Recapping the 2024 SDG Trip to Taiwan

On Thursday, August 8, 2024, IYC embarked on its first ever service trip to Taiwan. Filled with a variety of concerts, food, and volunteering, IYC members were able to immerse themselves into Taiwanese culture and exemplify the Sustainable Development Goals presented by the United Nations. 

On the first day, August 8, USA IYC members checked into the Illume Hotel and began practicing for the Taiwan University Hospital concert. After a successful practice with Taiwan and US members meeting one another, we made our way to the Amazing Hall Minsheng Hall for our welcome dinner. With introductions of members from both the Taiwan and US branches, the dinner was a great success. It featured foods such as Taiwanese sticky rice and tender short ribs. Although many of the USA members were severely jet-lagged, everyone had a great time. As a parting gift, all members of the service trip (including parents!) received a blue and gray custom-made T-shirt and a red string bag. 

On the second day, August 9, the volunteering began. Wearing the blue T-shirt, members made their way to the Taiwan University Hospital to kick off our service trip. Our first concert featured many solos and group performances. With a quartet from Edward Lu, Andrea Wu, Albert Lu, and Audrey Wu of Five Pieces for 3 Violins and Piano 1st and 2nd Movement, audience members began settling in to watch our performance. Another memorable piece was a piano duet from IYC USA members Isabella Mele and Yikai Dang of In the Mood. To conclude our first concert, IYC members came together to sing the traditional Taiwanese song Ti-O-O and an American classic Count on Me. Before the closing remarks, we gifted the Taiwan University Hospital with over 200 hand-packed Worry Worms to help ease the stress of hospital patients and played a quick game of trivia about the songs we played at the concert with the prize being Cetaphil lotion. After lunch was served at the hospital, we took on our biggest challenge yet, navigating the High-Speed Rail system as a group of almost 40 people. Once we made it safely on the train, our next destination was the Taipei Confucius Temple. At the temple, our tour guide introduced us to ancient relics and challenged us to a scavenger hunt. As we completed each task on the scavenger hunt, we prayed for good fortune, especially in school, along the way. Our final prize was a notebook and a pen. Then, we made it into a conference room to start creating the backgrounds to our puppet show. However, we first went around the room to introduce ourselves and state our favorite memory of the trip so far. After sketching our background, we were dismissed to rest up for the next day.

On the third day, August 10, we wore our gray T-shirt and started with our Arts and Performing Arts Concert. Today, we had a late start to the day with performance preparation starting at 12PM. After two hours of practice, family members and friends filed into the auditorium to watch our showcase concert, featuring nine different instruments. Emcee Angela Chung introduced us to each musician's piece with witty and humorous lines. From Dandelions by Vera Chang and Jeannie Yu to Golden Hour by Joseph Tang, the audience enjoyed listening to the extraordinary talents of our IYC members. Near the end of the concert, IYC USA performed What a Wonderful World with violinists, cellists, pianists, and singers. Once again, we concluded our Ti-O-O and Count on Me. After the concert was over, all members made their way to the Illume Hotel to work on their puppet show performance background with their group mates. With bright oil pastel colors in hand, laughter filled the rooms as our team bonded together through this experience. Each group finished their background and got free time for the rest of the day. 

On the fourth day, August 11, we met at the hotel lobby, wearing our blue T-shirts. Our first stop was JingXiuZhuang Museum, where we met Mr. Zhuang Wunan. He is one of Taiwan’s national treasures. Mr. Charles Lin took us around the museum to see various paintings, calligraphy, and scriptures that Mr. Zhuang made. Once the tour was over, Mr. Zhuang taught IYC members how to make ink paintings, using his own designs. IYC members made many different designs and Mr. Zhuang signed them at the end. During lunch, we enjoyed a farmer-style lunch with dishes like fried sweet potatoes and chicken legs. Afterwards, we headed over to the National Palace Museum to view a variety of rooms filled with ancient artifacts. Each person got a headset and headphones for an interactive experience. We saw many intricate vases, a meat-shaped stone, and calligraphy. After spending two hours at the Museum, we went to Shilin Market and were able to roam around on our own. My favorite snack was fried sweet potato balls. Eventually, IYC members made their way home to rest for the last day of the service trip.

On the last and fifth day, August 12, IYC members drove over to the Breeze Department Classroom for a quick class with Mr. Charles Lin. He taught about historical site protection and spoke about Taiwanese history. Afterwards, we began preparing for our puppet show performance. Once practice ended, we headed over to Datong Senior Center. We had four acts including topics on medication management, scam and fraud protection, travel safety, and fall prevention for seniors. Each group informed the seniors of these important issues and had the seniors smiling throughout the show. At the end of the show, we invited the seniors to sing the song Ti-O-O with us as our closing act. As the seniors left for their snack time, we promptly took a break and waited until it was time to play games with seniors. With games such as Mahjong, Solitaire, and Ping-Pong, IYC members were able to connect with the seniors and even practice their Mandarin. It was a great end to our activities. Finally, we ended our trip at the Hyatt Hotel for our farewell dinner. With good food and great conversations, IYC Board of Directors presented awards to members on the trip including categories such as “Best Singer” and “Most Helpful.” 

Our trip concluded with stronger connections amongst IYC USA and Taiwan and memories that we will continue to share in the future. Overall, this trip gave me deeper insight into the true meaning of service and the importance of cultural exchange. I look forward to our next service trip in 2025!