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Behind every successful event, there is
a group of volunteers who have given
their generous cooperation and selfless
dedication to the achievement of a goal.
The volunteers of this research project
have helped to create with us records
and memories of success, and those we
received assistance from include the
teachers of the community,
administrative staff members, parents of
the community, university student
volunteers, as well as resources from
the local government and the private
sector. These people have helped us to
carry out our project to the utmost
extent, their passionate participation
has created for our students a better
learning environment, therefore we would
like to introduce one by one all of the
units and persons to whom we wish to
express our deepest gratitude.
Sinbaiyang Cultural Club Teacher Community:
The members of the Teacher Community include
Director Shiou-liang Hsu, Teacher Shu-jun Hua,
Teacher De-lin Ai, Teacher Ke-yu Chen, Teacher Chen-yuan
Li and Teacher Guan-ting Lin, all of whom possess
unique abilities and skills. Director Hsu is
seasoned in administrative coordination, applying
for research grants, and webpage design. Teacher Hua
possesses expertise in designing and developing
local cultural education materials, environmental
education, as well as qualitative research. Teacher
Ai is an expert in teaching tribal languages, tribal
language translation, information and internet
management, computer repair, and the production of
interactive webpage content. Teacher Chen’s
abilities lie in developing local cultural education
material, teaching tie-dye, and library management.
Teacher Li is skilled in administrative
coordination, developing local cultural education
material, trap placement, and scout training.
Teacher Lin’s expertise lies in teaching traditional
Truku musical instruments, music composition, and
trap placement.
The members of the community spontaneously call and
hold meetings, regular and otherwise, and especially
always take advantage of the summer vacation course
development meetings to discuss issues concerning
the current situation and future prospects of
implementing courses on local culture. After each
meeting, the members always manage to reach a mutual
understanding, and the efficacy with which the
teacher execute their plans are evident in the
successful way in which the courses are carried out,
the students’ participation in the Taiwan
International Cyberfair is only one of the
achievements resulting from these courses. The
community will continue to lead and direct the
implementation and execution of the school courses,
and we are happy there is such an excellent team of
teachers and staff here at Jien ching![up]
Support from administrative staff:
For administrative members of staff at our school
who are responsible for managing the students and
campus, protecting and advocating students’ right to
education is always a priority, and fulfilling
teachers’ needs for courses and teaching is another
such priority. Principal Shih-how Lai’s concern and
consideration for these needs have led the two
directors (Director Hsu and Teacher Lai) as well as
the information management personnel (Teacher Ai) to
actively and enthusiastically assist the teachers of
our school in leading students to join in
exploratory courses. We have successfully acquired
new computers and microphone headphones for the
computer classroom this past year, and have applied
for and received funding for club operation costs as
well as for the donation of ten digital cameras from
civil groups. The school has also set up internet
connection points across campus as well as wireless
connection, all in an effort to provide a superior
wireless environment in which our children may
freely learn. These are all achievements that have
fully demonstrate the overall efficacy of our
administrative staff who have worked tirelessly on
behalf of our students and teachers.[up]
Grandma Bao-shu He:
Grandma He is the night-watcher of our campus, and
not only is she careful, responsible and
considerate, but she is also highly skilled in
preparing traditional Truku cuisine. Whether banana
rice or bamboo rice, there is nothing Grandma He
cannot make. Every time the school holds
experimental courses on traditional foods, Grandma
is invited to teach us the how and wherefore of
traditional cooking, and we would like to express
our gratitude to her. Grandma’s bamboo garden up on
the mountain produces delicious bamboo shoots every
April and May, and this year she even allowed us to
experience for ourselves the pleasure of harvesting
bamboo shoots. We would like to thank Grandma for
teaching us to harvest bamboo shoots and preparing
banana leaves during our bamboo rice and banana rice
experimental courses. Your careful instructions have
