My Time in Malawi

My Time inMalawi


Christian Dalton（杜思台）


As I approached my adult years I had an opportunity to go to live and work in a third world African country, Malawi. Besides seeing true poverty on a daily basis, I also witnessed, first hand, myriads of animals in the African natural Kingdom. My time working and living there was an amazing life-changing experience.

Malawi is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It sits above Zimbabwe, east of Botswana, west of Mozambique and below Tanzania. The country is characterized by a very large lake which runs along its eastern border with Mozambique. Malawi is a small country which is extremely long and thin; therefore, it would take almost a day to travel from its southern tip to the northern end. Being situated right in the tropics means Malawi is an incredibly hot country as well as a poor one, and nobody I knew had an air conditioner. I went to Malawi because my father moved there. My father is a civil engineer and often took contracts in developing countries. In Malawi his job was to build a dam to supply the surrounding countryside with water and power. The surrounding countryside was incredibly flat and dry: typical African semi-desert, open and dusty with the occasional baobab trees. Our village, however, was a lot better for what was around us. The dam was situated on top of a mountain, and our house was on the nice cool (cooler...) slopes of the mountain. Africa is a dangerous place, and our house compound was fenced all around; furthermore, we had a staff of seven men for our family of three! This included a 24-hour security, a gardener and his father, and our in-house servants. The mountain and the slope up to it were covered in lovely, cool forest where I spent many holidays hiking. Although our village was covered with thick trees, it is still heavily populated with villagers, woodcutters and farmers, so it was not here that I witnessed African wildlife.

Near to our village, on those big dusty plains, was a National Park. This particular park happened to be the richest park in Malawi for African wildlife because of the German funded anti-poaching unit which was stationed there. Therefore, while all the other parks were being hunted out, this one was still rich in animal lives. The South African manager of the unit, an ex-military man, was a friend of my father, and my father arranged me to work a few months at the park to help and gain work experience. Life at the park was hard. We awoke before dawn and spent the day doing necessary tasks around the park: repairing fences, taking the anti-poaching soldiers out into the field or other general maintenance. Other than a lunch and rest during the hottest time of the day, we usually stayed out in the bush until past nightfall. The house didn't have power or running water, and we started a petrol generator every evening for some light during dinner time. Most evenings I didn’t even miss the TV because I fell right asleep after dinner! There was one week when we noticed a funny taste coming from the drinking water (which came from a tank and was subsequently boiled). We drank the water for a few days, and the taste and weird smell became worse and worse. After investigation by one of the staff, we found a dead lizard about the size of a small cat, which had died in the water tank. We were alive and healthy, so we did not need to worry about it once we took it out. The most enjoyable thing I did was driving the 4x4 jeep through the sandy roads in the park. Doing errands to camps at the other side of the park or taking the soldiers on their patrols or raids was a real challenge for a 4x4. After a few weeks at the park I contracted malaria. I knew exactly when I was bitten because we were in the marsh, cutting grass to feed the buffalos. Although we were doing this at sunset, I forgot to put on insect repellant. Needless to say, what followed was the absolute worst week of my life. Although I felt like I would die any minute, I didn't have a bad case and there were no complications.

Towards the end of my stay at the game park, the South African Parks Board (being the worldwide authority on animal capture and transport) was doing a huge capture and release program involving our anti-poaching unit. Animals were being shot with tranquillizer darts in other Malawian Parks with less anti-poaching protection. They were then transported by trucks to our park in which the authorities could protect them in much better ways. Assisting with this project was an incredible opportunity for me to be up close to the animals. I saw and helped release zebras, buffaloes and all different kinds of bucks. One advantage of being on the staff was that I wasn't restricted to a car. I was free to walk around on foot and witness hippos, elephants and baboons (which used to frolic in front of our house at sunset). The sunsets were also amazing in their own right. There are no words I can use to describe the feeling of watching the sunset over a backdrop of African grassland where hippos and bucks are grazing.

My time in Malawi went by so quickly, but it included so many great and sometimes quite scary experiences. I have always planned to go back one day; however, as my life goes on, it looks more and more impossible, and even if I did, it would never be the same again. I learnt a great deal about myself, other people, and the natural world from my time in Malawi.



