A Letter to My Future Student in Taiwan

Why I dream of teaching you — across oceans, through math and code, and from one heart to another.

Dear Future Student in Taiwan,

My name is Donald. I’ve lived in Toronto for 25 years, but I was born and raised with the same language and roots you carry today.

When I first arrived in Canada, language was my biggest enemy. I still remember how lonely it felt — knowing I had ideas, passion, and potential, but struggling to express them fluently. We loved the new country, but the silence was heavy.

That’s why I care so much about you — someone I’ve never met, growing up in Taiwan today. I want your path to be smoother. I want you to learn English naturally and confidently, while also learning the deep beauty of math and computer science, in a way that feels personal, joyful, and efficient.

I’ve taught students across Canada, the US, Hong Kong, and China. They range from age 5 to 18, and each one has their own story. But my dream? To teach someone like you in Taiwan. To bring everything I’ve learned — my English, my Chinese, my western-style thinking, my problem-solving joy, my heart for teaching — and share it with you.

In late 2024, I set foot in Taiwan for the first time. It was a big union of in-law families, full of warmth and laughter. And to my surprise, I felt something I hadn’t felt in a long time:
Coming home.

Taiwan is special.
It’s a place where kids are often hardworking but under-taught. Where many teachers don’t yet blend east and west — tradition and creativity, structure and exploration. Where the love of math is too often buried under drills.
But it doesn't have to be that way.

I dream of helping you fall in love with ideas — to see code as art, and math as music. To write something beautiful with Python. To create your first animation with Manim. To feel the pride of discovering something yourself. To think clearly and express boldly, in both languages.

A few years ago, our daughter An — a proud graduate of the University of Waterloo’s math and CS program — guided us on a visit to her campus. At one point, I found myself at the blackboard, smiling, writing the date “2019.06.16” with my right hand.
Wearing a black jacket and glasses, I looked just like a professor. And for a brief second, I imagined I was writing the date of your first class with me.

I don’t know when we’ll meet.
I don’t know if this letter will even reach your family.
But I’ll keep teaching, and keep writing, and keep smiling toward Taiwan —
Because someday, I hope, you’ll smile back.

Warmly,
Donald
(aka Golden Thumb)