Traditionally summer camp has been used to over create recruit. On todays program, we are delighted to have two participants that were part of the taiwan 2013 project, and share with us their experiences living and working in taiwan for the summer. They are gina holly. Welcome to the program. Thank you. And david wang. Thank you. Were going to start off with a question to two of you, to tell us a little bit about yourselves. My name is gina holly. Im 22 years old. Im from los angeles, california, and i just graduated from the university of california berkeley. Very good school. Also where i got my phd and law degree. [laughter] david, tell us about yourself. My name is david. My family comes from toronto, canada. My school is the university of toronto. Also a very good school. [laughter] never heard of it. Im studying contemporary Asian Studies and political science. What are your plans after graduation . I would like to get some reallife experience first and work a little bit before i decide my next steps. Good for you. Both of you are here to participate in the Taiwan Program 2013. Can you tell us about the program . What is it all about . I know it was aimed to attract overseas youth. What is the program entail . What are some of the Services Offered that were most attractive to you . I would say that the program is all about bringing overseas trainees to taiwan to show us where our culture came from, and about how great taiwan is, and hopefully bring us back over to taiwan after this great program. The internship is just an added cass. Getting reallife experience, getting to see how real jobs work and people helping us and showing us around taiwan. Where did you work for the summer . What did you do . Theyre basically helping us learn more about Video Production and teaching us how to use cameras, how to edit. Every aspect that goes into Video Production. I dont know anything about Video Production, i just know i like watching tv and movies. Its very interesting to see what goes on behind the scenes. Is that something that you might be doing later on in your career . I have always been interested in entertainment. Video production is just one aspect. The program today would be a good start for you. David . A thought of it as a great opportunity to come back to taiwan. Most of my family emigrated. I dont have that many chances to come back to taiwan. The last time i was back with a Similar Program with ocac. Ocac when i was younger was a Chinese School in the morning and then cultural activities. This time we have an internship, which gives us an indepth look into worklife. Its a more realistic look into Taiwanese Society and culture. Where did you work . China television. What did you do . Video production, video editing. Because it is a bigger company, they took us out a lot on trips. It was very good because we saw different aspects of the production, and seeing other parts of taiwan that is not taipei, interacting with locals. As participants in the program, how often do you guys meet to exchange what you have learned, your thoughts about the program so far . Do you meet every day . We are friends outside of the internship, so we hang out more often. With everyone we meet, probably three times a week. Im working on a video for the end of the summer, promoting taiwanese culture. We need to bounce ideas off of each other. Were going to start filming tomorrow, maybe today. How did you guys learn about the program . It is almost three months for the two of you. What were some of the plans you had before deciding on being a part of the ttt 2013 . How did you learn about the program . My plans for the summer were that i wanted to move to San Francisco and lift my young 20s live my young 20s in s. F. Jobs are hard to find, and living there is expensive. My other option was ttt, introduced to me by my mother. She loves reading the chinese newspaper and watching chinese television, and heard about taiwan tech trek through those outlets. She urged me to apply. After some convincing, i looked it up online and it actually looks really great. I have been to taiwan many times before and i love taipei, living in taipei. I thought this would be a good alternative. It has been great so far. You have been back to taiwan before many times. How is the experience different this time that you are part of this ttt program . I did a bunch of ocac programs before. We just have more freedom now. You are also older. It has got to give you more freedom. Yes. Being on our own gives me a better way of learning about taipei. I have to learn how to take the mrt on my own, the bus on my own, talk to people and improve my chinese. Its more practical. How about you . Since three years ago, every summer i decided i wanted to travel to asia. That is how i thought the best way was to learn about asia, to go there and get firsthand experience. Two years ago i went to japan for three months. At canadian universities, we have four months of summer holidays. Thats fun. Do summer school, do an internship where you travel. Its essentially a third of the school year. I went to japan and china the last two summers. I was like, its about time i come back to taiwan. I searched on google. Lets see whats available. The other ones were more study abroad trips. It was less practical, less realistic. It was kind of an artificial environment, but i thought that the taiwan tech trek provided a great chance for us to come short term, work, get practical experience, and the other people meet other people. Let me ask the two of you, has the program so far been pretty much what you expected, or is it beyond your expectations . Has it fallen a tad short of what you originally envisioned . Judging from the description, job description, i had no idea what to expect. I just went in with no expectations, open mind. Good for you. After talking to everyone else, i decided our internship was amazing because we got to go on trips. We learned practical skills. Its a lot more satisfying. Im very happy with it right now. How about you, gina . I expected that taiwan and taipei was going to be really fun. Every time i come back i always enjoy myself. This internship has really gone beyond my expectations. Like david, i really didnt know