Summer as a Camp Counselor in Taiwan

I was in English Camp Taiwan a while ago and I will say that it was one of the worst experiences in my life.

First of all, they have no structure in how they run the program. The people that are in charge of the program basically only deal with the logistical stuff of overcharging parents for a English summer camp, finding schools that will help scam these poor kids, and find accommodations for the interns aka the English teachers.

All of the curriculum, activities, and schedules of what the kids are going to be doing throughout the summer camp is the responsibility of the teachers. The people in charge though will not help you at all. They force you to come up with lesson plans and fun activities on the spot and will criticize you. This means that you have a bunch of inexperienced college students teach young kids English with a lesson plan that they came up with the night before. English Camp Taiwan will just make you do everything and overwork you from early morning 8AM all the way until around 9PM.

The accommodation that we had for the first week was also filled with tarantulas and spiders. There was no running hot water and we all slept on the ground. It was very unhygienic.

I once had a headache and asked if I could stay in the accommodation for just an hour or two to rest because I was so overworked and dehydrated. I got a call from the person in charge and he scolded me telling me that I was not allowed to take a break even though I was feeling sick.

All in all, there is so much more to this organization and how unorganized it is. I would not recommend anyone to do this even if they are desperate for an internship or job. It is not worth your energy and you will just be helping them scam these kids' money.

The English Camp Taiwan experience was a rollercoaster ride in the best way possible. You'll have your bad days on camp, when the kid aren't cooperating, or the right materials for an activity aren't there, or worst of all, a typhoon hits the city. But the thing about ECT is that you're never alone. You can always count on someone to help you out, whether that be your directors, co-counsellors, or even the founder.

That being said, the majority of your days will be a blast. As long as you keep up with your camps daily game plan, take advantage of all the rest you can get after camp hours (because working with kids WILL drain all your energy), and build great relationships with your co-workers, you're guaranteed a good time.

Outside of camp, you get the chance to live with various host families. ECT does an amazing job at pairing you with the most compatible families so that everyone gets a rewarding experience. All four of my host families have been fantastic and to this day, we still stay in touch!

Finally, the best part about ECT (que the cheesy part), is that you'll make these crazy once in a lifetime memories with absolute strangers who become your bestfriends. You'll get every other weekend to plan trips with your coworkers and these can include staying overnight in mountains and temples, relaxing at beaches, trying out hot springs, eating your heart out in a night market, and so much more. The key is that you get as much from the experience as you put in.

This was a fantastic opportunity to travel, meet new people, and experience Taiwan. As someone who did not have too much experience teaching, I learnt a great deal through the 4 camps. We were given a lot of autonomy in planning activities and lessons which really brought our teams together and allowed us to made the camps our own. I cannot overstate how fantastic the experiences with my fellow counsellors were, as well as the close relationships built with my host families. As a political science student and travel enthusiast, the ability to travel around Taiwan, meet locals, and experience the unique culture and history of Taiwan was incredible.

I would be cautious going into this program if I was you as a minor. I am a past participant and would have to say this camp was poorly organized. I felt that the leader came across as a generous older mentor with good intentions? How I was wrong, definitely inappropriate most often he would drink and get drunk with us. The more I got to know him the more I realized that he was not who he made out to be, a lot of fake promises and I would not put it past him to try and make a move on you or pay you in alcohol at the end of the camp.

Camp Taiwan gave me the ability to experience every day living in Taiwan in a 3 month period to decide if teaching overseas would be a realistic option for me it seemed like a comfy idea. As a post grad teacher I loved the experience and the host families brought me back to my exchange student days during high school. David was a fantastic mentor throughout the whole experience in ensuring the process was run efficiently and smoothly. I was able to be immersed in the culture the 2 week camps in city to city gave me an insight into Taiwan. As we were over staffed their was opportunity to take 2 weeks off to travel and explore Taiwan on my own was an option. I appreciated this time stepping away from the camps and other expats to again see more Taiwan beyond the camp. My recommendations for this camp is to be independent enough to explore Taiwan beyond the camp otherwise you will have limiting knowledge/appreciation.

