My Fulbright Year in Taiwan

Yesterday we visited two elementary schools in the remote village area of Nan Ao 南澳. It’s a 40-minute train ride from Yilan 宜蘭.

Here’s what the town looks like. Check out the mountains in the background.

The English teacher met us at the train station, and led us to the school, which is a few minutes’ walk up the mountain. The school’s population consists mainly of aboriginal children, so in addition English, the school also offers classes in the aboriginal language of the area.

Because of the remoteness of the school, teachers can choose to live in a dormitory, the cost of which is subsidized by the local government.

There is also another elementary school nearby. The English teacher teaches in both schools.

The two schools are each quite small, less than 100 students in total for grades 1 through 6. It was very different from most of the other elementary schools in the county, which can have 1,000 or more students.

After we visited the schools, it was time to walk back to the train station for the ride back to Yilan.