helped us to learn so much, thank you, Grandma
Bao-shu He![up]
Ms. Li-Lan Wang:
Ms. Wang is the daughter of Ms. Bao-shu He, and the
wife of the chairman of Jien Ching Elementary
School’s Parents’ Association. She is moreover also
a teacher of traditional Truku language at our
school, and is always ready to help smooth over any
affairs on campus that require attention. Ms. Wang
is skilled at teaching and explaining, and our
experimental courses of banana rice and bamboo rice
could not have been carried out so well without her
assistance and explanations. We feel extremely
grateful for Ms. Wang’s participation in teaching us
how to making traditional Truku cuisine! Your
detailed explications have allowed us to further
understand the course content, thank you, Ms. Wang! [up]
Ms. Wen:
Ms. Wen is a traditional Truku language teacher at
our school, and a volunteer mom-cook with a
professional chef’s license. The free dinners
offered to students in need at our school consist of
delicious and heartwarming meals expressly prepared
by Ms. Wen. She owns a bird’s nest fern garden on a
hill near the Jien Ching Community, and during the
day she can often be seen tending the plants in her
garden. For this event, we asked Ms. Wen if she
would take us to her fern garden, teach us to
harvest fern shoots, and turn the vegetable into
tasty dishes. Your professional demonstrations and
explanations make you a role model for all of us,
thank you, Ms. Wen![up]
Uncle
He:
Uncle He is a consultant for the Jien Ching
Elementary School Parents’ Association, he is
incredibly involved in campus affairs, and can
always be seen on the school premises whenever
events or activities are held. Thefore it was no
surprise that when we asked him to bring us up to
the mountains to harvest bamboo shoots and cut
bamboo stalks for making bamboo rice, he agreed to
do so immediately, and not only taught us how to
differentiate the varieties and maturity of bamboo
stalks, but also how to cut the stalks down safely.
Your care and assistance have allowed us to learn
safely, thank you, Uncle He![up]
Dong Hwa University Graduate Institute of Visual
Arts Education:
Teacher Jin-mei Chu is a professor at Dong Hwa
University’s Graduate Institute of Visual Arts
Education, and through her assistance, we
successfully invited Ms. Chia-ling He and Ms. Chi-yu
Li of the institute to come teach us how to use
video cameras and digital cameras. Their detailed
coaching allowed us to master the skills quickly.
Three other exchange students from China taught us
all about the traditional cultures and cuisines of
the various regions of China. Professional
instruction from all of you have helped us to
broaden our horizons, thank you, Teacher Chu, Ms.
He, and Ms. Li![up]
Masai Aboriginal Restaurant:
The lady owner of Masai Aboriginal Restaurant is a
traditional woman of the Truku tribe who likes to
cook, and with her husband’s support, opened the
Dageeli Aboriginal Restaurant. On the day of the
interview she was extremely kind and friendly,
answered our question in detail and told us
everything we needed to know. Her daughter kindly
prepared delicious traditional dishes for our sakes,
and we left that day feeling so rewarded and
grateful. After the interview we visited Mukumugi
and saw its beautiful sceneries, and on top of that
Teacher Shien-mei Hsu told us a lot of stories and
historical backgrounds of the Truku. We would like
to thank the kind lady owner of Dageeli Aboriginal
Restaurant and Teacher Shien-mei Hsu![up]
Shang You Farm Restaurant:
Mr. Doyong of Shang You Farm Restaurant is a Truku
tribesman who is incredibly thoughtful and
resourceful. He spent a fortune in opening up his
restaurant and bed & breakfast, and tells us that
his goal is to let more visitors learn of Truku
culture by combining traditional cuisine and guided
tours of nearby scenic spots. Mr. Doyong’s wife is
of the Han people, and is in charge of the kitchen
at a restaurant that serves aboriginal cuisine, a
fact that made us regard her with great respect. Mr.
Doyong took us to see the ingredients planted around
the restaurant, and it was a pleasure to get to know
the traditional ingredients of us aborigines under
the amusing but professional explanations of Mr.
Doyong. He also showed us the Truku wall paintings
in the restaurants that are very popular with
tourists, his lively, funny stories made us feel as
if we had entered into another time and space, and
we felt to proud to be members of the Truku
community. Before the interview and visit ended, the
owners prepared for us a feast of the most unique
dishes in aboriginal cuisine served at their
restaurant, thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Doyong, for your
kindly reception of us![up]
Dageeli Aboriginal Restaurant:
The lady owner of Dageeli Aboriginal Restaurant Mrs.
