Have you ever wondered how bubble tea came to be? How about shaved ice? They both originated in Taiwan, which also happens to be the destination of the Archer Abroad trip for Chinese-speaking students later this year.
The group traveling to Taiwan consists of 21 students and three teachers: Chinese teachers Susan Chen and Pei-Ying Gosselin and history teacher Bethany Neubauer. They are visiting for 12 days at the end of March, and all of their days are packed with activities, cuisine, museums and community service work, Gosselin said.
Students who were interested in this program were able to apply during first semester. The only eligibility requirement was that the student would have to speak some Chinese or have a Chinese background. Once accepted into the program, the student had to attend a series of five mandatory meetings during school to prepare for cultural norms and differences in Taiwan, Gosselin said.
Gosselin — who primarily organized the trip — described the program’s mission and how she wants to make sure to uphold Archer’s values of empathy, integrity and responsibility during the trip.
“We want to develop students’ critical thinking in a real life situation. Also, we want the students to be able to learn about the diverse culture. Taiwan is very inclusive and diverse, so that can help our students learn to be open-minded,” Gosselin said. “All of the activities and the places in this program are designed to fit into our theme of innovation and cultural diversity.”
Upon arriving in Taiwan, the students will have a packed itinerary with everything planned from where they will eat, what they will do, and where they will travel. They will learn about architecture by traveling to places like the Taipei 101 and the Lin An Tai Historical House and Museum, creating DIY projects like sky lanterns, learning about the arts by going to the National Taiwan College of Performing Arts. They will also be visiting TSMC — the company that produces an estimated 90% of the world’s super-advanced semiconductor chips — and much more.
Sophomore Avery Panepinto (‘27) has taken Chinese for over four years and will be going on the trip to Taiwan. She said she is excited that she has the opportunity to experience a trip like this and that she is looking forward to all the activities, especially visiting historic landmarks.
“I am working on a presentation with my partner about Alishan, which is a nature spot with a lake called the Sun Moon lake and a Forest Railroad,” Panepinto said, “so I’m very, very excited to see the beauty and the nature of all that.”
In 2017, Archer started a pen-pal program, where the Chinese students write letters to students attending the Taipei Wego Private Elementary School. During this trip to Taiwan, they will have the opportunity to meet them.
“We hope that not only our students write the email or letters to the students in Taiwan, but also they can see their pen- pals [and] talk to them,” Gosselin said. “[The Archer students] will be able to do some activities with them and have classes with them so they can develop their language skills.”
The students will also be able to experience the local cuisine in Taiwan by going to night markets and popular restaurants. The chaperones will give each student a guide for what is in each dish so they can follow their dietary restrictions when ordering food.
Students who will be going on the trip ran a fundraiser in the courtyard Friday, Jan. 7, selling shaved ice and baked goods. All of the proceeds are going to be donated to the Taiwan Fund for Children and Families, which is a non-profit organization that sponsors 500,000 disadvantaged families.
Gosselin said she thinks that going to all of these places and experiencing this different culture will really benefit how the students think about other cultures across the world.
“I think [the trip to Taiwan] is going to be really educational and will help students with their critical thinking and help them learn about a diverse culture and learn to be open-minded and inclusive,” Gosselin said. “This is the main mission that I hope to achieve.”
