skip to main |
skip to sidebar
My fellow teachers Mrs. Auty, Ms. Wun, and I met up with the students at the Tai Wai train station not too far from our school. Students who regularly get themselves around Hong Kong on their own were accompanied by their parents who wanted to see them off. We even had a few grandparents show up. For many of our students this was the longest and the farthest they would be from their parents.
Based on the parent information meeting we had a month ago, many of the parents were quite anxious about sending their eleven- and twelve-year olds into China. I’m guessing that many of these parents –like many people in Hong Kong- have conflicted views of China. Many residents in Hong Kong- including parents and grandparents of some of our students- are in Hong Kong today because they fled China during the political upheaval of the 1960s and 1970s.
In retrospect, maybe that little light-hearted comment I made at the parent information night wasn’t such a good idea. At the end of the night I said, we would bring all their kids back safe and sound. And –considering there are about twenty kids going, if we did lose one, there was only a five percent chance that it would be theirs.
Hey, VanNoord, think, then speak. We’re going let that slide this time because you’re new around here. Sheesh.
Moms and Dads took a few last minute pictures at the train station and gave their kids final hugs.
We did a head count. All nineteen kids were there.
-Jack
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
My fellow teachers Mrs. Auty, Ms. Wun, and I met up with the students at the Tai Wai train station not too far from our school. Students who regularly get themselves around Hong Kong on their own were accompanied by their parents who wanted to see them off. We even had a few grandparents show up. For many of our students this was the longest and the farthest they would be from their parents.
