China 2014
This past March Break, we had the pleasure of accompanying ten grade 12 students to China for a 16 day adventure.
We flew 14 hours non-stop from Toronto to Beijing where we toured the Forbidden City and Hutong Village before boarding a much smaller plane for a more manageable three-hour flight to Chengdu. Nearby Chengdu we made ourselves at home in the dormitories of Xindu No 1 Middle School where we got a first hand look into the Chinese education system and life as a teenager in China.
We toured two nearby elementary school campuses, took part in some small and some not-so small performances; learned to play Chinese Chess and how to do Chinese Calligraphy and Chinese painting; practiced Tai Ji, Kung Fu and a Tibetan dance, sang a traditional Chinese folk song, and even taught a 45 minute English lesson to a class of 45 students on our own!
We also travelled to nearby Mount E’mei, the Leshan Giant Buddah for some exciting hiking and breathtaking views, and we spent a night with a host family.
After saying goodbye to our new friends in Xindu we set off on a 13 hour train ride to bike around the city wall of Xi’An, see the Terracotta Warriors and ancient baths and board another overnight train back to Beijing. Our journey ended with visits to Tiananmen Square, Chairman Mao’s mausoleum, the Summer Palace, Opera House, Olympic Village and the Great Wall where we hiked up and sped down on a toboggan/bobsled type slide.
Throughout our trip we learned all sorts of lessons: We were assertive when bartering, patient while travelling almost three full days by plane and train and countless hours by bus; and we perfected our charades skills while on our 36-hour homestay with a Chinese family who had no more than one English-speaking member. We learned a lot about China, about travelling, about the world, but most of all, we learned a lot about ourselves.
David Harder and Lindsay Shantz, Teacher Chaperones
