Sammy, RYE-Florida Outbound Student

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Samuel (Sammy) Daylor

2010-11 Outbound to Taiwan

Hometown: Ponte Vedra, Florida

School: Ponte Vedra High School

Sponsor: Ponte Vedra Sunset Rotary Club, District 6970, Florida

Host: Taipen Yenping Rotary Club, District 3480, Taiwan

Bio

September 6 "I think my golden moment would have to be when I went out to explore by myself for the first time, took the completely wrong bus, and ended up in the middle of nowhere. "

Sammy's Bio

My name is Sammy Daylor, I'm 16 years old and I go to Ponte Vedra High School until next year when I attend school in Taiwan. I am about 5'9, have dark brown hair, blue eyes, and an eyebrow piercing (yes, it did hurt). I’m an extremely open minded, caring, fun loving, easy to get along with and eager person. But no matter what, I’m always me, even if it’s different from the norm.

I live with my mom and dog in a condominium complex a couple of blocks away from the ocean. My sister goes to college in Gainesville, but she visits a lot. My dad lives just a couple of minutes away and I see him often as well. My Grandma (bubby), one of the most magnificent people in my life, lives in New York. I love visiting her so much and it’s something I always look forward to. I have a variety of interests. Firstly, I really enjoy studying foreign languages; I am taking French III and Chinese II this year. I especially have in interest in Asian languages and it’s my dream to live in Asia, which is why Taiwan is perfect for me. I love cooking and have loved it ever since I was a little kid. I'd always bake with my mom, and I still love it to this day. I love my friends, and am always hanging out with them whenever I can, and I have a couple that will always be in my life. I love animals, they’re extremely significant in my life. I also love to travel. I’ve never been outside the United States and I’m dying to break free and explore what the world has in store for me.

I honestly cannot thank Rotary enough for this opportunity. They have granted me my dream and given me the chance of a lifetime to experience so many incredible things. I plan to fully seize this opportunity to its absolute fullest and let no part of it pass me by.

September 6

So here I am writing my very first rotary journal. Sounds easy enough, yes? Wrong. I have no idea where to begin to explain this whole experience; it’s completely surreal. 2 weeks ago I’d be watching the Food Network and eating some sunchips, but just five minutes ago, I was watching Spongebob Squarepants in Chinese, and eating a tasty snack of shredded dried squid from the local 7-11. Things aren’t what they used to be, that’s for sure.

Where to begin?
The day before I left was by far the fastest day I’ve ever had in my life. I said goodbye to all my friends, packed my suitcase, and set my alarm for 4 am the next day. This is it. The day I’ve been training for for almost a year. I cannot believe it’s only hours away. At four am the next day my alarm went off and I rolled out of bed in a daze. I brushed my teeth, washed my face, put on my clothes, and then took my rotary blazer off my hanger. Well, it was finally time to break in this bad boy. I said goodbye to my dog and rolled my luggage down to the car from the second floor of my condo (Just to make sure everyone was aware that I was leaving, I let my suitcase bang each and every stair on the way down). We drove to the airport in the pitch black night; all the thoughts in my head were about to short-circuit my brain. We finally got to the airport, printed out my passes, and went to security to say goodbye to everyone. There was no turning back now. With a heavy heart I hugged my mother goodbye for a year, not an easy task to accomplish. Heather and I flew together to Chicago, and then San Francisco until we met up with about twenty other exchange students all going to Taiwan. After becoming acquainted with everyone, we finally boarded the flight to Tokyo. The flight was long and boring, and I couldn’t eat any of the food on account of how its smell made me want to projectile vomit onto the passenger in front of me. Finally after eleven hours of flight, we made our way through the Japanese customs and found our final gate to Taiwan. The flight to Taipei was the most grueling of my life. I was beyond tired and sick to my stomach. But finally we taxied to the gate and were ready to get our luggage. I made my way through customs, got my luggage, and headed out the doors to finally meet the people I would call my family. Overwhelming is an understatement. The second the doors opened we were greeted with no less than 100 Taiwanese people all looking for their exchange student. Finally, I found my family, and the first thing they said was “Are you Sammy? You don’t look anything like your picture!” I was off to a great first start. After we took some pictures and signed some documents my new family and I quickly made our way to the car and began our drive home. Even though Taipei at night is nothing short of breathtaking, I was so out of it I could barely speak. Finally we arrived to our house and I instantly took a shower and passed out in my new room. This was finally it. This was the beginning of my new life.

