Regarding homerooms, I noticed another interesting difference. I learned that students here get placed in a homeroom group that has a unique number, for example, class number 709, and students stay with these classmates for all three years (seventh, eighth and ninth grades). In the U.S., middle schools typically start in 6th grade to 8th grade, so high school is then four years. In Taiwan, it seems like you become super close to the students in your homeroom classes, while I think in the U.S., you have a homeroom class, but it isn’t as important in middle school.
School Lunch / Cafeteria
Another unique thing about Taiwanese schools is lunch culture. Here I have observed students are often tasked with distributing school lunches to classmates, while some lucky others will go to the front to collect what their parents have delivered. Here, the lunches are colorful with meats, rice, veggies and even sometimes soup. When asking many students how school lunch is, I hear the stereotypical answer from any middle schooler, “so bad” or “Eh, so-so.” After hearing these reviews, even from colleagues, I was quite skeptical to try it myself. However, one day out of curiosity, I decided to try it, and I was shocked. I thought the food was so great! It had so many different options and no real limit on the amount I could self-serve. It also was quite reasonable for the price! When I reflect on my school lunches in the U.S., it wasn’t awful but it wasn’t nearly as nutritious. I remember eating pizza, french fries or hamburgers for lunch. Which, yes may sound nice for a bit, but every day?! No, thank you. I guess it is a universal experience to dislike your school’s lunch!
