Hsiao-chi "Vicky" Tseng

2004-05 Inbound from Taiwan

Date of Birth: January 17, 1989
Hometown: Taichung, Taiwan
Sponsor: Wu Jih Rotary Club, District 3480, Taiwan

Host: Ocala Rotary Club, District 6970, Florida USA
School: Forest High School

Vicky's Bio

My father has a factory and my mom helps him. My home is big in Taiwan, but it's small in America. I love my family and my home. One day my father asked, "Do you want to go overseas to study?" He tells me that the Rotary Club has an exchange program. I have wanted to go overseas to study since I was young, and my family supports me.

I hope to study American culture, make some friends, go places, and study English. I am interested in basketball and computers, and I like to read books, ride bikes, and take walks. I'm very happy to go to Florida. The people are very nice to me, and I feel very lucky.

September 30 Journal

I like it here, and also like to go to school. I have good friends and teachers. In school, we have A day and B day. I have ESOL, Team Sport, World History, Music History, Biology, and Geometry.

ESOL  is fun to me.  Mrs. Renick is a good teacher. I can get a good education. World History was hard for me before my classmates helped me. Now it's not very hard for me. Biology is hard. It has a lot new words, and homework, although Mrs. Pohlers and friends help me a lot, but I still spend a lot time for it. Team Sport is very fun. We play football, basketball, and volleyball. I played football for the first time, it's fun. Now I know football rules. In Music History, Mrs. Alexander lets us read books fifteen minutes, then sometimes we talk, sometimes we watch TV. It's free in that class. Geometry is very hard. Mrs. Wood is a good teacher. I like this class. I can count questions, but sometimes it has a very lot of words. Then I can't finish all, I don't have enough time.

This school is different from my school in Taiwan. In Taiwanese school, it starts at 7:30, is over at 5:00, and we have eight classes in one day, but here, we start at 9:25, over at 3:15, and three classes in one day. This is a good experience, I believe I will be happy here.

November 24 Journal

Saturday we went to watch the football game. Connie and I cooked something for the ball game. That was last game here for Gators. One o’clock we left home for the stadium. When we got there, Bea and Scooter were there talking. We set up the table and put the food on it. Everyone was wearing orange or blue shirts. I didn’t when we first went to the game. The game started at 7:00. Bea cooked vegetables with peppers. She is a good cook. We ate this as dinner with hotdogs. There were maybe fifteen people there. Some were Connie’s family and friends. We just spent time talking, but this time I didn’t see Bea’s daughters. I see them at most of the games.

At 5:30 we left the parking lot to walk to the stadium. They said there were eighty-five thousand people. Like at Taiwan baseball games. Before the game started, the band played on the field. The band members arranged words, like Gators, U.S.; last time they also had a dance. Then we pledged the flag and sang the American National Anthem. I saw that everyone stood and sang. It wasn’t very loud, but could hear slow and clear. Then the players came to the field. Everyone cheered around all the stadium, band also played. I saw Joe and his father sitting in front of me. He took earphones, maybe he didn't like loud voices. They were so loud and when they scored, they would clap their hands with satisfaction; but if the other team scored, they would groan. They would yell during the game sometimes high or low. I also watch ball games on TV, do not go to stadium. A few minutes before the game is over people leave, because other team wouldn’t have chance to win. Gator fans were happy for win, we came back to the parking lot and ate and talked. Bea gave me a bracelet. Connie gave me a necklace before. There were also two colors, orange and blue. I was talking with Joe’s father, he knows many people from China, but not Taiwan. He told me a lot of Chinese names. He is one who can say my name very clear, not queer. I gave him my card. We had to wait in the parking lot to go home because there was so much traffic. At 11:00 we left and got home about 12:00 p.m.

I don't think that will be my last game. We also went to watch a game on November 12^th. It’s fun to watch the ball games. Can watch people, many yelling when the game starts and is over. Also, the football players play hard to catch the ball. Not like watching on TV, you know the outcome. In the stadium you don’t know if the outcome will change. Game can be lost or won at last second, so they don't give up until the last second.

January 3 Journal

Looking back at the Disney World weekend ...

