Team Members and Afterthoughts

The Always Vibrant and Funny Opening Man – Andrew

Sixth Grade │ Personality: cheerful, Cyberfair class clown │ Hobbies: reading, table tennis

Throughout the Cyberfair project, I did a lot of things that I had never imagined of doing before, like conducting an interview, surveying, and performing. They left me with beautiful memories and valuable experiences. After finishing my first survey, I was so nervous that I kept on thinking what I should do and react when I get turned down by the next person. Before my first on-stage performance, I kept on worrying about my lines. After finishing both the survey and performance, I told myself there would never be a next time for these kinds of things. But, strange enough, when a similar opportunity popped up later on, I raised my hand and volunteered without hesitation. I think performing can be really addictive, and I do enjoy receiving applause from the audience.
After gaining more performing experiences, I stopped feeling nervous about performing, and I was able to complete my performance without a hitch. When conducting an interview, I was able to chat casually with the interviewee. I want to thank my Cyberfair teachers for letting me join the team in my last year at Yu-Tsai. I was able to learn and gain loads of precious experiences.

Andrew’s Amazing Discoveries After every performance, I got the feeling that I have got a little better. The applause from the audience made me more mature, and I also got a strong sense of accomplishment. I did things that I wouldn’t have dared to dream of before, and that was something amazing.

The Tall and Talented Prince of Taiwanese Opera Prince – Tim

Sixth Grade │ Personality: introvert │ Hobbies: table tennis, movies

Before joining Cyberfair, I thought it would be filled with fun activities. I was really excited when I got selected because I thought I can finally have my picture taken with the president, and it would become the most memorable moment of my time in elementary school. When Cyberfair got underway, I still didn’t think there was anything hard at all, but it all took a turn for the worse after the start of sixth grade. We had performances and researches to complete. We had to use our lunch break, afterschool hours, weekends, and even holidays to work on the project at school.
When it was nearing the end of the semester, I thought I could finally get some rest, but it turned out to be the busiest time of the entire project. We had to consolidate data that we have gathered over the last six months, transcribe interviews, organize website data and pictures, and build the website. On top of that, I had to keep an eye on my schoolwork and study for the upcoming private school entrance examination; I was really at a loss. Finally, I figured that I should see it as an opportunity to acquire new knowledge and challenge myself, and then it would not be so difficult. With that in mind, I got a better handle of things. Transcribing interviews might be difficult, but I picked up on my typing speed, and I learned to identify the main points. Performing might be awkward, but I became more confident about myself. Organizing survey results may be a lot of work, but I got to see the numbers hidden inside their answers. Interviewing might be agonizing, but I got to feel each of their stories. I have learned so much from these tasks.

Tim’s Amazing Discoveries I realized that I don’t need to be a computer expert to join Cyberfair as long as I can be bold, poised, and brave to complete all assigned tasks. I need to take the initiative and grasp every opportunity to contribute to the team, and then I will gain a lot more experience than what I started with.

The Elegant ‘Bashful’ of the Cross Talks Duo – Nicole

Sixth Grade │ Personality: easy-going, loves tidiness, sometimes careless │ Hobbies: piano, violin, drawing

I have learned a lot from the Cyberfair project. Besides learning more about shuochang, I have also learned how to work with others and allocate my time wisely.

I want to thank our student shuochang expert teachers for giving us so much help along the way. Even though they are not Cyberfair members, they stuck with us from the beginning to the end to teach us shuochang and perform with us. They have done a wonderful job. In the process, I performed at a park and interviewed the director of Han-Lin Shuochang Group. These are things that I have never imagined of doing. Furthermore, I’ve also learned to build a website from scratch. The process was tough, but I got it down by myself.

I did not like shuochang very much in the beginning because I thought shuochang was just cross talks and clappers with long scripts to memorize. But after I got to know more about shuochang, I realized shuochang is indeed a very unique art form, and I want to thank my school for giving me the chance to join Cyberfair and learn about shuochang in depth. When the project ended, I liked shuochang even more than before. I have also discovered the broad scope that shuochang entails. I learned cross talks duo in Cyberfair, and that is something that I have never heard before. I hope I will have chances to learn other forms of shuochang in the future.

Nicole’s Amazing Discoveries I have learned to cooperate with my teammates by delegating jobs. I have also realized that when others give me more works to do, that is not necessary a bad thing. I will gain more hands-on experiences, and I will make myself better.