what i was going to be doing this summer. When people asked me what is your internship, video i was like, propaganda, maybe. [laughter] we have been able to travel around. It has been great. Was there any aspect or aspects of taiwan in the experience that you have learned on this trip that you were not able to learn on previous visits . David . It is more the access to talking to people that live here. Theres a difference between when you study asia from reading Journal Articles versus when you actually have a conversation with the taxi drivers. Every taxi driver is different. Ive had amazing conversations with all of them. With my bosses and my peers. I feel like i want to learn about every aspect through their perspective. I trust their experience more than learning it secondhand back at school. That is probably the most exciting part. And gina . Living here and working here has given me a chance to understand Taiwanese Society, the people. By getting to talk to them, going on the mrt everyday, going to work the same way. Its different because im not surrounded completely by overseas chinese the entire time. I just have a better understanding of taiwanese people. Its a good understanding. Have you guys made new friends on the trip so far, in addition to other participants in the program . I have, actually. From past programs, ive had people who are in taiwan everyone always comes back to taiwan. When we come back, we always meet up. I get introduced to more people. It is like a click friendship in taiwan. To me, it is more about Family Friends i reconnect with and relatives. They treat me better because they have a personal understanding of me and my family. Its great getting to know them. They probably see the maturation in you, too. Hopefully. I could sense it 10 minutes into the program. We need to take the first break. Welcome back to the second segment of todays program here on the taiwan outlook. We will continue speaking about the taiwan tech trek. Gina holly and david wang are here with me. Over the course of the internship, have you gained a better understanding of taiwan . Not just work, but also the people, the society, the kinds of values shared by the people, especially the youth in taiwan has that been so for the kinds of progress you have seen in your understanding of taiwan . Yes. I would say definitely. For me, it has been a sevenyear gap since i last came back. The taiwan experience when i was 14 was mostly hanging out with other overseas taiwanese, rarely interacting with the people who actually live here. Now im more mature and i understand im more curious about im more observant about y surroundings, and talking with other taiwanese people. The greater understanding i have is how society and people think. Theyre not really that different from us. It is more interesting to see how they see us, because we are overseas taiwanese. It is quite interesting. And gina . I have had a bunch of time alone, traveling. I also have a greater curiosity for taiwan now, as im older. I opted to walk home rather than take the bus, and just look around, explore. What i have found is that i know i just love taiwan. Everyone is so friendly. People are friendly and curious as to why im here. Ive had random people who just want to have a conversation with me. You guys have been here for some weeks now. Neither of you has your family with you. What are some of the things that you tell them in the last few weeks . Through facebook, email, whatever what were some of the things you were sharing with family and friends back home . Leave me alone, right . [laughter] my mom tries to call me everyday. I pick up once a week. She has not been back for 15 years. Will she be here later in the program . I dont know. I just tell her how taipei has changed. Nexen everything. New bikes and everything. I tell her what i think about taiwan now, and how i see its future. I asked them why they immigrated at first. Im curious about their taiwan, 1980s, 1990s. There seem taiwan through my eyes now they are seeing taiwan through my eyes now. I think my mom is just excited that she can say, i told you so. This is a very worthwhile experience for you. She can see how happy i am here. Basically all she tells me to do is buy her things. Have you guys tried any new local foods on this trip . You have been here before many times. Have you had new experiences this time . You must have a lot of chopped ice. Anything else . I tried [indiscernible] for the first time. I was with a really good family friend and they bought it for me. I did not want to disrespect them. It was good. My Family Friends took me down and there is a coastal town. We ate the best seafood ever. It is different from japanese seafood. Here it is oysters raw, like soup, like pancake. I was blown out of my mind and how simple taiwanese cuisine is. It is very subtle. When you can appreciate the simple flavors, that is when you really understand taiwanese cuisine. In the process, the two of you have gained an understanding of taiwan. What do you think the trip has made a difference in in your life, specifically regarding your future Career Options . Will you be thinking of spending more time in taiwan . Or maybe even start working here in taiwan . Is that becoming an option . I have not given it much thought yet, but its constantly there in my mind. You can only know if you want to do something once you have actually done it. Coming here, getting a little taste of it, you get a feel for it. I feel its quite easy to adapt to taiwan, more than my experiences in japan or china. Within three weeks, i felt very comfortable. As to whether i would work here, there is still some thought i would have to give. But it is an option right now. I am trying to improve my chinese. Living here is definitely the best way. I have been thinking about maybe retiring here one day, just because everything is so convenient. When you are older and you maybe cant drive or cant see as well, even younger people respect their elders so much. I go onto the bus and when an older person comes on, three people stand up. Its a very good place for older people to live. For all the friends you have made in taiwan, old and new, do you intend to continue to stay in touch with