I absolutely love my host family and home. I live in a six story house in a rather upper class part of Taipei county, called “SongShanLin.” My house is 6 stories tall, and I feel as if I’m not worthy to even step into it. I have a guest room reserved for me on the second floor with its own air conditioning unit (by the way, that is a HUGE deal here). We have a house keeper named Ruby, and she is very kind and enjoys making me all sorts of food. We get along very well. My host mother is named Emily and she works for the Taipei HP notebook branch. Her favorite activity would be feeding me until I am about to explode. My host dad is named Chris, and he works for a small financial investment company. My host brother is name Kai-Hsu, we enjoy blowing off zombies faces together on his miscellaneous violent video games. My host sister is named Jessie, and she just left for Mississippi two days ago on exchange. Even though I’m as far away from Florida I can be without leaving the planet, I’ve never felt more welcome than in this family. Everyone is so kind and cares for me as if I were really a part of the family. They’re constantly shoveling food onto my plate, pulling me out of oncoming traffic, and finding ways for me to feel like I was right back home. I feel like I’ve won the host family jackpot.

Now here I shall attempt to describe Taiwan. Taiwan is a very small, but densely populated island. Their main language is Chinese, however many people speak Taiwanese and Hakkanese. This can get extremely confusing, extremely fast. I am extremely lucky to have studied Chinese for 2 years, otherwise I’d be completely lost all the time. The weather is beyond humid. I think if I jumped out my 6th story window, I’d just be able to swim down to safety. Also, you thought Florida was hot? You’re funny. I am constantly aware of the threat of heatstroke. Well what about the food? it’s interesting, I must say. Just remember the golden rules of being a foreigner: Don’t ask what you’re eating, and you can always try anything once, and then throw it up later. The culture here is also very complex and different from back home. It still startles me when I hear people burp in public, see people hitting themselves, or walk past one of many tai-chi classes taking place in public. But then I think “Oh wait, that’s normal here” and carry on with my business. There are of course other differences, but they need to be experienced in person to truly appreciate them (Aka you don’t flush the toilet paper here).

Now how should I explain Taiwanese school? Hey kids, have you ever wanted to know what it’s like to be a celebrity? Spend a year in a Taiwanese school. I walk down the hall to my classes and I am thoroughly stared down by every person in the hallway. People point at me, greet me with a “Hello!”, shove their shy friends into me, and take my picture. At lunch, everyone bangs on the windows of my class and loudly alert their friends that the foreigner is eating in this room. Then, they swing open the door, and either A) Take my picture B) Interrogate me C) Just look at me and run away, or D) All of the above. Also, I have lost track of how many times I’ve been called Harry Potter. I must say, Taiwanese school is quite the self confidence booster. I don’t know how I will ever get used to just being another American student when I return back home. Now about the Taiwanese school system, I don’t know how long it will be for me until I adjust. I wake up every morning at 6:15 and head out to the bus stop and return home at around 5:15 if I’m lucky. My school hasn’t accepted exchange students in over 8 years, so we are the first ones for a while, and are expected to thoroughly participate in every class; we get no exceptions. But I must say, I’ve never been as willing to wake up for school as I have been now.

I am extremely fortunate to be living in Taipei, Taiwan; it’s extremely lucky to be placed in the capital of your country. I’ve been here for less than two weeks and I’ve already experience more than I have in a lifetime back in Florida. I think my golden moment would have to be when I went out to explore by myself for the first time, took the completely wrong bus, and ended up in the middle of nowhere. In the community where I live, we are lucky enough to have public busses that take everyone to the MRT to avoid the otherwise grueling, hour long walk. The bus that goes to the MRT comes about every thirty minutes, except when the one bus going to the post office comes at that certain time. It would be just my luck to catch that one bus at that one time. So after getting on the bus and noticing that we were going the complete opposite direction, I leaned over to a woman on the bus and asked her if we were going to the MRT station. She didn’t respond, but instead went up to the bus driver and said something along the lines of “This foreigner really needs help.” Luckily for me, several elderly Taiwanese gentlemen got off the bus and helped me find the nearest MRT station and I finally found my way back home. But, now I know that if I get lost, the Taiwanese people are very helpful and friendly and will be more than glad to help you find your way back home.

Of course there is more I’d like to say in this journal, but honestly it’s just too difficult. The things I’ve experienced cannot be described through words, but rather through the amazing memories I’ve made. I’ve never been more thankful for an opportunity in my life before, and it’s all thanks to Rotary. I sincerely hope that when Rotary comes to talk to your school about being an exchange student, you immediately go home and start filling out your application. I can’t believe that just a year ago I was sitting in the auditorium at Ponte Vedra High School, listening to the rotary presentation about being an exchange student and how truly amazing it is. It really is everything more than you can ever imagine. Thank you rotary for this opportunity, I will try my best to cherish every moment of it.

Sincerely,
Sammy Daylor