Thursday

When we got here, I saw many people who came from other places. Many from Japan, but I didn’t see anyone from Taiwan, I didn’t remember anyone going to New York, but they spoke English. In the restaurant we ate pizza, they ate fast, the pizzas were gone very soon and then we came back to the room. Some people went swimming in the piano pool, and the water is warm, but I believe when they got out they will be very cold. We sat and stood around tables. Maybe about 11:40 we came back to the room. Two beds in the room. We watched TV to 1:00 about Disney World, and are looking forward for tomorrow.

Friday

Get up early, and I wait for Aya to eat breakfast. Then took a bus to Epcot. When we got there, we had three teams. We were with two people to look around and ask some questions like math, voice, and computer. Played some games about Mission: SPACE and cars. But when we took Mission: SPACE, it was all ready to start, suddenly it stopped. We left not knowing what made it stop. The man said there was something wrong so he give us a fast pass, went to next stop. Next thing was about a car test, not very fast but very lifelike. You watch TV and it said what to do then you sit in the car really like a test car, like turn, stop, and bump into the wall, it’s fun to play.

After that we were free, can go to any place with friends, I went with Miwa, Aya, and Miki. When we went to the one stop, Aya saw two Japanese boys, and talk with them. Miwa also went. I was talking with Miki, they decided to go eat Japanese food, before that we first went to look around store with all Japanese things, I also looked in Taiwan, and Miki bought a cookie and purse for her first mom, I’m not from Japan so I didn’t buy anything for anybody.

When we finished we couldn’t find Aya and Miwa. So we walked around but still didn’t see them. So we decided to go by ourselves. First we went to eat lunch at McDonald’s, and sat on the bench where you can look around all country’s castles, buildings and lake, it’s so pretty and had some people serve this nice lunch. We started looking around countries. I think first was France, took pictures, looked around then went to next place. She say she want to watch China, when we saw Mickey Mouse, and many in the cartoons here, many people want to take pictures with them, and took a book for them to sign. We also take pictures with Mickey Mouse, looked so fun. We didn’t want to waste time so went next places, we saw you can take a ship, but it took us to France, so we went the other way to look, (when we get ship that at half) had some show here a person doing a handstand on maybe seven chairs. First we think he was a tourist but finally we were sure he worked in Disney.

We went a long way and then we get to China, this bigger than other country and had Buddhist images, jades, Eight Diagrams in Chinese mythology, looked very old store, I think they all come from China. Our language had some differences, but we also can talk. The one building write “天下一家” at outside, the one room had movie about Hong Kong, Shanghai, Great Wall of China; the guide was Li Po, he is big poet in China we call him “poet immortal”. The movie around us, it’s very imposing. We ate dinner here, and went over here in the US stop, had some people sing for Christmas, and saw a person look like plaster cast, but can move, people take pictures with her (I’m not sure her or him) she would do some thing that looked funny.

Then we went back to Imagination, play some games here, dinosaur took us that knew how to use and take the picture. Then we went to one more place the land. This is restaurant but we could take a boat there. It had many plants, fruit, and because they were not very far away, you can touch them, you feel wet and warm, it is a greenhouse. Went to pub with group to watch fireworks, I heard from Taiwan, they say Disney fireworks was very pretty. We were talking and waited to 9:30, the first firework in the sky and all the people concentrated to watch. Then a ball like earth turned around to let this can open, this was very special, and the sky looked shiny. When this was over we took bus to come to hotel, talked about our day and went to other rooms ask about what they were doing and what they saw today. We were so tired, but looked forward for tomorrow, watched animals.

