The summer vacation in Taiwan
七月就是台灣學生的暑假了，你們國家的暑假是幾月到幾月呢？
最近又到了台灣放暑假的時候，什麼是放暑假(summer vacataion)呢？就是台灣的學校在到了七月左右，學生就會開始放假，這段期間他們理論上(theoratically)不需要去學校，可以自由安排自己的時間。通常暑假可以放到兩個月，也就是60天，所以七到八月就是學生快樂的時間了。順帶一提，既然有暑假，那當然也有寒假，寒假通常在一月到二月期間，大概有21天，有段期間也剛好會碰到台灣的「新年」，所以可以讓學生和家人一起過年，算是蠻好的安排。
那麼台灣學生暑假都在做什麼呢？首先要先知道，台灣是個蠻注重(care a lot)學校成績的國家，暑假雖然是放假，但是對於有些國中、高中生來說，可能不是這麼期待，因為學校都有安排類似暑假輔導、暑假自修等等的，學生還是會背著書到學校坐在教室看書，甚至有老師會出來幫大家複習(review)，準備升學(enroll)考試。我記得我在國中的時候就是有一半的暑假都待在學校，每天從早上到下午都在教室自習，完全沒有放暑假的感覺。當然這也不是每個學校或是每個班級都會這麼做，但是因為升學的壓力(pressure)，這的確是一個常見的現象(phenomenon)。尤其是九年級生（也就是國三生）因為準備要升高中了，而十二年級生（高三生）準備要升大學，特別會碰到。至於國小生呢，學校通常都會發一本暑假作業，裡面有各式各樣不同種類的作業，像是請你分享你在暑假去了哪裡，寫下心得(review or thoughts)、拍照，或是要你作一些美術作品等等，雖然是作業，但是還是比平常作業有趣許多。我還記得我國小的時候（不能透露幾年前了…好久啦>~<)，一拿到暑假作業就開始瘋狂地寫，因為希望能早早(as early as possible)寫完，這樣整個暑假都可以去玩了，這樣好像有點誤會了暑假作業的意思，但是至少寫完了哈哈。
但是除了學校，學生也是會安排去其他地方玩的，台灣人都知道七八月的時候，機票總是特別貴，是大家所謂的「旺季」，因為家長也會配合小孩放假的時間安排出去玩，尤其是出國玩，所以如果是沒有小孩但是要安排出國的人，通常也會避開這段時間。另外除了國外旅遊，國內很多景點或是旅館，也可能因為暑假稍微漲價(price increase)，就算沒有漲價，熱門的地點或是票也會比較難買，這點大家也都是可以預測(predict)的，畢竟小孩在暑假沒事做，總是會吵著爸媽要出門。說到這個，對於有還在念幼稚園或是國中、國小的小孩而又要上班的父母來說，都會有點頭痛，因為不能把年紀輕的小孩一個人放在家裡，所以還是需要安排小孩去「安親班」，這是一個什麼樣的地方呢？這是一個像是補習班的地方，只是目的是幫你照顧小孩，會提供吃、喝甚至教育(education)相關的活動。我還記得我很喜歡我國小參加的安親班，因為老師會帶我們去各種地方玩，包含電影院、游泳、和圖書館，甚至還有安排去老師的家，大家還一起幫他的狗狗洗澡，真的是很有趣的一段時間。
而正是因為台灣學生是放寒假和暑假，因此可以知道，每一年總共只有兩個學期(term)，這點我去查了一下，發現每個國家都不一樣，像是美國、韓國似乎也是兩個學期，但英國和日本則是有三個學期，蠻有趣的，也讓我想到在上日文課的時候，日文老師的孩子因為在台灣唸書，對於台灣有些地方覺得不太適應(adjust)，像是有「第八節課」這點，雖然這堂課主要是用來安排自習，並非強制(force)一定要參加，詳細的規定我並不是非常熟悉，但是有了這第八節課，通常放學時間就會快到五點，相較於其他國家，這個下課時間應該算是挺晚的，所以日文老師深刻覺得台灣真的很注重成績呀！只能說綜合(considering, combining)暑假有輔導課，國高中生下課又有比較晚這點，台灣的學生真的是相當辛苦呢！不過只要撐到了大學，基本上就可以自由安排暑假寒假的活動，可以去打工、進修、甚至體驗各種不同的事物，是個能夠好好充實(enrich)自己的一段很棒的時間！
最後呢，其實台灣上班族經常在開玩笑，説希望公司也有放暑假這個福利(benefit)！也真因為如此，有些人還想去學校當老師，因為部分學校的老師是可以放暑假的，總之，我覺得對學生來說，無論在寒假還是暑假有什麼安排，都是能夠喘息(breath and relax)的時間，也就是因為只有學生能享有這樣的時間，應該會更加珍惜當學生的時光吧！
暑假輔導、暑假自修 -> Summer guidance, summer self-study which the school will hold during the summer or winter vacation in Taiwan.