them, maybe through them you can understand some of the things that are developing differently in taiwan in the coming months and years . Absolutely not. [laughter] im getting kidding. [laughter] i just met these people, and i feel like we will be friends. My two other interns, we became really close through just working together. Through my previous experience in taiwan, ive always met up with old friends that i met in taiwan. Even if i have not talked to them in five years, we can meet up again here and relive our memories and have this personal connection through taiwan. David, i suppose the situation is similar . Very. Theres a few of my mothers Family Friends that i intend to keep on talking to. Other than talking to people my own age, they give me a different perspective. They have seen taiwans transformation. Its good to have different kinds of ideas, and people in taiwan to keep in contact with. One thing i was struck by very vividly was, based on the materials i was given by the producer about some of the observations by the two of you were able to pick up, ive noticed that the two of you identify some of the issues that confront taiwan today. They are very much the issues that a lot of the youth are currently having problems with. For example, the higherthan expected Unemployment Rate for people 25 and younger, and the stagnant wages, especially for younger workers in taiwan. Are the some of the issues that come up in your conversations with local youth while in taiwan . Do they voice their concern about the economy, about which way taiwan will be going . Gina . We have not had extensive conversations about this, by the taiwanese youth i have come across but the taiwanese youth i have come across, they work very hard. The people i work with, we leave before they leave work. They are out there on weekends. They are stressed about their coming up on exhibitions. I dont know if that stress is very good for young people, but thats what ive noticed. And david, you have seen the same thing . From what i have gathered, the minimum wage has been stagnant in comparison to rising inflation and living costs, especially in taipei. As much as the taiwanese people are nice and friendly, there is a certain amount of pessimism in regards to taiwans future, economically and politically. It is really whether it will be stable. A lot of it is manifested in when they want to say, they go to australia or study abroad, go to other places with higher minimum wages, learning wish, and bring it back. Learn english, and bring it back. It is really different from taiwans heydays. I see a lot of that tengion the conversations tengion tinging the conversations i have had. Do you find that the youth here are more easily in tm with you in terms tune with you in terms of the language and problems they identified with . Do you guys find more of the local youth able to converse with you in english . Are they able to share some of the same things you are troubled with . Is that the feeling you get . I would say so. It is half chinese, have english. In the end, we are pretty much on the same level. We can have conversations about these things. We are all youth. Theres a huge youth unemployment problem in canada as well. I do understand where theyre coming from. And gina . There is just more people in the world, in general. We need to create more jobs. Its very important. I have a cointern who is taiwanese. We can talk fine. No problem. Maybe its like a girl thing. [laughter] we need to take another break. We continue our conversation with gina holly and david wang, who are both participants in the taiwan tech trek program. Gina, we understand that before the Program Actually started that both of you along with other participants needed to go through a weeklong orientation. Can you tell us a little bit about that orientation . It seems to the outsiders that many of the participants of the program have been in taiwan before. What would be some of the issues or concerns they stress in the weeklong Orientation Program . What were the parts you enjoy the most . Weeklong orientation was great. We went around the whole island, north to south, a lot of different things. We went to the night market. My personal favorite part was when we were on a boat and they were just fishing fresh oysters and mussels, and then grilling them and giving them to us to eat. We saw a lot of museums. I would say the best part is when we had taiwanese people our age students age, students guiding us. Peer counselors, thats what they call them. We became friends with them really quickly. After the program, we still kept in contact with them. They take us out to dinner, various activities in the city. Gina . Orientation was a good idea for taiwan tech trek to do because we started our internships, because it allowed us to meet so many different people who were going to be in taiwan at the same time as us. You dont feel alone here. You know there are 300 others who are going through the same things you are. It is interesting because you can put 30 people together in a group, and you become such good friends with them after having this weeklong travel journey together. A kind of forces you to become best friends with people. Even though we went to museums, the good thing that came out of it was the good thing that came out of it outweighed the other stuff. What were some of the things you enjoy the most . Going to the night market, for example, visiting places who have not been to yet. The night market was really fun. Unfortunately, we did not get that much time there. Its hard to organize 300 people in the place. That was my favorite part. What were some of the things that you probably are going to be sharing with friends and family when you go home . What are some of the things that you say, i have to tell my buddy or my brothers when they get back . What are some definite must tell things . Our subway system in toronto has three lines. It is been like that for several decades. The first thing im going to tell them is how hightech and how fast taipei builds and expands their metro. In toronto, we spent some times an hour just for the commute. Here it is so convenient. That is probably the first thing i would tell them right away