Studying Abroad atPerth Australia




Vivian Chiang（江佳倫）

Being excited and nervous, I studied abroad at Perth with other nineteen classmates in the summer of 2006. Perth, the capital of the mysterious realm of West Australia (WA) is extremely different from East Australia. The weather in WA is much warmer than that is in East Australia. Most areas in WA are deserts, while there are many busy and prosperous cities in East Australia. The shops in West Australia are usually closed at five o'clock in the evening, but in East Australia the shops are closed late in the evening. East Australians are more open-minded than West Australians. West Australians are slow paced, and they like to stay home on holidays. On the contrary, East Australians like to go out and hang out with their friends. However, East and West Australians are all nice, kind, and friendly. Although these differences sometimes gave me cultural shocks, I fulfilled my dream of appreciating various aspects of Australian cultures through a series of English classes, interesting excursions, and a homestay in a host family.

We had English classes in the morning and had ELICOS (elective courses) in the afternoon. The teachers in the morning classes taught us daily life English, Australian cultures, and some information of our excursions. We learned how to communicate with foreigners. We also learned words and phrases, such as the subtle difference between “on the bed” and “in bed,” or the difference between “in the evenings” and “at night.” I practiced pronunciation, speaking, and listening comprehension in ELICOS. Trish, one of my favorite teachers, taught us to imitate the intonations of the dialogues and practiced the tongue-twisters. She was patient and humorous. I like her very much.

Curtin school also invited an aboriginal speaker, Josiz, to deliver a speech. She introduced us to the aboriginal culture and language. Before the whites occupied Australia, the native people believed the “bunna” and the red dirt were their protection. The aborigines, being like primitive people, were naked, slept on the red sand, and lived in the bush. They used fire to heat the ground and kept themselves warm. They ate emu and kangaroo in order to keep their skin smooth. They did not have written language. They recorded their stories and culture by singing and drawing. At their leisure time, they reminded themselves of the journeys by singing the songs. When they drew, they liked to use dots and bright colors to fill the paintings. Each dot had its story and meaning behind. For the aborigines, every one was equal. No one was labeled. They did not know what “fear” and “jealousy” were. Aboriginal people lived peacefully in each village. They believed in Nature, not God. When the white people occupied Australia, aboriginal people were forced to adapt to the life style of white people. The whites thought that aborigines were barbarians, so the white men took the aborigines to modern cities and forced them to put on the clothes. Moreover, the aborigines lost control of the nature, and they did not adapt well to the life in cities. “All human beings would come back to nature some day,” they thought. After I listened to Josiz's speech, I fell completely in love with the aboriginal arts, songs, cultures, and languages. What a unique and wonderful speech!

Besides the morning classes and ELICOS, Curtin held many excursions for us. The three spots that I highly recommended were: Caversham Wildlife Park, Sandalford Winery, and Rottnest Island. In Caversham Wildlife Park, I saw many kinds of Australian animals. I fed the kangaroos and hugged the wombat. They were so cute. I also rode the camel. It was a horrible experience. When the camel stood up or sat down, I could not stop screaming. When I rode the camel, I felt I would be flung out of its back any minute. When we took the pictures with the koala and her babies, we had to be quiet; otherwise, we would have woken them up. Other animals were cute as well, like the emu, the dingo, the black swan, and so on. The dingo was like the dog. I had great fun in Caversham Park. In addition to Caversham Park, Sandalford Winery is an old and established winery which is located near Swan River. The clerk in the winery introduced us to red wines and white wines. We tasted different flavors of wines. I did not get used to drinking wine, so I just drank a little bit. It was too bitter for me. The last impressive place was Rottnest Island. It took us one and half hours by ferry to go there from Perth city. It was a beautiful day, and the vivid sunshine, the impressive scenery, and the lovely atmosphere depicted a marvelous picture in our mind. We used all our energies to ride the bikes. Going around the whole island was an impossible task, so we just rode to the ship dock area at a small unknown beach. We felt calm and peaceful when the light wind blew our hair and the sea wave slapped upon our feet. It was wonderful to have a vacation in Rottnest Island. Besides cycling, we saw the quokka (a kind of marsupial animal similar to a small kangaroo). It was very cute and fuzzy. Rottnest Island gave me a good time and an unforgettable experience.

We improved our English abilities not only at school but also in our homestay interaction. I like to chat with my host family and my roommates. We learned different cultures from each other. For example, I learned what “Azaria Chamberlain Case” and “daylight savings” were in Australia. My roommates and I talked about music, food, traveling, and accommodation in Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. Furthermore, my host family members were like family and best friends. They did their best to take care of and satisfied our needs. They provided a warm accommodation and a pleasant atmosphere for us. If we needed their assistance, they would stand beside us and help us out. We deeply appreciated them for all they had done for us.