The Bright Sun of Taiwanese Opera – Ryan

Sixth Grade │ Personality: outgoing, optimistic │ Hobbies: drawing

I have finally become a member of the Cyberfair team. I was able to make a lot of friends and learn things like conducting an interview or performing outside of school. Our topic this year was on shuochang, so we invited our schoolmates to be our student shuochang expert teachers to teach us shuochang. I learned to play clappers, Taiwanese opera, cross talks, and other forms of shuochang. I have also learned more about shuochang. I want to thank my student expert teachers and computer teachers for giving me such a precious experience.

Cyberfair is coming to an end. After going through all the in-school and out-of-school events, I feel very confident about myself. I am able to perform on stage and conduct interviews, and I think joining Cyberfair has helped me tremendously.

Ryan’s Amazing Discoveries I used to get very nervous before going on stage. But if I am able to overcome my nervousness and complete the job in hand, I feel a great sense of accomplishment, and that makes me really happy.

The Cross Talks Duo Expert – Jessica

Sixth Grade │ Personality: impatient, always in a hurry │ Hobbies: percussion music

In my second year of joining Cyberfair, I learned about the art of shuochang. We covered the history, scripts, and techniques for shuochang. I want to thank our teachers and student shuochang expert teachers for being so patient with us. In this project, I’ve also learned to organize data and build a website. I got to know the format of Cyberfair better.

The biggest difference in this year’s Cyberfair was we got help from a group of student shuochang expert teachers. They provided lots of ideas to help us complete the project smoothly. This shows the power of teamwork. In addition, our market peddling and MRT flash mob were really fun and exciting. Even though finishing the event reports and interview transcribing were really time-consuming, I still thought it was all worth the effort because I learned something new in the process. We have also successfully promoted shuochang to more people.

Jessica’s Amazing Discoveries Learning shuochang takes a great deal of work and dedication. It is not done by merely untrained talking and singing. We need to pay attention to our intonation and make sure our audience is getting our jokes. Good performances will come with lots of hard work and never giving up. We need to memorize the scripts better and create better team chemistry to avoid mistakes on stage.

The Sweetheart of Fast Clapper Talks – Cathy

Fifth Grade │ Personality: over-thinks things, hates to perform │ Hobbies: reading, table tennis, English class

I think joining Cyberfair is both fun and tiring because it takes up our lunch breaks, after school hours, and holidays. We sometimes even miss regular class time to work on the project. However, I have also learned a lot of new knowledge. First, I learned to perform from my student shuochang expert teacher. Second, I learned more about shuochang while researching on the subject. Third, I learned the origin of the three-piece clapper from interviewing Director Yeh. Next, I learned to make my shuochang performance more authentic by performing it in Taiwanese. Finally, I learned to improve my performance after visiting Han-Lin.

However, non of these would come naturally in day one. I had trouble finishing my assignments on time, but I learned to better manage my time. In the meantime, I have made many new friends and learned to work with others. In addition, I have overcome many of my own shortcomings. I used to hate performing on stage, the most I could do was giving a speech. But this year’s Cyberfair includes lots of performing activities, so I have to perform whether I like it or not. After each event, my teacher would adjust my intonation and movements. Especially after our visit to Han-Lin, I gave out a performance that even I thought was outstanding. I realize as long as I work hard, I can put on a great performance for my audience. In conclusion, joining Cyberfair may have taken up a lot of my time, but I have learned and matured a lot. This is truly a great and valuable experience.

Cathy’s Amazing Discoveries Things weren’t usually as hard as we thought them to be. As long as we have the courage to try and work hard, we will be able to overcome all obstacles and accomplish another mission impossible.

The Sometimes Blurred Doggerel Expert – Jenny

Fifth Grade │ Personality: blurred, shy │ Hobbies: street dancing, video games, music, go out and play

I learned about the Cyberfair competition when I was in the middle grade computer class for the gifted. After entering fifth grade, I joined Cyberfair for the first time. Everything was so new and interesting, like conducting interviews or designing a questionnaire.

