耕新報01紙本刊物發行於2018年，2022將內容編輯後發佈於網路
本文作者〉Arisara Awutkom
來自泰國，2017年暑假至桃園新屋社區擔任國際志工，因著台灣偶像劇而對造訪台灣有極大的動力，期間跟著社區舉辦活動，帶孩子學英文。
“Volunteers are not paid – not because they are worthless,
but because they are priceless.”
AIESEC GLOBAL VOLUNTEER APPLICATION
AIESEC 國際志工體驗
Looking back, this saying seemed to be pretty reckless thing to follow. It was different in this scenario because it was VOLUNTEERING. Not just a regular volunteer but GLOBAL VOLUNTEER!!! Sorry for saying it in capitalized letters but it got me so excited every time whenever I think about it. Not only I got to do good things to the society but I also got to be in other country – facing an unfamiliar or even strange situations! I, Arisara Awutkom, a senior student in Assumption University of Thailand, thought I would be crazy if I did not take this chance!
回想起來，這感覺是一件十分冒險的事，因為是志願服務所以不能跟其他狀況混為一談，不只是一般的志工而是國際志工呢!!!!! 很抱歉用大寫字母表達但是每一次想起我總是無法抑制興奮之情。除了能對社會有所貢獻，還能到其它國家面對完全不熟悉又陌生的環境。
我，Arisara Awutkom，來自泰國(Assumption 大學) 的大四學生，心想我一定是瘋了才沒能把握這次機會!
The first time I saw AIESEC poster about global volunteer posted on my university’s elevator door, my mind went like, “That’s it; this is so challenging I got to try this.” That day, I remembered texting AIESEC Official LINE account to apply for the project immediately. Luckily, I was pretty much one of the last applicants applying because they were about to close the admission. It was not hard to choose country at all, it was the project that was difficult to find…
當我第一次在大學的電梯門看見AIESEC 有關國際志工的海報時，我心裡想著，「就是他了，我一定要接受這個挑戰。」那天，我記得我馬上傳訊息給AIESEC 的官方帳號申請參加徵選，幸運地是我算是最後一波的面試者，因為他們即將關閉表單，然而最難的並不是選擇哪個國家而是找到一個合適的計畫……
Taiwan has always been a dream country that I would like to visit one day before I die (Sorry for being a bit dramatic but truthfully, I really meant it!) Why? Biggest thank to the Taiwanese dramas I remembered growing up watching during my younger age. All those sweet memories have been stuck in my head willingly, thus it was very easy for me to choose Taiwan when thinking about going to volunteer abroad. The next step was to choose the project. Most of the AIESEC projects were about teaching. In my point of
view, I understand that education is essential to every kid and the kids today are our future, but I prefer to volunteer about other matters because I have a strong faith that Taiwanese education is good enough for the Taiwanese children already. I mean, looking at the results of quality people of Taiwanese are. I am not exaggerating this just to flatter you guys, but I have experienced it by myself through this unforgettable volunteer. I wanted to do something that was bigger than myself, something strange, something local and something I don’t get to do in a regular basis. Thus, I chose something far away from my comfort zone, which is Community Development. There was only one project that could answer my passionate wants: “Embrace Taiwan: Explore, Design, Empower”.
台灣對我來說是一個在我死前一定要造訪的國家( 抱歉有點浮誇但事實真的是如此) 為什麼呢? 主要歸功於在我成長過程中所看過的台灣偶像劇，那些美好的回憶深深的刻印在我腦海中，因此當我想到國際志工時台灣就輕易地成為我的口袋名單。下一個步驟是選擇計畫，大部分的AIESEC 計畫都是教學，就我看來，我明白教育對小孩來說是基礎，而孩子是我們的未來，但是我偏好其他服務是因為我相信台灣的教育對台灣孩子已經足夠。我的意思是，看看台灣人的素質就能清楚知道，我並不是在誇大事實來諂媚你們，而是我在這次的志工活動中親自體會到的。我想做的是一些平常不會有機會接觸，陌生又在地的事情，因此我踏出舒適圈選擇社區發展，而只有一個計劃能夠回答我熱烈的渴求:「擁抱台灣: 探索、設計、賦予」
When I was preparing to come to Taiwan, it was fun and all for me to imagine what it would be like to live in the country of my dream, meeting new amazing people and exploring new adventures. The scary feelings
hit me on the last night of Thailand, the day before I left for Taiwan. Numerous doubts randomly popped up in my mind. Moreover, I just found out that other two girls who were supposed to be the other volunteers
in the project both had to leave the project immediately and back to their countries due to their personal reasons. It actually made things worse in my head. Everything was so terrifying but then I realized that “Great things never come from comfort zone,” so I decided that I had to do this, I wanted to do it and there was no turning back now. I am a fighter, not a quitter.