Guo is a highly skilled cook, and through this
interview, we learned of her efforts in preserving
the traditional flavors of Truku cuisine. She
continues to learn from many places, acquires masses
of experience, and creates many unique dishes by
dint of careful thought and much creativity.
Although Mrs. Guo is now in more of a supervising
position due to poor health, her son,
daughter-in-law and other family members continue to
upkeep the fame of Dageeli Aboriginal Restaurant and
attract visitors with their carefully prepared menu.
Mrs. Guo’s perseverance and dedication is very much
worthy of our emulation. We also discovered a lot of
aboriginal art pieces all around the restaurant, so
that tourists may learn about traditional Truku art
when they come to dine. Lastly, Mrs. Guo let us try
making pumpkin cake, which was so much fun and so
fulfilling! We would like to say a big thank you to
Mrs. Guo and the uncles and aunties at Dageeli
Aboriginal Restaurant![up]
Hongye High-raised House Restaurant:
Hongye High-raised House Restaurant was once a well
known aboriginal restaurant in Wanrong Township
South District, but due to a difference in staff
members’ business theories and young employees’
aspiration for city life, the restaurant had to
close down. Nevertheless, we still think that Hongye
High-raised House Restaurant holds an influential
place in Wanrong Townshop, especially in the aspect
of establishing tribal culture, training personnel
in local enterprises, and applying for grants and
subsidies. The restaurants had previously succeeded
in all this aspects, and had been commended by many.
A member of our school staff, Ms. Hsin-yi Lin, is a
resident of Hongye Village, and with her assistance
in setting up communications and expressing our
eagerness to conduct an interview, the former owners
of the restaurant agreed to meet with us. We would
like to thank board director Mr. De-chen Huang,
village mayor Mr. Shui-quan Li, former chairman Mr.
Lin, former accountant Ms. Huang, and chef Ms. Huang
for giving us their friendly assistance. Even though
the restaurant is no longer in operation, they still
received us with such generosity, and made us fully
realize the determination and dedication of a
restaurant that was once managed with a well
structured business theory.
During this interview, we enjoyed organic coffee,
cheesecake, handmade cookies and breads provided by
former chairman Mr. Lin, and we would like to thank
again the wife of the village mayor (Ms. Li’s
mother) for preparing steaming chicken soup and red
bean and sticky dumpling soup for us. We would also
like to thank Director Guo-liang Lu of Hongye
Elementary School for providing our students with
free hot spring bathing, and letting them enjoy the
five-star pleasure of sulfurous spring water. As we
enjoyed the lovely food, hot springs and friendly
welcome, we hoped that Hongye High-raised House
Restaurant will soon meet with brighter prospects.[up]
The Child Welfare League Foundation:
Research projects require a lot of manpower,
resources, and funding, and we were fortunate to
have received assistance from The Child Welfare
League Foundation in the form of partial subsidy to
our student club. We have applied the funds to the
following uses: interview costs, transportation,
insurance, snacks, meals, recording equipment, and
translation fees. We hope that with this kind of
generous assistance, our club will grow in terms of
motivation and purposefulness.
The
Alliance Cultural Foundation:
This semester, our school applied for the donation
of 10 second-hand digital cameras from The Alliance
Cultural Foundation, all of which were donated by
kindly member of our civil society, in hopes that
courses in photography may help to broaden the
horizons of children who are growing up in isolated
regions. We were fortunate to have received
additional assistance in the form of a professional
photographer, who was invited by the foundation to
come teach us how to use digital cameras. His name
is Teacher Eiffel, and even though the photography
courses lasted for only two afternoons, we learned
much of the basic skills and pleasure of taking
pictures from his dedicated instructions, and we
even uploaded a lot of the pictures we took onto
Facebook to share with our friends. We are truly
grateful for the kindly attentions of the Foundation
and of Teacher Eiffel, because now, whether we are
conducting club courses, out of school or in our
tribes, we can snaps shots at all times, and spread
the stories of our tribes and community by sharing
pictures with friends from all over the world.[up]
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