G3-10 Camp Taiwan
September 14th, 2009
Pacific American School has just returned from a great trip from Camp Taiwan. The typhoons visited beautiful Yangmingshan in three separate waves from September 3rd to the 13th. Our excursions were a mixed blessing of hot, humid weather, frightening spiders, colorful staff, and fun, yet tiring games and activities. It was a time for making new friends, strengthening old ones, learning about ourselves, and finding out who snores the loudest.
The high school was first to experience all that Camp Taiwan has to offer. Only 9th and 10th grade went as 12th grade was busy with college preparations and 11th grade went to Camp Pacific American at I-lan with Mr. Garcia. Enjoying beautiful weather, the high school was ready to tackle Camp Taiwan and their “Wild West” theme. A highlight for 9th graders was new activities, such as the giant ladder and zip line. “The giant swing was tiring and our group wasn’t assigned to the zip line,” said a visibly content Julius Chiang. Guinness was contacted about a possible record-breaking Giant Swing, log-walking attempt. Unofficial estimates placed Melissa Lee’s crossing time at an amazing eight seconds!
The burst of energy that is 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade was next to storm the mountain, albeit for one night only. However, quite a load of fun, activities, and food were packed into those 24 hours. One highlight was a brand new activity, Caterpillar King. Howard Yin expressed his happiness with this game by exclaiming, “I’m the king!” When asked about archery, Brandon Pai said, “I liked the soup. It was creamy.”
Last, and perhaps not least, the 6th, 7th, and 8th middle school students came to take the best that Camp Taiwan had to offer. Premature sunshine scorched the sloping stroll to camp and soon the skies opened and soaked their sneakers. But spirits were not dampened. Being old hands at camp, the middle-schoolers were proud to demonstrate their familiarity and skill with some of the activities. When asked about her favorite activity, Catrina Chen answered, “maybe…river tracing.” Witnessing the sight that is climbing, teacher Kurt Wahlgren saw “many, perhaps the majority of the seventh graders,” complete most of the climbing wall. “It was really fun, but a little tiring,” said Eddy Tsao, who triumphantly stood at the top of the wall and enjoyed a panoramic view of camp.
So, with another year of fun and learning behind us, we look forward to next year. Be it Camp Taiwan or Camp Pacific American at Yilan, the Typhoons will be ready for a fabulous outdoor experience of food, folks, and fun.