, three gyms, two parking lots, and a rather large baseball field. My school was special in that it had three floors (the Old Castle building). Classrooms in America belong to the teacher. Each teacher is given a room, usually around the same subject teachers. Students move from classroom to classroom, cafeteria to gym, auditorium to science lab. We all have different classes that we pick based on our interests, so it is nearly impossible to have all the same classes as another person, let alone a group of people. When ever my friends ask me about school in America, the first thing I say is, "We don't have a uniform." More often then not, people reply with, "That is so cool!" Yeah, it is nice. I miss being able to wear what I like, especially sweats on really cold days. I feel like we are better able to express ourselves through the clothes we wear, so not having that option was a little tough in the beginning. Last, and the one that I am missing the most about schools back home, is that schools have heaters and air conditioners. During the summer, we close the windows and turn on the air conditioning, and have a comfortable classroom setting to learn. In the winter, we close the windows and turn on the heater, thus allowing us to not freeze our biscuits off, and learning in a comfortable environment. Thus, we are always comfortable, and never sweating or freezing. | Schools in Taiwan: Building here are always built UP. In Taipei, everything is built up. My high school has 5 buildings, 4 of which are at least 4 stories tall, and the last being 6. Yeah, it is a tall world over here. Sadly, my school has a small sports field: mostly a poorly paved track with basketball hoops in the middle of the field. There are no parking lots for students because the driving age is 18 here, and there would be no room for cars here anyway. Here, and in most parts of Asia and Europe, the classroom belongs to the student. Each class is comprised of around 30 students, all of whom take the same classes together, and stay with each other the whole year. This was a great shock to me: You take all the classes together? What about electives? What about sports? What about seeing other people? Nope, nada. Additionally, teachers move from class to class, with one large office for all of their desks. Asian culture is famous for instituting and strictly enforcing uniform policies. That is very true at my school, despite the uniform being ridiculous. Our regular uniform is a white button up shirt with grey pants. Not so bad. Our gym uniform though, is a bright yellow shirt paired with either lime green shorts or dark green pants. We are called the sweet corn school. Yeah. Despite the obvious lack of stylistic taste, the uniform does cut down on the amount of time I spend searching for something to wear. Also, I don't have to do as much laundry. Taiwan is heavily concerned about the environment, so any corners it can cut to reduce energy use, they take. That means that the schools limit the amount of time lights are on, how often they turn on the air conditioning in the summer, and the very limited use of heating units in classrooms. By very limited, I mean no use at all. Even on freezing days like today, all we have to protect ourselves against the cold are the clothes on our back, a window, and a door. Sad, right? |
Thanks for reading,
A.