Rotary Youth Exchange student describes life in Taiwan, Kingwood

Humble Rotarian, Yun Yang Wang (left,) Rotary Exchange student, Winnie Lee (middle,) and past Humble Rotary president, Susan Brodbeck pose together at the Humble Rotary meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 20. Humble Rotarian, Yun Yang Wang (left,) Rotary Exchange student, Winnie Lee (middle,) and past Humble Rotary president, Susan Brodbeck pose together at the Humble Rotary meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 20. Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close Rotary Youth Exchange student describes life in Taiwan, Kingwood 1 / 8 Back to Gallery

Winnie Lee, one of the Humble Rotary Youth Exchange students, spoke at the Humble Rotary meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 20.

Lee arrived from Taiwan in August 2015 and is currently a junior at Kingwood Park High School for the 2015-2016 school year. She described her life in Taiwan and her experiences so far as a student in the United States.

“A lot of people ask me where I come from,” Lee said. “When I say ‘Taiwan,’ they say ‘Do you mean Thailand?’ Some people get confused about Taiwan and Thailand. Taiwan is a very small island beside China. Our capital city is Taipei. We speak Mandarin, Hakka and Taiwanese. I only know how to speak Mandarin and Taiwanese.

“The city I live in is Taoyuan. It’s close to Taipei and only takes 40 minutes to get there by car. We have transportation called ‘high speed rail’ which takes only ten minutes to get to there. From the top of Taiwan to the bottom, it takes five hours by driving and only two hours by the high speed rail. Almost twenty Taiwans can fit into Texas.”

Lee enjoys running, photography, drawing and eating. She is quite taken with shopping malls, where she finds herself wanting to buy everything she sees.

Lee is also happy with her American school because unlike her school in Taiwan, she is exposed to a wider variety of students in the classrooms and she has more choice in the subjects she studies.

“At my high school in Taiwan I can only just study the same major and stay with the same classmates and same teacher for a full year,” Lee said. “So, if there is somebody that you hate in the class, you have to stay with them for a whole year. In the American school, you will just have to stay with that person for one period.

“Also, the school day for my high school in Taiwan lasts from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. which is ten hours long. At Kingwood Park High, it’s only six hours. It’s very relaxing.”

Lee is currently staying with her second host family. Her host parents, Jimmy and Angelica Welch, are very proud of her and enjoy her company.

“She has a great sense of humor,” Jimmy said. “We are really enjoying our time with her and our son is happy to have someone his own age in the house. It has definitely been worth it and we are glad we decided to be her host family.”

Lee expressed an equal appreciation for her host family and for everyone who made her journey to America possible.

“I just wanted to thank the Humble Rotary for giving me the opportunity to be an exchange student and come to this wonderful place,” Lee said. “I have a wonderful host family who never lets me get hungry. I’ve met some very cool people. It’s been wonderful.”

For more information about the Humble Rotary and their various programs, visit http://www.humblerotary.com/.