Anna and Michael are 11-year-olds living in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan. In this field note, they describe their experiences as 5th-grade elementary students in Taiwan, covering a range of topics including daily life, likes and dislikes and their future aspirations.
Disclaimer: Names and responses have been altered to protect the privacy of my students. The interview was conducted using a mix of Chinese and English, and some translations may have been simplified for understanding. Interview responses do not reflect the life experiences of every 5th-grade student in Kaohsiung, as these can vary greatly between regions and socioeconomic classes.
Starting easy, or maybe not so easy– Michael and Anna forgot what they ate for breakfast yesterday. However, they did let me know what they typically eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Usually, Anna likes to eat a sandwich, while Michael has bread and chocolate milk for breakfast. For lunch, they typically eat noodles on the weekends, or school lunch during the week. And luckily they remembered what they had for dinner yesterday– Anna had hotpot and Michael had dumplings!
