Refreshing Cup of Tea by Isis

Refreshing Cup of Tea by Isis - May 2018 Scholarship Essay

"I would like to show you my favorite noodle place! Can we eat there together after class?" My 13-year-old student looked at me wide-eyed with excitement. It was nearing the last few days of my stay and I wouldn't miss any chance to spend time with the kids.

I had traveled with a team to a rural city in Taiwan known for its tea and taught English at the nearby school. While teaching English was our primary focus, creating a safe atmosphere to build relationships with the students was just as important. We pursued relationships with the students who sat alone just as much as the outgoing ones, leaving no one behind. Our team worked to hear each student's voice and cared for them individually. Outside of school hours, the students often followed us back to the church where we made our stay and joined us to make friendship bracelets, tinker with science experiments, and talk while filling our stomachs with shaved ice. They were overjoyed with the little gifts we brought from the states such as friendship bracelets, polaroids, and notebooks. Several days in, the students grew comfortable and we had the opportunity to make house visits where we traveled to the students' homes and met their parents.

For the first time, I began to see the distress built up in these children from abusive parents and broken families. The 13-year-old girl I grew closest to had an alcoholic father, however, her heart was not hardened. She invited over a few members from the team to her home and showed us the produce growing in the garden. On the last days, she gifted me two containers of tea leaves from their family business.
The girl is so precious and embodies a purely kind and loving heart.

I watched the students grow from shy and closed off, to having newfound hope for themselves and their families, and at the end of two weeks, love in the city was so tangible. I learned the power of love and its ability to change hearts. From us, we provided a safe haven for the students to be themselves and share anything they wanted, serious or not. From the students, they welcomed the team so warmly despite any troubles going on at home and went into each class full of curiosity and energy. It truly felt like an honor to be asked by the student to eat at her favorite noodle place and somehow when I ate it with her, the noodles were all the more delicious.