This school term, three German exchange students could be found at the freshman class at Tzu Chi Senior High School in Hualian City. Before classes ended a few days ago, they prepared to transfer to a school in Taipei. The trio knew no Chinese at all, but now they understand simple dialogue and have Chinese names. They have also taken calligraphy classes, and studied the tea ceremony and marital arts.
Valentin Julian Harder, Lydia Hannawald and Synthia Julia Bastron came to Taiwan to study the first year at the Tzu Chi Senior High School in September last year through the AYUSA Global Youth Exchange. To help the trio learn Chinese, they were put in three different classes. Because they understood no Chinese when they came and so were unable to understand the curriculum, the school arranged Chinese language classes for them in the school’s language center in the mornings. In the afternoons, they returned to their respective classes together with their Taiwanese classmates.
At first, they could not get used to Taiwan’s school culture. Synthia said she had never “spent so much time” at school. In Germany, classes begin at 9am and they go home at 1pm. They can even go home for lunch. Taiwanese students, on the other hand, spend more than eight hours at school every day. In addition, they never ask questions in class, and the teacher does all the talking. The three thought all this was strange, but because they couldn’t make head nor tail of Chinese, they were only able to speak up in English class.
Apart from studying language at the Tzu Chi High School, their favorite was Chinese gongfu at the martial arts club, learning the “mabu” or horse stance position, boxing and swordplay. Lydia drew her classes and wrote down the names of her classmates to help as a mnemonic aid. They also attended flower arrangement, tea ceremony and handicraft classes.
(LIBERTY TIMES, TRANSLATED BY PERRY SVENSSON)
慈濟大學附屬高中這學期有三名德國交換學生進入高一就讀，日前課程結束後，將轉到台北的高中就讀，三人從中文程度完全是零，至今已能聽懂簡單對話、取中文名，還學書法、茶道及國術。
德國學生范鐵諾（Valentin Julian Harder）、葉露露（Lydia Hannawald）、貝心亞（Synthia Julia Bastron），透過國際愛優生交換學生計畫，去年九月來台就讀慈濟大學附中高一，為了讓三人學好中文，還分別編在三個班，由於一句中文也不會說、聽不懂上課內容，校方上午安排三人到慈濟大學華語文中心學語言，下午才回到高中班上，和台灣同學一起上課。
三人一開始並不適應台灣的高中校園生活！貝心亞說，她從來沒在學校「待這麼久」。原來，德國的學校早上九點才上學，下午一點就放學了，中午還可回家午餐，台灣學生卻得在學校待上超過八小時；此外，台灣學生上課都不會發問，只有老師一人在台上唱獨角戲，也讓三人覺得驚奇，但三名外國學生也不太會說中文，只有在英文課堂上可以「暢所欲言」。
三人在慈濟中學除了學語言，最喜歡的就是學「中國功夫」，參加國術社學紮馬步、打拳耍刀，威風得很，葉露露還把上課過程畫下來，一邊畫、一邊把同學的名字寫在紙上幫助記憶；此外也有花道、茶藝、二手物品做手工藝等活動。
（自由時報記者花孟璟）
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