Only at ICLP is it possible to master the art of pastry-making, become an expert at karaoke-singing, and climb the majestic Xueba Mountains all in five short days. During this year’s weeklong Thanksgiving break, the ICLP teachers planned and led language missions to provide students with the opportunity to learn outside the classroom. From bird-watching to dumpling-making, the vast array of language missions promised a special experience for each and every student.
For students who desired to impress their significant others with a home-cooked dumpling meal, topped with hand-made pineapple cakes for dessert, there were the ever popular trips to the traditional markets as well as the Kuo Yuan Ye Culture Museum of Cake and Pastry.
How about those who aspire to become the next Million Star champion (Taiwan’s own American Idol competition)? The KTV and old Chinese songs activities were perfect training grounds for top idol hopefuls. After all, if you can win over the “strict and demanding” ICLP teachers with your pronunciation while singing unfamiliar assigned songs, then impressing the Simon-like judges should be a piece of cake.
If cooking and singing aren’t for you, there were also various cultural and educational excursions to choose from. Some students admired the beauty of Buddhist and Daoist temples, some were entranced by the Taipei Chinese Orchestra performance, and others visited exhibitions at the Academia Sinica and the Taipei National University of the Arts.
For students hoping to escape the academic world of grammar drills and audio lessons, there was the opportunity to explore local Taiwanese traditions. A visit to the fortune-teller’s booth provided those brave souls with a rare glimpse into the future, all while admiring early architecture and enjoying delicious night market food.
Those yearning for a quick getaway from the ever-crowded and polluted Taipei experienced a different side of Taipei while bird-watching and biking at Guandu Park.
The adventurous students who ventured outside of Taipei were rewarded with the chance to experience the beautiful sunrise during the three-day mountain climbing trip to Xueba National Park. Most say it was well-worth the sore muscles and aching backs.
Thus, from finally meeting ICLP students whom you have never seen (even though it is now the end of fall quarter) to using Taiwanese to bargain for a bag of (already dirt-cheap) kimchi for an (unnamed) ICLP teacher to singing love song duets with classmates you may not be so fond of to making friends with locals at Xueba National Park to wheedle an extra blanket out of them to dumpling-making competitions that made perfectly clear which accident-prone (fire-hazard) classmates should be banned from the kitchen, the first-ever ICLP Language Mission Week truly brought learning Chinese to a whole new level!
