Sister School MOU Signing

Tuesday, February 19, 2019

During the signing ceremony, I took on three roles of interpreter, presenter, MC altogether and all went well. It would be one of the highlights in my career.

MOU Signing Ceremony

Both Taiwanese and Korean principals and teachers, along with the section chief of the secondary education and the president of the parents' association, participated in the MOU signing ceremony of sister school partnership. Based on mutual respect and understanding, Taichung Municipal Junior High School and Kyungpook National University’s Attached Middle School have agreed to promote the cultural and outbound exchange, starting with 20 Korean students come to experience Taiwanese culture and school life this October, including two homestays and one-day joint classes.

A Novice Interpreter

I put my English to the test the whole day, and the hard work paid off for sure. The ceremony started with opening and welcome speeches from Section Chief Li, Principal Hu, and President Ke in Chinese, with my consecutive interpreting from Chinese to English. When Principal Li gave his speech, I then translated it into Chinese. My brain was busy switching two languages, and it made my heart sing when I knew I delivered a well-received performance.

The Preparation

There was a lot of back and forth between my counterpart, the principal, and me for the MOU format, ceremony procedures, and official titles and names, to name just a few. I learned a lot and enjoyed the process along the way. Inevitably I sometimes felt tired and frustrated, but I got it over quickly.

I also prepared a PPT presentation about Kuang Ming and international education. I bragged about some great achievements from the Dance Class, and Chinese Orchestra Club, complete with English contests with so many awards won in the past years. I hope to incorporate them into the activities for the Korean students' school visit. Following that, I introduced Skype sessions, international volunteers, video making, inbound exchange, and English VR campus tour.

The Banquet

The president of the parents' association hosted a banquet in a local restaurant specializing in Taiwanese and Chinese cuisine. Some dishes got us talking about popular Korean dramas, with English being our common language for communication. We exchanged many interesting cultural differences. Mr. Ke fully supports our inbound and outbound exchanges, so I know there's one more person with whom I can discuss.

After all the formality and paperwork, now it's time to think about future collaborative activities between two schools. I'm really looking forward to lesson planning for the joint classes.