Foreign youth join repair of amis thatched huts / 部落茅草屋風災損 國內外青年助修繕　　　　　　　　　　

Thatched huts in Hualien's Shuilian Village are an important venue for the Amis people's harvest festival and for taking care of the elderly. However, the roofs were seriously damaged by Typhoon Nepartak. The Council of Agriculture has invited young people from Taiwan and abroad to repair the huts together. In return, they get the opportunity to learn unfamiliar tongues from each other, including the Amis language. During hot, sunny weather, a group of American students from Oklahoma visited Hualien's Shuilian Village to repair roofs. Using sickles the students cut material for thatch and sang local songs with the Amis. ==STUDENT, University of Oklahoma== I think we're going to learn how to do the activity involving building a house of this style, and that's going to be really exciting for us. ==TAIWANESE STUDENT== I think foreigners are curious about everything new and special, they are really looking forward to try and willing to do. Thatched huts are important to Shuilian Village residents as they use them to take care of elderly and for storing the harvest. As the roofs were seriously damaged after typhoon Nepartak, the Council of Agriculture provided funds and gave an opportunity to college students to repair the huts. ==LIN RUO-TING, Doers Cultural Education Foundation== As our buildings were damaged several years ago, the COA asked us to assist, and this is also a good opportunity to experience Amis culture. With more students to help, the huts are repaired faster, and through this interaction, Amis and overseas students have an opportunity for language exchange. ==WU GUO-MIN, Indigenous Association Director-General== Those with different languages are welcome to join us, and education allows the tribe to be more competitive. As Oklahoma has a large population of Native Americans, so this group of American students is familiar with the concept of minority cultures. TRANSLATED BY：MERVYN KWAN 帶上手套拿起鐮刀，這群來自奧克拉荷馬大學的外籍學生，為了幫忙修繕茅草屋，大家不怕烈日在草原上奮力收割茅草，最後再用接力方式，一邊哼著阿美族民謠，一邊傳送茅草到屋頂上。 ==學員 奧克拉荷馬大學學生== 我們就這樣子 知道如何搭建茅草屋 這個涼爽的茅草屋 也不會很難的來搭建 ==台灣學員 李佳云== 我覺得外國人 對很多新鮮的事情 都覺得很特別 然後都會非常期待 想要繼續做 事實上這些茅草屋，是水璉部落平日照顧老人或聚會的重要建築，但卻遭受尼伯特颱風摧殘，屋頂的茅草已不堪使用，農委會因此編列經費，讓國內外大學生可以到部落去幫忙修繕。 ==實踐家文教基金會活動企劃 林若婷== 那剛好現在部落茅草屋 有一點年久失修 那他希望我們可以來協助 搭建茅草屋 除此之外 也剛好有一個機會 讓他們去體驗原住民的文化 有了這些國內外學子的幫忙，這些茅草屋很快的都有了新的屋頂，有趣的是，部落族人們也學會了不少美語。 ==吉偉帝庵原住民部落發展協會理事長 吳國民== 多種的語言 來注入到部落裡面 讓部落從教育開始 能夠有一個競爭力 而奧克拉荷馬州就是美國印地安原住民的重點城市，所以這些外籍生，對台灣阿美族文化的接受度相當高，並且留下深刻印象。 記者 溫嘉楷 花蓮報導