I am grateful to everyone who has ever helped me, has been friendly to me, and has chatted with me. Although there was not enough time to learn everything in Perth, I enjoyed the life there.



A Foreigner atFCU



Christian Dalton（杜思台）

When I first arrived in Taiwan five years ago, there was no way I could have dreamed I would one day be studying alongside Taiwanese students at a university. At that stage I still felt that Chinese was a mystical foreign language and was impossible for a Westerner to ever be able to speak it with fluency. Now here I am studying in a Taiwanese university and speaking Chinese everyday. It’s not always easy studying in such a different environment, but it is definitely an amazing experience that will shape my future from now onwards.

After a few weeks of living in Taiwan, I moved to live in a small conservative town (Toufen, near Hsinchu). There were only four English speaking foreigners living in the town and no restaurants or stores where I could be understood; therefore, the logical step for me was to start learning Chinese. I never imagined I would one day be able to have a conversation or understand a lecture about philosophy in Chinese. I just wanted to be able to order dinner! I started by teaching myself bo po mo fo from an old text book my father had. After figuring that out, I started working on my pronunciation with help from Taiwanese friends. After six months I moved to Hsinchu, and I was able to enroll in a Chinese class at a language school; however, the class was only once a week, and my progress continued slowly. After a few months I returned home and stayed there for three months before I moved to Taichung. In Taichung I enrolled in the Language Center of Feng Chia University for their intensive Chinese courses. These classes taking place everyday are an excellent way to really make progress with Chinese. I began to improve very fast and soon could hold basic conversations and even write small paragraphs (with the help of a dictionary!) After two years in the language center, I heard about Feng Chia’s Foreign Students Program and enrolled. I was very pleased to hear I was accepted by the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature with a scholarship to help with tuition and fees. I felt a blend of mixed emotions ranging from excitement to nervousness about whether I could really do it. Would I understand the teachers? Would I need to write long papers in Chinese?

The first few weeks at Feng Chia were very confusing and a little stressful. Taiwanese universities work quite differently from Western ones, and I was surprised to hear I would have to do courses like Physical Education (P.E.) and Class activity once a week. Furthermore, I was required to pass the compulsory course of Chinese Literature in the first year as well as Civilization History which was taught completely in Chinese. It all turned out well though, as the university opened a special Mandarin Course for foreign students, where we studied poetry and culture. Civilization History went well, too, because I was allowed to write my final paper about the Ching Dynasty in English. The two courses I was most worried about turned out to be the most interesting ones by far. Now I am in second year and I am surprised I have made it this far. I have passed some courses and failed others; I have tried courses in other departments and had to drop them as my Chinese still needs a lot of work. I have come to appreciate the compulsory P.E. class in my second year. I speak, hear and learn Chinese every day in real life situations, and I get a first hand view of Taiwanese culture. I even find myself forgetting how to say things in English sometimes!

Feng Chia University has been wonderful in making foreign students feel comfortable and helping with various problems we encountered in our studies or personal lives. The International Student Association (I.S.A.) is always happy to hear our point of view, and they do whatever they can to make our study experience more valuable and more fun. Regular cultural trips are organized to places such as Sanyi or the Aboriginal Cultural Village. The I.S.A. also hosts many activities and even supplies us with our own coffee shop called the Global Focus, where we can hold meetings or go to study. The university generously awards various scholarships to foreign students and always seeks to bridge the gap between our lives back home and the experience of studying in a completely foreign environment. Our department office is also a great help for all the other problems I might have, such as course selection or completing assignments. As a result, the foreign student community continues to grow and expand, making Feng Chia University a truly international university, which is beneficial to all its students, foreign and Taiwanese alike.

After the trials and difficulties of the first few months, my studies at Feng Chia are becoming easier and more enjoyable as time passes. Although I have lived in Taiwan for a few years already, I’m always gaining new cultural perspectives and learning new things about Taiwan everyday. As my Chinese continues to improve, the study side becomes easier and smoother, and with all the help from our department and the I.S.A., I’m becoming more and more comfortable in student life. I can honestly say my study experience so far has been unforgettable. Everything I have learned and everything I still have to learn in my remaining time here will no doubt benefit and enrich my future for many years to come.