Day 3

Keng Jang, our GSE chair, gave us a tour of Yongan Elementary School today. To our great surprise he was the architect of this innovative design. He created special unique spaces for children to play and learn, and also fought for the budget to include a planetarium and air conditioning. The furniture was also specially designed for the classrooms. As we strolled through the school, we saw children laughing while playing badminton in the open-air atrium, reading to each other in specially designed cubbies that looked like forts, and participating actively in art and music lessons. We were delighted to see the children eating a healthy lunch of rice, vegetables, tofu and fruit. From the tropical plants in gardens all over the school, to the open classrooms filled with natural sunlight, it looked like a warm inviting place to be a student and a teacher.

The GSE team gave their presentation to the Hwa Lee Rotary Club. Hwa Lee is an all female club that was chartered 30 years ago. We were graciously welcomed, and enjoyed presenting the program on Charlotte to this eager group. Club flags were presented to all the members of the team.

We made a not-so-quick trip to the bank to exchange some US$'s into NT$'s It was kind of amazing the with all the technology available that the clerks recorded by hand every serial number of the US currency we exchanged.

An afternoon visit to the the Democracy Memorial Hall, which houses a statue of Chiang Kai-Shek, ended our day of vocational and cultural learning.