On Saturday we took a bus to Animal Kingdom. When we arrived we saw the big tree and many animals, like rhinoceros, tigers, elephant ….etc. First we wanted to watch Asia animals, but went the wrong way so we took cross-country car through forest, looked at birds, fish, elephants, deer, alligators here don’t have fence so it looks like you can touch the animals. The car is sometimes slow and sometimes fast like you explore in the forest, but the animals didn’t get near the car, they always ate or relaxed, and they were not afraid of the car, cameras, and people. Then we saw the show about birds, so we sat on the bench and watched, one bird can catch money first time it flew to right way and caught twenty dollars, then return to the person. When it would fly away, many people took out their money to try but this time performer said she want a one hundred dollar bill. I saw people put the money in the bags and waited for the next show. Took out many birds and some flew on your head, (but let me effect clear are oil and eagle, especially eagle) The eagle looked like “occupy a commanding position” made me think about it signifying America, when anybody look at it they would all marvel. I never saw an eagle so near to me, always flying in the sky. Then we went and saw the tiger. We expected tiger to lie down on the ground just glass between tiger and people so it’s very clear, many people took the opportunity to take pictures. I also like tiger, then during other stop we went very fast they say those animals also in the zoo, but I saw many animals, like bat, and birds…….., then we went other way where it had dinosaurs and many things you can ride, all was exciting. We sat on the cups and it can revolve around and go so fast, I can hear them yell very loud. Next we talk about dinosaurs and took maybe like cars, you saw the dinosaurs near and want to eat you, or the one eat other one, had terrible voice, it’s fast. Finally we run to dinosaur's mouth and all yell very loud and I think it’s so scary.

Then we waited on the bus, stood near the stop, but we saw Al stood at other stop we thought queer, but saw him and he had us stand with him, when we got off the bus, we needed to take train, it’s so high, so you can see the castle and house, but we don’t know what the house do. The Magic Kingdom is very bustling, also had big Christmas tree here, and the toys walk on the road, dress like military, also had Santa Claus, and deer, look very happy. We took fast pass to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and go around the stores, when we got to Cinderella’s Surprise Celebration, many exchange students here, so we waited while other people take pictures. We meet Miwa and took the pictures with everybody, then we return to take the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, but Miwa didn’t have pass so we take again and go around to another place. They say when people watch Mickey Parade we can go other place and maybe didn’t had many people, so we took the train to other place but I think this for little children, but also is interesting. Then we took train again, and walk to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad this is a roller coaster, look like train, not very fast, just fun, We took Splash Mountain, it is exciting, but the clothes got wet. I met Ruth, but just talk few minutes, then I was with Aya, she with other people. We went to eat dinner, it’s sandwich, not wait a long time, but they ate a long time, so when we leave restaurant the sky is dark, then we went to store to look for something for friends, family, or host family. When it was 8:30 we came back Cinderella’s Surprise Celebration to watch show, we wait till 9:00. Many things like cars and those had many people in the cartoons, Mickey mouse, Donald duck….etc. They had lights on these at night and are so pretty, and different looking with lights at night, but we can’t wait for fireworks because they say we didn’t have enough time. We went to take the train, but when we ask person how to get to hotel he say we needed to take the ship to Magic Kingdom and then take the bus. Say we just went the wrong way. In the ship nobody in there just us, it’s so cold everybody shiver, (we stand on the top, you can see so far but also had strong wind) but on here we saw the fireworks. It’s very beautiful, it’s not bad although we went the wrong way but we still saw the fireworks. Then we take bus to hotel, and in the store they choose many things for gifts, then we all tired, so just came to our room, and I talked with them but she is so tired not long she sleep…..

Sunday we went to MGM but didn’t see Elle so we waited for her, and went to The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror to take fast pass, then with Elle to take this, originally we wanted to wait the time but didn’t have many people here so we just ran in the building and didn’t have to wait a long time. First we watched TV that talked about the story where the family took an elevator then had bolt and elevator fell from 13 floors. We sat in the elevator, it was exciting. It moved slow and we saw the family beckon to us, then it went fast up and down. When we went out the store sell something about this. We went to next place took car it would turn inside, here was interesting but this we had to wait a long time, it also had some story. The band in the recording studio and they need to be on time and tell the person get us the fastest car, really is fast and so fun. Then someone want to take The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror again, others want to go the other way. I don’t want to take again so we went to Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular. Here you can see how to make the movie, how to use the voices let those had factuality. First it’s a person wanting to take something from mausoleum and here have many traps very alarmingly, this all like movie and you look they use fire, car, copter, and voice. I think we watched 3D movie, it’s funny one, and many animals here, like fox, bear. Finally, we went to the Fantasmic but didn’t have time so we went around stores to look around, and wait till 3:00, here we said goodbye to each other and then took the car to come home.

I think I liked Epcot most, because I saw many countries there, and things about cars and the universe. It was good that we can stay here one day, to give us enough time to look around, and we are free to go with our friends, that’s a good trip.