The Most Selfless Dedication

Describe someone that you know that you wanted to work for or follow. Why?


The person I admire is Dr. Jane Goodall. She came to Taiwan and held a speech when I was in high school. I didn't go to the speech but my classmate did. After she came back, she made a little speech to my class to describe this legendary woman and what she got from her speech. That was the first time I heard about this lady.

In 1960, Jane Goodall went to Africa to research in chimpanzee when she was 26. What a brave girl in her era! I can not imagine, as young woman, living in the wild alone and spending all the time just looking at what those animals are doing. I think that must be lonely and hard, but she did. We got lots of knowledge about wild chinpanzees from her observation, including their social system and family life.

Goodall established the Jane Goodall Institute in 1977, which supports the Gombe research and is a global leader in the effort to protect chimpanzees and their habitats. After all these years I can clearly remember my classmate's tears on her face when she told about the chimpanzees she saw from the slide. Human utilized the chimpanzees for new drug tests, because the chimpanzees have 99% conformity in genome with humans. After the tests, the chimpanzees didn't get good care. They just kept as "experimental object" in a small cage until they died, even though they were sad or sick. I joined this institute after knowing Goodall's story and what she made an effort for.

Goodall devotes virtually all of her time to advocating on behalf of chimpanzees and the environment, traveling nearly 300 days a year, telling people of environmental issue and animals conservation. She is an animal rights activist and advocates for Animals campaigns against the use of animals in medical research, zoos, farming and sport.

I was so moved by her environmental and humanitatrian work. Jane Goodall is the one who is the most selfless, brave, smart, and tough women that I have ever heard. Even if I can't really work with her I will live up to her spirit.

First mission!

What was the biggest culture shock to you and how did you overcome it?

I have went to the english classes in rondo outreach library for two weeks. Students in the class are from many different coutries and are wide range of ages, but they have a same way to study in the class-it is easy for them to ask a question, no mater the question is easy or hard. For the teachers, there is no stupid question either. Since I just came here only for three weeks, the learning style become my first culture shock! There is a old sentence in chinese, "be brave to ask questions". Myself used to explain this sentence encouraging people to ask when they do not know about something. It looks so postive and seems to a good sentence. But why ? Why the question can not be just a question but a "brave" question? According to my student experience over a long period of time, it may sometime means: "If you don't know this answer, it's your faults." The tranditional instruction form most of Taiwan is that the teacher stand on the platform and keep talking and the student keep taking notes on their books. Everything is silence except the teacher's vioce and the rustle sound from students note words on papers. Boring class, isn't it? Of course, there are many young teachers try to change the instruction style now. I'm not the young generation. And for me, asking question can be take a risk about other people might think I am a stupid or lazy student if the question isn't too recondite. I would rather go home and check out the books or discuss with classmates after class. I am a silence student, I am used to be. But how can a silence student learn english well without speaking english? I am trying not so shy in the class for the first step. I do not overcome it yet, it takes time. At least, it's not a mission impossible!

What do you enjoy about your neighborhood?

This is my first time in the U. S. A. I just came here one week ago. Everything is so fresh and interesting to me. It's a very different place from Taiwan, it is where I came from. I like Taiwan, it is an advanced, technical place, but too crowded in the capital. People and cars are everywhere. Unfortunately, I lived in the capital.

I came St. Paul to visit my sister; she's working here for a while. The neighborhood she lives in is a very quiet place. I can see the sky above me without any blocking by the buildings. Every house possess a front yard and back yard I can often see the squirrels in there and sometimes there even a rabbit, this is very special for a Taiwanese. In Taiwan, only very very rich people can own this kind of house in the city.

Some owners take care of their gardens. I marvel at their lovely and colorful gardens, they look exactly like they come from fairy tales. My sister and her husband always laugh at my astonishment. They say that make me so "rube", but I don't care. I keep saying "wow" every time I see the beautiful houses. I think that Americans are too used to what they can see every day and getting numbed to the beautiful scenes, they think those are just houses. Sometimes I think if everyone woke up in the morning, pretended that every thing they see and touch is the first time they do so, like a new born baby never seeing the world, they will find something different from daily life.

Besides the buildings, people here are very nice and friendly. When I walk my sister's dogs Gong-xi and Fat-chai outside, people talk and smile at me and ask questions about the doggies. I almost wonder if everybody here is a dog lover or if the doggies are just too cute. Anyway, I enjoy my neighborhood. I have a good time here.