當我在準備要來台灣時，對我來說想像著住在我夢想中的國家是很有趣的，認識新的朋友並且經歷冒險。但在我最後要離開泰國的那晚，我開始感到害怕，一些不確定的感覺出現在我心裡。此外，我得知原本應該跟我一起的另外兩位志工女孩，因為個人因素必須離開計畫回到他們各自的國家，這的確讓我更加頭痛了。
每一件事都令人害怕但我了解「美好的事物不會來自舒適圈」，所以我決定要接受，我想當國際志工而且也沒有退路了。我是一個戰士，不是半途而廢的人。
First week of Taiwan was…..incredibly lonely. It was the week I needed to adapt to the new surroundings, new work routine, and the Mandarin language I knew nothing of except how to say hi, thank you and number 1-10. Language barrier was a huge headache for me. Mr. Hank, the most kind and incredible host and project manager, had treated me so warm and welcome. It was like he knew how it would be like to be far away from home with no friends. He took me to dinner everyday and during those times I could ask him about anything I was wondering or shared my experience of the day.
在台灣的第一個星期真的是……非常地孤單。我在那個星期必須適應新環境、新的日常生活以及除了說你好、謝謝還有一到十外其餘完全無法理解的中文，語言障礙對我來說真的很頭疼。Hank，最親切最照顧我的接待人以及AIESEC 計畫的負責人，對我十分的溫暖與歡迎，就像是他知道從遠方來沒有朋友是什麼樣的感覺。他每天帶著我一起吃晚餐而且在那段日子我可以問他任何我想知道的事或是分享我每天的生活，Hank 其實是一個十分忙碌的人，他必須負責幼兒園，埔頂社區還有政府計畫，對我來說看到他如此投入在他所做的事上是很神奇的，在那時候我覺得我選對了計畫，因為有一個楷模在我身旁啟發我。
“Embrace Taiwan: Explore, Design, Empower”
This is such a very suitable project name for Puding Community. I did all of those three words gradually. I ‘explored’ Puding community and Xinwu District almost everyday after work, I ‘designed’ some of the paintings for Puding community for Public Relations purposes in the future and also designed English class weekly, and I “empowered” myself through all
the reflections I had during my stay. In conclusion, I slowly and lovingly ’embrace Taiwan’ in my heart just like I expected in the first place without any pressure and I’m glad I chose Taiwan .
這對埔頂社區來說是一個合適不過的計畫名稱。我將這三個詞潛移默化的付諸
實現。在每天工作結束後我探索了埔頂社區還有新屋區，為了埔頂未來的公共
藝術目的我畫了一些畫作並設計了每周的英文課程，在我待在埔頂的日子，透
過每一天的反思賦予自己更多能量。總而言之，在沒有壓力的情況下，我深深地打從心底擁抱台灣，並且如同當初預期的愛上台灣，我很高興自己選擇了台灣。
“Volunteers are not paid – not because they are worthless,but because they are priceless.”
做志工沒有酬勞不是因為沒有價值，而是因為那是無價之寶。
本文譯者〉Dori
一隻怕水的多莉魚，喜歡文字和語言。大學時一腳踏入了地方，從此似乎深陷無法自拔，儘管自覺不擅與生人交往，採訪時依然會鼓起十萬勇氣與之攀談，覺得杞人憂天的細胞可以藉由書寫得到一些治療。
email〉doriseatinginj@gmail.com