旺季 -> Very popular system of doing something.
Reference
https://flipedu.parenting.com.tw/article/007541
Following is the AI translation. It’s just for reference but not exactly correct.
以下是AI 的翻譯，可供參考，但並非完全準確。
July is the summer vacation for Taiwanese students. What months are your country’s summer vacation? It’s the time of year when Taiwanese students take their summer break. What exactly is “summer vacation”? Well, when July comes around, Taiwanese schools start their break and students are theoretically not required to go to school during this period. They are free to arrange their own time. Summer vacation usually lasts for two months, which is 60 days, so July and August are joyful times for students. By the way, since there is a summer vacation, there is also a winter vacation. Winter vacation usually falls between January and February, lasting approximately 21 days. Interestingly, it coincides with the Taiwanese “New Year” holiday, which allows students to celebrate with their families. It’s quite a good arrangement.
So what do Taiwanese students do during the summer vacation? First of all, it is important to know that Taiwan is a country that cares a lot about school grades. Although it is a break, some middle and high school students may not be as excited about summer vacation because the school arranges activities like summer tutoring and self-study. Students still bring their books to school and study in classrooms. Some teachers even come to help everyone review and prepare for enrollment exams. I remember when I was in junior high school, I spent half of my summer vacation at school, studying in the classroom from morning till afternoon, without feeling like I had a vacation at all. Of course, not every school or class does this, but due to the pressure of further education, this is indeed a common phenomenon. Especially for ninth-grade students (junior high third-year students) who are preparing to go to high school and twelfth-grade students (senior high third-year students) who are preparing for university, they encounter this situation more often. As for elementary school students, schools usually assign summer homework. Inside, there are various types of assignments, such as asking you to share where you went during the summer, write reviews, take photos, or create some artwork. Although it is homework, it is much more interesting than regular assignments. I still remember when I was in elementary school (I can’t reveal how many years ago… it’s been a long time>~<), as soon as I received the summer homework, I started writing frantically because I wanted to finish it as early as possible so that I could enjoy the entire summer vacation. It seems like I misunderstood the purpose of summer homework a little bit, but at least I finished writing it.
And it is precisely because Taiwanese students have winter and summer vacations that we can know that there are only two terms(學期) in a year. I checked and found that every country is different, for example, the United States and South Korea also have two terms, but the United Kingdom and Japan have three terms, which is quite interesting. It also reminds me of when I was studying Japanese, the children of the Japanese teacher because they study in Taiwan, feel a little unadapted(適應)to some parts of Taiwan, like having the “eighth period” class. Although this class is mainly for self-study arrangements and not mandatory(強制)to attend, I am not very familiar with the detailed regulations. However, with this eighth period, school usually ends around five o’clock, which is quite late compared to other countries. The Japanese teacher deeply feels that Taiwan really values academic performance! It can only be said that considering the summer tutoring courses in conjunction with the later school dismissal time for junior and senior high schoolAnd precisely because Taiwanese students have winter and summer vacations, it can be known that there are only two terms per year. I looked it up and found that every country is different. It seems that the United States and South Korea also have two terms, but the United Kingdom and Japan have three terms, which is quite interesting. It also reminds me of when I was taking Japanese classes, the Japanese teacher’s child, who studied in Taiwan, found it a bit difficult to adapt to some aspects of Taiwan, such as the “eighth period” of school. Although this class is mainly for self-study and not mandatory, I am not very familiar with the detailed rules. However, with this eighth period, the school usually ends around five o’clock, which is quite late compared to other countries. So the Japanese teacher deeply feels that Taiwan really emphasizes grades! I can only say that considering the summer tutoring classes for junior and senior high school students and the fact that they finish school later, Taiwanese students are indeed quite hardworking! But as long as they make it to university, they can basically arrange their summer and winter vacations freely. They can go work, take further studies, or even experience various things. It’s a great time to enrich oneself!
Finally, in fact, working professionals in Taiwan often joke that they hope companies also have the “benefit” of summer vacation! Because of this, some people even want to become teachers because teachers in some schools can have summer vacations. In any case, I think for students, regardless of what plans they have during winter or summer vacation, it is a time for them to take a breath and relax. It’s because only students can enjoy this kind of time, they should cherish their time as a student even more!
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