As a director at the camp, it is really different from being a counselor. Even though Taiwan is my country, I still feel like that I had been through a lot of different experience, taking counselors to understand my culture, sometimes they feel odd for the thing that i take it for granted. I love the feeling of "create a camp" our camps are all designed by our self during the pre-camp meeting, from 0 to everything, it is very rewarding after camp!

This experience truly stood out from all my other travelling adventures I have taken. At first I couldn't believe I was going to travel across the world and spend nearly 3 months of teaching and travelling. I began my prep to go, sorted out flights and visa etc and it still hadn't sunk in until i got into the airport lounge and it was a huge wave at once. I didn't have a clue what to do once I landed in Taiwan and just thought I can't speak their language, what do i do? All I did was call ECT and they were just waiting outside for me and supported me throughout the rest of the experience. It was like a manner of being lost but someone there just incase you went a bit too far.

I went into this summer with no teaching experience what so ever and was super surprised that they offered me the job. I had to push myself a bit harder because of the lack of experience I had to show I really wanted to do this, the supervisors from ECT helped in such an amazing way and everything came like second nature. The training week at the start was very well organised and great resources to help us get started. When the real work began it was difficult to be prepared, know what to do in tricky situations but there was always help right round the corner. The best thing I found was you have to enjoy yourself too, have fun with the camp, mess around with the kids, and have fun!

We had taught in 4 different schools across the county for 2 week periods. This was amazing to experience all the main cities of Taiwan and the difference between each city, mainly the food. The host families took amazing care of you and catered to your needs so well, its was truly overwhelming how comforting they made you by taking a stranger into their home, sharing stories at dinner time and how are traditions are different. They wanted to learn so much about where I came from. Keeping contact with them is so nice and how they remember you so well, hopefully I get to go back some day and see them all. We got to go out in the evenings and wander around the city with the other counsellors. It was amazing how the friendships made from this experience have came together. Ive made really good friends who are gonna be travelling across the world again just to visit me, also met new friends from the same university as me.

I can honestly say this was an experience of a lifetime and if I could do it again, I wouldn't even need to think. I recommend this to anyone! It really does teach you a lot of yourself and what you are capable of. The ECT team are amazing and i'm still in regular contact with them, it changed to work to great friends. I can't elaborate enough but if you ever get the chance to do this experience, jump for it, enjoy it, capture it and live it!

Going into this experience, I had traveled to many countries before and had even lived in more than one. However, I had never traveled alone and this to me was a daunting thought- first there was the idea of getting a visa, then booking flights, then travel insurance... it just seemed sort of scary to me. To be fair, for a lot of positions, it could be, but not with ECT. Right from the beginning , I was given step by step instructions, direct links for visa information and my messages and emails answered within minutes. Getting off the flight in Taiwan as well, ECT head staff was there to meet us within an hour of stepping off our flight, took us to dinner and made us feel comfortable both with them and with our co-workers immediately.

The experience:
Host-families: Throughout my time in Taiwan, I stayed with 4 families. Of course, how close you get with each family will vary, but let's just say the range (5 months later) is from us sending each other facebook messages comparing our weather forecasts, all the way to planning their trip to visit me in Canada. With ECT, you will make family on your trip. ECT staff pairs you with families they think you're well matched for and even if you start off with limited things in common, the quality time you spend together will foster an unforgettable bond.

The job: The job is fun... but it is tough. It requires a ton of preparation, physical and mental commitment and a ton of energy. But if you can bring it, the rewards are unimaginable. Let yourself get committed to your lessons, to your final shows that you prepare with your classes. Let yourself take on the pride of having your own class to teach, your own initiative you can take in planning your lessons. If you do this, it's rewarding, not only in the monetary incentives, but the personal growth you receive both as a professional and as a person. Don't forget to have fun with it, the more fun you're having with the kids, the more fun they're having with you!

Lastly, to touch on something I knew would happen, but could never predict the gravity of... the relationships you make with each other. I can honestly say I came out of my ECT experience with a few new best friends. Best friends that I talk to every week, that I'm flying across oceans to go and visit for a week, best friends that I'm planning future trips with. This experience, from day 1 of training , to the very last day, fosters incredible bonds. You walk away with a new relationship with yourself and with others. Get excited, feel inspired... because if you're doing this, it is going to change your world!