9th Grade China Trips – A Trip to Remember

This year, the ninth graders went to Qingyuan for China Trips. They did a variety of activities, such as camping, climbing, caving, farming, and biking.

The weather was unbearably hot, going up to over 30 degrees Celsius on some days. Ms. Francis, one of the two coordinators of the ninth grade China Trips, said,”The weather this year was fantastic. For the first time in ninth grade China Trips, it didn’t rain while the students were camping. However, the heat made it very challenging for outdoor activities such as climbing, cycling and community service.” The teachers and Dragonfly instructors made sure to keep us hydrated and constantly reminded us to drink water every hour. Ms. Dean, the other coordinator for the ninth grade China Trips, was quite happy it did not rain this year as last year, it rained heavily during the night and the students camping had to be rescued as it was starting to flood.

The groups did many different things on different days. For my group, we started off with climbing first. There were three different trails that we could climb. Ms. Dean felt like climbing was one of the best activities. She said,”There was a lot of encouragement from your grade. When people first saw the climbing site, people were like, “No way I can climb this,” but everyone tried and gave it their best shot. Many people felt really nervous at first but in the end, they all felt a sense of accomplishment.”

After that, we went biking. The group took the scenic route and we cycled past many beautiful landscapes, farms, and villages. We saw many cows grazing the fields and people farming. However, it was not such a smooth ride for some people, such as student Simran L. The breaks on her bike were not working very well, which caused her to crash and fall into some plants.

For community service this year, we went to a kindergarten. We were split into groups and assigned a wall each to paint. Ms. Francis felt that community service was the best activity. She said, “Everyone worked together in their groups and eventually produced something cool, even with a time limit. It’s nice to know you did something cool for the kids and looking at it and saying, “Wow, we did that together!” Knowing that your work would be there for a long time is also a great feeling.” The works of art were mostly cartoon characters, with characters from We Bare Bears to anime characters. Ms. Dean said, “It is nice to see you all working together to do a creative project that you can leave behind.” Her group also interacted with the students at the kindergarten, and even taught them the song “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes”. However, since most of the children had just woken up from their daily nap, many of them started crying upon seeing the students.

Our group headed towards the campsite after lunch. Everyone was dreading this activity as the idea of building your own shelter with nothing but bamboo, ropes, and some tarp was terrifying. Ms. Francis talked about how daunting the idea was, but also how everyone’s tents turned out quite well. During the night, they made us lie on the grass and look at the stars. Many students spotted a shooting star on the first night. Although many students had successful tents, my tent had a huge, gaping hole through the mosquito net. Thus, many insects and frogs came through this hole in the middle of the night. My tent mates and I were quite traumatized by this experience, but we all agreed in the morning that it was an experience worth having.

We visited the Pan Family house and a tofu skin factory. At the factory, we could see the whole process of the tofu skin being made. Many students also got the chance to try their hand at making tofu skin. Towards the end of the trip, we were also given a bag of tofu skin as a token of appreciation from the factory for our help. In the Pan Family tour, we visited a large house and experienced what it felt like to live in a village home. The scenery at the Pan Family house was very nice as it towered over the flat, farming landscape of Qingyuan.

We also went caving. We were all dressed up in caving gear, with water shoes and a headlamp. The mud in the cave was very slippery, which made students such as Ishita Argawal fall. However, many students enjoyed this activity as the temperature was a lot colder inside the cave. We also learnt a lot about how caves are formed. Towards the end of the activity, the instructors made everyone shut off their flashlights and just sit in silence. The point of this activity was to make students listen and know how it would feel without light.

When asked what could be improved in the future, Ms. Dean said, “The Dragonfly challenge had a high participation rate, and I wish it was a lot longer.” Rahul S, a ninth-grade student, said,”I really enjoyed climbing, but I wish there were more activities that required physical activities. We should also have more free time to explore [Qingyuan].” Ms. Francis commented on how busy our schedule was. She said, “It was packed with activities. I would like to see one or two [fewer] activities and have more time for reflection and team building.”

Ben K, a ninth-grade student, said, “It was fun experiencing what I usually don’t experience in Guangzhou.” Many students find this China Trip extremely memorable. Here’s to a great trip next year!