Reflection on 49th year High School Reunion - National Hsinchu Girls’ Senior High School (國立新竹女中) - by Janice Chang

Reflection on 49^th year High School Reunion - National Hsinchu Girls’ Senior High School (國立新竹女中)

I do not know why I have been dreaming of being back at school ever since I was retired in 2014.  Could I be experiencing anxiety or nostalgia for days gone by?  Now I am an empty nester - two kids all grown up and had family of their own; husband, forever busy with his business – hey, why can’t I kick my heels up and enjoy the life of my well-deserved retirement life?  Seriously, I found out that retirement was a traumatic life change of all.  Like many friends of mine left Taiwan 30+ or 40+ years ago and settled in America, I buried myself in work at Montgomery County Government in Maryland to find the vast opportunities to climb the corporate ladder, if you found your niche. Yes, I found it!  However, as soon as I retired, they hit me like a sledgehammer.

It was around summer time this year, I suggested Jenny (唐傳玉), my high school and National Cheng Kung University pal, recently retired in May 2016, to plan this 49^th year High School Reunion trip when some of NCKU retirees were meeting in Hsinchu.  I was so glad Hsiu-Feng (蕭秀鳳), my classmate at 三年一班 and my chum at National Cheng Kung University agreed with my idea. And of course, Jenny (唐傳玉), a natural born leader, made the arrangement with the Principal’s Office in advance with her close school friend (劉苑平) from 三年六班, helped pave the way to make it possible.  I appreciated greatly for their efforts.  Without them, we would have looked in from the iron fence at the school entrance.   Unfortunately, 劉苑平 had to miss it due to prior commitment to care for her aging mother. 

So, Monday, Oct 24, 2016, I touted this visiting Hsinchu Seniors High School, as making the holy pilgrimage.   It’s here where I made the passage from adolescence to adulthood.  At this formative stage where I powered up the brain and soaked up copious of knowledge for the most important three years of my life.  I reflected on those life-shaping three years and what life in a small town, Hsinchu, meant to me as an adult, I would like to capture the memories for the future generation, my children and grandchildren.  So, it will bring richness and depth to my family’s history one day.  Preserving the following stories can be a tremendous gift for them from a mother and a grandmother.  

(1)   The School front gate entrance, then and now

Military etiquette: to greet (salute) a teacher every morning.  Wouldn’t it be the same as the school kids in America who pledge allegiance to the Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and Justice for all?  One is in action to the respectable teachers while the other in reciting to pay tribute a symbolic country. 

Those four girls could have been one of us at certain week when we rotated the line-up duties.

 

 (2)   My old classroom (the first one on the right – the grey color building with the Japanese Stone Lantern in front) 

The open ditch where we sat one-by-one every morning, after the mandatory classroom cleaning and before the assembly in the school field, to cram for the first-period’s unannounced test is now all covered.  Hsiu-Feng (蕭秀鳳), don’t forget, you were next to me at one time.  The hedge plants served as private screens were now replaced with tall palm trees.  The Japanese stone lantern, dated back to the Japanese Period, was relocated to here from the backyard garden, stood as the symbol for our old friendship.  It shapes us for a life time.

 

(3)   The small auditorium (小禮堂)

My memories ran vividly when we had the final exam here as the mock college entrance exam.  Hsinchu Girls’ Senior High School was notoriously known for its competitive and tough tests three times a week without announcing any subject in advance.  I also remember that we had the school choir competition on the stage signing Offenbach’s Barcarolle from “The Tales of Hoffmann” – The famous Gondola Boat Song (霍夫曼 - 船歌) The music teacher(徐晉淵) admiringly sat in the audience seat listened attentively to our lovely song that we voted among the classmates.  We made to the honorable-mentioned roll without his any help at all.  His focus was to encourage us begin building the characteristics of a leader, which is teamwork and collaboration.  Boy, was I proud to be one of his students.  As I can recall today, we not only assembled from scratch a harmonious choir group among the 50 classmates with different

singing voice types. we also picked our own conductor 陳優美, who was so talented and gracious and piano accompanist that I could not remember the name now.  It was not easy to find students who knew how to play piano then.  But, somehow we had an accomplished loaner from other class.

(4)   The disciplinary effects of cleaning the classroom and the rest of the school – ground, garden, bathrooms, school field, etc.

These activities of cleaning all create a sense of community and responsibility for the place where we live - the world and environment.  I had told my kids at one time about how I was scolded as an elected class cleaning leader, after the military instructor (喻鳳鼎教官),calling out on the school public announcement, among all other guilty class leaders for failing to assign the classmates to polish the window frames spic and span.  She had the white gloves on, as I demonstrated in the picture, to inspect every corner of each classroom.  Boy, was she harsh!  However, I deeply thank her for being strict to train me as a role model parent for my children.  They started doing their own laundry and family chores when they were around age 10.

(5)   Reminiscing about the “Good Old Days”

Seeing all these pictures made me want to transport myself back in time so I could hang out again with old pals.  Here we are, Thanks to Jenny (唐傳玉), Hsiu-Feng (蕭秀鳳), and three junior alumni (校友會李妙靜理事長, 徐靖媛秘書,編輯, 與母校林春蘭秘書) made my dream come true. 

Life is short, we are all 49 years older.  We have matured and gained a fuller perspective of what matters in life.  I wish to go back to simpler time when it was just easy and that’s just that.  It may have been challenging in the midst of it all, but looking back now, I’m sure we’d go back for one last, good time.  Back then, everyone knew how to work the system.

So, now the most important thing is to be ourselves and to be comfortable with who we are.  By now, we are all beyond showing off.  We no longer have anything to prove but relaxing and enjoying our life ahead of us.  

All in all, I made it so far, owing to Hsinchu Girls’ Senior School (國立新竹女中), my home town, my teachers, classmates, friends and the people who made it special!  That’s why I will never forget!

Thanks and keep in touch!

From Janice Chang
吳玉琴