Written by Kaitlin Beard, Rome News-Tribune staff writer
Darlington sophomore Annelise Gilmer laughed as she recalled Taiwanese food.
“I was named one of the most ‘out-there’ eaters,” said Gilmer. “My favorites were fish eyes, chicken hearts, squid, octopus and chicken butt. It was really good!”
Gilmer is just one of nine Darlington students who visited Taiwan for a service trip during the first two weeks of July.
Although Gilmer enjoyed the cuisine, classmate Courtney Statham did not. “My least favorite part was the food. It was an adventure in itself,” Statham said.
Food tastes aside, Reba Barnes, director of Servant Leadership at Darlington, said the students were eager to learn. “I think what amazed me the most was that they were just open to whatever came our way,” said Barnes. “Around every corner was a new experience. They were just sponges and wanted to soak in everything.”
Students worked in Taipei and Hualien City, where they taught English to elementary school children, broke down recyclable materials, worked in a bakery with adults with mental disabilities and cleaned up ceremonial grounds.
The recycling center there creates blankets from recycled materials that are sent to disaster areas across the world. “I think we don’t have a lot of recycling in America. Some people do and some people think it’s stupid,” said Gilmer. “Anything that’s recyclable, they use it. I think we can recycle more and we can be more green.”
The students found that working in a different culture presents challenges because of the complexity of communicating.
“It was interesting because there was an obvious language barrier, which you can overcome through enthusiasm,” said trip chaperone and Darlington English teacher Thomas Moore. “I found out that a high five translates pretty well between cultures.”
“The universal song is the Hokey Pokey,” laughed Barnes.
Click here to visit the group’s blog and read more about the trip.