Our topic was the art of shuochang, and it gave me a chance to learn more about shuochang. Before conducting any researches, I did not know cross talks was a form of shuochang, and there were other forms of shuochang for us to learn and explore. After our research, we finally understood how to go online to search for information on shuochang properly. Before I understood what to search for, I went online aimlessly and obtained data that did not answer my questions. Therefore, I want to thank our principal for sending us to T.Q.T. to watch their performance. Their storytelling performance made me understand what storytelling is all about. Furthermore, when we performed at Han-Lin, I watched a jing yun da gu performance in person. Now I realize there are different forms of shuochang, and different geographic regions may give rise to different forms of shuochang.

Jenny’s Amazing Discoveries It was not easy to complete the Cyberfair project because new challenges kept popping up along the way. If we couldn’t overcome the challenge with Solution A, then we might try Solution B. Information that we found on the internet is only for reference. It is only after testing and examining these data on our own so we can truly learn about the subject.

The Star Hostess – Ariel

Fifth Grade │ Personality: outgoing │ Hobbies: drawing

Everyone on this year’s Cyberfair team seemed capable, and our teachers taught us a lot. I was most impressed by our teacher training us on articulation when we first entered the Cyberfair team and giving us a chance to make an oral presentation in front of an audience. I felt that Cyberfair was more than just learning about computers and website design. It was also about acquiring knowledge and facing challenges that were not covered in textbooks.

The Cyberfair team is a very cohesive team. When it was time to assign jobs, everyone tried to do more for the team. These jobs weren’t just a part of the project; they helped me to become a better person. When I was asked to conduct interviews with strangers, I saw an opportunity for me to learn to talk to a stranger. When I got the job done, I got a great sense of accomplishment. There are so many jobs in a Cyberfair project. As long as you are willing to work hard, you will be rewarded. I’m glad I joined the Cyberfair team.

Ariel’s Amazing Discoveries We worked hard to complete our assigned jobs. The result may not be perfect, but we all tried to do our jobs to the best of our abilities. When I face a problem, as long as I’m willing to work on it and not giving up, I can make it work.

The Princess Hostess – Candy

Fifth Grade │ Personality: optimistic, shy │ Hobbies: calligraphy, dancing, drawing, swimming

Matters of intrigue happened in abundance during the course of the Cyberfair project. In the beginning, when we had the test, everyone was nervous, hoping to make the team. I was lucky to get in. However, as the teacher warned us soon after, the Cyberfair project was a tiring and difficult road till the finish. We had to be on stand by to come to school for group work. We could be spending an entire day on the project when it gets busy. But since I chose to be on the team, I will do it until the end.

There is lots of teamwork in Cyberfair, and we have to work with different people. I learned to conduct an interview and complete a task as a group. Furthermore, I have also learned to perform, interview, and face the crowd. When conducting an interview, I must be confident. When I face a problem that I cannot solve, I must be bold and try to figure out a way to solve it. Most importantly, I must be brave to take the initiative when conducting an interview with a stranger. I have learned a lot after joining the Cyberfair project. However, it was too tiring, so my mom will not allow me to join Cyberfair again in sixth grade. That is a pity because I think Cyberfair is fun.

Candy’s Amazing Discoveries We need to write lots of reports and scripts on our own. We have to be fast, and the content has to be relevant. As a result, after joining the Cyberfair team, I can write my journals a bit faster. So if you want to improve on your journal writing skills, come and join the Cyberfair team.

The Clapper Prince - Howard

Fifth Grade │ Personality: outgoing │ Hobbies: street dancing

There is a long journey for research in every Cyberfair project. Our topic this year is the art of shuochang. At first, we did not know what shuochang was. But after instructions from of our student shuochang expert teachers and shuochang performances inside and outside of school, I got to know shuochang better, and I think Cyber is really a fun activity. We can learn with our classmates and discover new skills like fast clapper talks or other types of shuochang skills.

Now, Cyberfair is finally over. I want to thank all my teammates and teachers for bearing with me and reminding me of my shortcomings. I also want to thank our student shuochang expert teachers for taking their time to perform with us. When I see everyone working together, my desire to win got stronger, and I hope we will be able to win first place again this year.

Howard’s Amazing Discoveries I realized when I am focused on doing one thing, there will always be unexpected rewards. For example, during our Yonghe-Zhonghe Street Performance, everyone did his/her absolute best, so we were able to attract the attention of passer-bys. Some of them even stayed for half an hour to watch our shuochang performance.

Text: the Original Artsy Shuo-Chang Posse │ Pictures: the Original Artsy Shuo-Chang Posse