One of the flagship programs of ICS is the Week Without Walls. Every November, all sixth, seventh, and eighth-graders pick from among a dozen Week Without Walls option. While some trips stay local, other groups go to Philippines, Malaysia, China, and Thailand.The first week of school I was assigned -along with two other ICS teachers- to the YangShuo, China trip. I will be traveling with sixth-grade teacher Mrs. Auty and Mandarin teacher Miss Wun. The trip is designed to be equal parts cultural exchange, service project, and outdoor adventure. It also gives the students many chances to practice their Mandarin which they all study in school.
Every Wednesday for the last month, the Yangshou group has been meeting during lunch to go over paperwork, monitor our fundraising progress, and talk about what to bring.
We will be leaving on Sunday, November 15 and come back Friday, November 20.
We'll be traveling the twelve hours to Yangshuo by overnight sleeper train.
Annika was able to list her top three choices and was assigned to the Yangshuo trip. She will be one of nineteen students on the trip. She will be the only eighth grader and only one of two non-Asian students on the trip. We have employed the services of a student travel group called Dragonfly that specializes in putting together service/adventure weeks likes this one.
We are going to spend our mornings volunteering in a local, rural school near Yangshuo and spend our afternoons doing recreational activities.
-Jack
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