Hong-Wen High School's New York Jew Talk

On Nov. 1, 2016, I conducted an event for the EFL and history teachers of Hong-Wen High School in Tan-Zih. The organizer wanted to hear me give a talk about off-the-beaten-path places to visit in New York, and "My Faith; Judaism." I hope that what I did there would have some bearing on what they'll teach the kids. I would have liked to interject a main component of an EFL class: reported speech, so they could practice a more Natural Approach with the students, but it was shocking to them when I asked that they participate. Instead, I ending up being Sidney Sheldon. 

I started the talk with a brief introduction of myself with a power point presentation and then "My Faith; Judaism," the hard-hitting summary of Jewish history and culture for a people who are generally prejudiced or ignorant about us. At the request of my Mandarin teacher, I had given the presentation to her Chinese culture class at a university in Nantou. At that time, I had two hours to briefly go over Jewish history and culture and lay out my theory about why there is so much antisemitism in the world today, but at the in-service training in Tan-Zih, I had to rush; not an easy task when I am speaking slowly for the EFL learned teachers to understand. 

Power Point: Judaism; My Faith

When I reached the slides discussing the Christian prejudice against Jews and the jealousy towards my faith, it hit a raw nerve. They had never heard the European experience of Judaism before; they thought Hitler was an isolated case of antisemitism and didn't realize how it stretched back to the tenth century, how Christian religious and political leaders, such as  Pope Urban II's Crusades, Martin Luther's Protestantism, the French Dreyfus prejudice had led to Adolph Hitler's Nazi Party, how they tried to obliterate us. They knew what modern Christian Millennial hate was about and why the Trump administration would be so abhorred by most open-minded Americans. (NOTE: The presentation was given a week before Trump was elected U.S. President.)

     

Some Christian teachers were taken aback by my directness, but in the feedback at the end of the presentation, the organizer and participants said it was one of the most interesting English talks they have ever heard.   

   After a short break I brought up "New York City; Far From the Madding Crowd," an interactive slide show I had made especially for this group. They enjoyed it so much. My seven-day tour of New York City, step by step, from getting off the plane at JFK to visiting each borough, except the Bronx, was exciting to them. They would love to travel to New York City one day. The teachers particularly liked the YouTube videos I included of the Coney Island Cyclone roller coaster, Parachute Jump,  Staten Island Ferry view, and Museum of the Moving Image. You can watch it for yourself at the link below: 

Power Point: New York City

I concentrated on showing places few tourists knew and even many New Yorkers would have found out of the ordinary. Imagine; three spots to visit in Staten Island, four including the ferry! A Motel 6 in Queens and two place in Queens to visit: the Museum of Moving Image , or the colonial African-American settlement. They hopped off the subway with me from Central Park to The Cloisters, bypassing the Bronx Zoo or Yankee Stadium. We walked the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, crossed the Brooklyn Bridge, visited South Street Seaport, and circled back to Brooklyn on the Manhattan Bridge after visiting.

 Chinatown and Little Italy; the only tourist-friendly places I included since the teachers are all Taiwanese. In Brooklyn they took the "F" elevated train line to Coney Island and the "D" back to the Botanic Gardens, for to see the cherry blossoms, The Brooklyn Museum, and Grand Army Plaza Library and Arch near Prospect Park. I thought of heading to 7th Ave for a taste of yuppie heaven. I didn't compile a list of my favorite restaurants but joked that they could eat ramen noodles in the hotel room to save money or splurge, if they wished, but the whole trip, including airfare, could have been enjoyed for $3000 U.S.  The teachers were ready to pack their bags and go 

Postscript: When the news broke about the high school in Taiwan that had a Nazi parade on International Culture Day, the organizer from Hong-Wen High School called my home to wish me well and to thank me again for going to speak with the faculty. It showed that my outreach had some positive effect. Respect and understanding of each others' culture is the only solution for world peace.