Elizabeth McMahon ’08 spent hours wondering how she would ever be ready to teach in a foreign country. But in August 2008, McMahon boarded a plane to Taiwan where she would spend the next 11 months teaching English to first through sixth graders.

McMahon was in Taiwan as a Fulbright Scholar. Established in 1946, the Fulbright Program aims to increase mutual understanding between those in the United States and other countries through the exchange of persons, knowledge and skills. Placed as a teacher in two small aboriginal schools, Dong Ao and Au Hwa, and a large city school, Sin Sheng, McMahon quickly dove into the Taiwanese culture.

From learning Mandarin, using a scooter as transportation and practicing aikido, to eating dan bing, drinking Comebuy’s milk tea, and even competing in a dragon boat race, McMahon relished the opportunity to experience and learn. What challenged her most was trying to communicate in a non-English speaking country. “It’s not just an inability to understand people,” she says. “It’s not being able to ask someone if they’re okay when they fall off their bike, not being able to tell a mother her baby is adorable, and always wondering if people are nodding because they understand or they don’t want to insult you.”

A student as well as a teacher, she took with her many priceless lessons, such as being able to better understand the fear, confusion and frustration that comes from being in unfamiliar surroundings. “Taiwan has taught me how to smile when I’m utterly confused and think before I speak,” she says. It’s also confirmed her desire to continue working with a nonprofit or humanitarian cause in the future.

During the course of her journey, McMahon kept a blog to document her experiences. Here, she shares some of those entries.

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August 12, 2008
Although I now know nine or 10 words in Mandarin, it’s still pretty obvious that I’m a foreigner. While helping a group to bring in their fishing net on the beach, I had the pleasure of being reminded how fascinating I look. A middle-aged woman reached towards me, rubbed my forearm and told me I was beautiful. Then, she invited me and the other Americans to take pictures with her and her family. Later, as I walked to dinner, a child stopped in front of me and stared. It was a funny reminder of how foreign I am.

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September 23, 2008
Although I’m teaching at Dong Ao and Au Hwa for most of my time, I have also found an amazing job on the side. I’m teaching with the Tzih Huai Social Welfare Foundation (TZHU). TZHU is a program for at-risk teens in the Yilan area. I get to spend an hour a week teaching a curriculum that I design myself. The appreciation of the students and the kindness of the staff make this job the highlight of my week.

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October 16, 2008
I was offered the chance to watch and participate in Au Hwa’s aboriginal dance practice. Students have been practicing for a month to prepare for a competition in Taipei. I was very excited to see the dance and was not expecting such an intricate show. Although there is dancing, there is also a large amount of acting, singing, music and even some feats of strength.

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January 6, 2009
The worst behaved student in my fourth grade class had to go to the office again. He was angry as he stormed out. Once he arrived in the office and was out of the spotlight of his peers, he calmed down, finished his work and got to play basketball. I told him that next time, if he stopped messing around, he could play basketball longer. He not only smiled, he actually laughed. My lowest performing sixth grade student finally figured out how to unscramble a sentence and received 100 percent on her practice quiz. When I asked her how she got to be so smart, I was not expecting an answer. My jaw dropped when another student spun around and yelled out, “It’s cause you are our teacher.”

Today was just one of those days where life fit into place.

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March 22, 2009
In 100 days or so, I will be returning to America. It’s time to look back on all that being in Taiwan has taught me.

Independence and trust~ Although I have been nervous and confused a lot in the past year, I have become confident in my ability to succeed in even the most trying circumstances. I have seen that letting others help me is not a sign of weakness but a display of trust and friendship.

Travel~ I no longer want to be a tourist! I don’t want to see a thousand countries or visit all of the best tourist sites. I want to live in other cultures and contribute to the growth of those communities. I want to give as much as I take away.

Learning~ I always had this idea that once I graduated from college, I would stop learning. Somehow it took a country on the other side of the world to show me how much I love learning outside of the classroom.

People~ Taiwan has helped me to recognize those in my life who I truly value. I can’t wait to sit with my family during dinner or a game of cards. I can’t wait to sleep next to my dog or call my friends after a hard day. I can’t wait to go out with my sister or sit on the beach at my family reunion. I didn’t know how much I would miss the simple things.

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May 2, 2009
I’ve spent the last two months with eight of my students for an hour a week preparing for our local Reader’s Theater competition. I am now very proud to be able to recite the story of Tacky the Penguin in my sleep. But, the struggle to teach this script was not easy.

Each of my students fought a different battle. Some struggled with a word, with their accent, or with their fear of public speaking.

But today, they were ready and it was amazing. When one of my students finally said his line correctly, he smiled so big that I laughed out loud. Although their school is not likely to win a big prize and the students may not earn medals, they have become more confident English speakers. I am incredibly proud to have been able to coach such amazing students.

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May 16, 2009
I am now waking up before 6 a.m. for a rousing dragon boat practice. There are 18 paddlers, one drummer, a sweep (person who steers), and a flag grabber in each boat. I’m the grabber. I get to stand up and lean out of the boat to grab the finish line flag. Since we have not practiced this part, my team has yet to learn about my lack of coordination.

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May 29, 2009
Dragon boat races ended today. We had eight races; won five and lost three. It was tons of fun and I really enjoyed being the grabber. Our last two races were against some older men. They won the first one, but the second was close and in the end, we won. Everyone was really excited about the win. It was a great way to finish…

To read more about Elizabeth McMahon’s journey in Taiwan, go to: strangerintaiwan.blogspot.com