The beginning of a trip always includes the night before. Nothing was different with this year’s Taiwan Study Tour. Fresh from taking the recently resumed UPCAT, I squished all my clothes into my luggage with something akin to excitement (or was it panic?) the night of June 4. As I carefully rolled my extra socks into place, I vaguely remembered doing the same some 5 years ago, when the last tour took place. Fading memories came to mind: the earthy atmosphere of the farm; the sizzling sounds of street food at the night market; and the hearty laughter of my friends, new and old. All these moments never really left, leaving me restless for the next tours to come. And so here I am—nervous and anxious—on this trip for (probably) one last time.
While the trip began with my reminiscent musings, the morning after quite literally shocked me into reality with the jolt of my alarm clock. Throughout the rush of traffic, my nerves buzzed with excitement and anticipation for the weeks to come. Everything stopped, however, when I saw that sea of neon green Taiwan Study Tour shirts—it was really happening. No more thoughts nor expectations passed through my mind. I joined my tourmates with smiles and greeted my friends with hugs. Despite my nerves, I felt a sense of comfort returning to Taiwan not only on the same tour but also with my batchmates, people I’ve known for most of my life. Perhaps this is exactly what we need to compensate for all those years of lost camaraderie.
If only we knew the joyous chaos that would soon ensue.
The next few days quickly passed by. With vibrant flower gardens, festive amusement parks, and rainy zoos, it felt as though every single day was going to leave a noticeable impact on my faulty memory. Looking at our itinerary gave me the same impression; I soon realized however that it was in fact the countless little moments that will truly leave lasting memories. While I found picturesque views in the gardens, I also joked about frog statues with my friends. As I rode the nerve-wracking roller coasters, my screams of absolute horror were met with their amused (and slightly unsettling) laughter. Within the ghostly winds, we shared a sense of mild panic and a need to survive (and escape) the howling storm.
Hidden moments like these continued throughout the trip, even to the following week. While I thought the second week of lectures and discussions would be tedious, the reality was a different case, with moments of friendly competition between teams rekindling our spirits and leaving us energized. With a lesson on ingredients in Chinese, there was a challenge to make the longest recipe, while with another class on farm animals, there was a spine-breaking version of Twister. Capping all of our lessons off was a spirited game of Pictionary, showcasing the creative sketching abilities of my batchmates and tourmates.
All these shared experiences, be it crazed laughter, rivalrous cheers, or spirited banter, left me not only with more memories but also with a sense of belonging among my peers. All those years lost to the pandemic came back during this week-and-a-half; gone were the could’ve beens and should’ve beens, now replaced by the heres and nows of the tour. Soon, these heres and nows became befores and thens, filling us to the brim with a sense of camaraderie towards one another, preparing us for the time when this would be tested.
And so it came. After all these days we finally faced the last challenge: the basketball tournament. With some competitive fire left, Batch 2’s basketball team persevered through the 6 “quarters,” ending the game with a score just 2 points short of a win, 51-49. While our team might have taken a blow, our cheers and shouts throughout the game and our parents’ support back home nevertheless kept our spirits up. (Some of us even had enough stamina to run laps around the tracks of the school.)
With our morale riding high, we soon reached the end of our trip, which was marked by the bonfire night. As we shared our experiences and thanksgivings about the trip, I kept thinking of it all; from the first day of excitement to the second week of chaos and now to this bittersweet moment. Even if I’ll only remember a mere shred of those two weeks, much like my younger Taiwan self, I’m certain these memories won’t completely fade. Perhaps the facts would be slightly twisted and the exact details exaggerated but the fondness that comes with each remarkable second will be unforgettable. As my favorite yellow bear says, “We didn’t realize we were making memories; we just knew we were having fun.”