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Matt Kiedrowski

During the three years that Matt Kiedrowski was living in Taiwan he went out of his way to be involved in native activities. One of his favorite pass times when he was outside of the classroom was surfing. While he sparked his new interest in the sport, he was able to meet friends along the way. With his new friends it didn’t matter what your background was, it was about coming together for a common interest. Kiedrowski explains their relationships, “You surf I surf, we are friends”. The relationships he formed while doing something he enjoyed remained as a lasting memory for Kiedrowski years after he had moved back home.

Approaching the Taiwan coast with surfboards in hand, watching as the waves of the North Pacific Ocean crash peacefully upon the shore. Joined by friends of different cultures and background, some of which speak a completely different language, they all examine the ocean current, mentally preparing for the perfect wave. After a simple nod from your new diverse friends, everyone knows it is time to get the board in the water. All the differences between the group of men are instantly evaporated away from the sound of the splash of the board getting dropped into the water. 

Social studies teacher Matt Kiedrowski traveled to Taiwan in 2006 for a three year trip to teach junior high aged kids along with his wife. The couple lived and immersed themselves in the country and its culture, learning many life lessons along the way. Spending their time teaching in a gated community school and living in an apartment wasn’t quite enough for them. They spent all the free time they could venturing out into the city to discover all the new and exciting aspects of their new home.

Kiedrowski explained, “To really get the flavor of Taiwan, you would go out often outside the gated community.”

Teaching experience

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Kiedrowski explained, “The kids were highly motivated. The school and facilities itself weren’t great, but the kids were phenomenal. I taught junior high kids and they probably did 3-4 hours of homework a night as 7th graders.”

Not only did the kids at such a young age have a significant homework responsibility but their school years lasted longer overall. This made the students maintain a stronger work ethic over a longer period of time.

Kiedrowski explained, “They would go for 20 more days a year, so when it’s averaged out they are going to school for one year more than we are because of the extra 20 days. Along with the time they invest overall. They were really driven as students. They brought it [school] to a new level.”

Life in Taiwan

Life in any other country is different than in your own country, and Kiedrowski explained that there was, “night and day culture shock” of living in such a new place. Despite their high class living by Taiwanese standards, the couple was still living in a small apartment that most Americans would never consider high class. Although the couple did not want to seclude themselves in this gated community, they wanted to explore Taiwan a great deal. While exploring they found themselves becoming more and more involved in the culture as they observed Taiwanese life.

Another aspect of Taiwan that made it different from the states was the buildings and city setup. Taiwan was created in the late 1940’s by the chinese nationalist party population that was kicked out of China by communists. The nationalists then developed Taiwan as a temporary home and planned to move back to China. Although the nationalists never ended up moving back to China, leaving Taiwan to be set up “as a hodgepodge”, due to the lack of planning by the citizens that did not prepare for the permanent residency of the country.

Kiedrowski explained,“It’s very what we would consider here [U.S.]  to be sloppy and disorderly. We used to joke and say that everything used to be half to three quarters done. So even if you would go to a really really nice grocery store there was always something that wasn’t quite there.”

Lessons to be learned

After spending a great deal of time in Taiwan, the couple experienced a humbling adventure during their stay. They realized how truly privileged they were in the U.S. Even the little things about living somewhere less privileged impacts you.

Kiedrowski explained,“No one lives like we do here in the states as far as the education system and the neighborhoods, we learned pretty quickly that this is [U.S.] a pretty unique situation.”

After the experience in Taiwan, Kiedrowski always recommends to students (and anyone) to travel and experience different cultures. He feels that learning what deprivation truly is brings a new level of understanding of your privileges along with how blessed we as Americans are.

Kiedrowski explained,“With deprivation you get appreciation. If kids don’t have the deprivation at all then they lack the appreciation.”