Seventy high school students flew to Taiwan last May and June as part of the 2023 MGCNLCA Taiwan Study Tour, the first of its kind since the 2020 pandemic.
Led by Ms. Anita Angeles, Mr. Bernardo Villanueva, Ms. Angela Chen, Ms. Annie Chen, and Mrs. Jane Chen, a total of thirty-six students joined Batch 1 from May 28 to June 10, and thirty-four students joined the 2nd batch from June 5 to 18. This included three students from Homeschool Global, who were invited to join the educational study tour as well.
Last held in 2018, this year’s study tour also marks the first time it hosted two batches of students. The return of the University of the Philippines College Admission Test (UPCAT) this year on June 3 and 4 prevented the Olive students taking the UPCAT to join the first batch, thus a second batch was offered to enable them to join the Taiwan study tour as well.
In order to avail of the no-visa offer to foreign visitors, this year’s Taiwan Study Tour lasted for only two weeks, unlike its previous length of three weeks. Despite its shortened length, the students had several enriching educational activities across Taiwan, such as river trekking, studying the Chinese language, bonding around a campfire, shopping, visiting the Leofoo Village Theme Park and the Taipei Zoo alongside fellow schoolmates, going on a night ecological tour, and making pineapple cakes, among many others.
The customary Amazing Race culminated the culturally immersive trip as students raced to complete tasks around the city of Yilan in respective groups, requiring the students to speak in Mandarin Chinese and remain independent in order to collect points. Participants shared their insights afterward, with many viewing their independent walking around the city as a new and freeing experience.
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