We Came, We Survived, We Returned Stronger!

We came to Yangshou in 8th grade as the kings of middle school and we returned on top as seniors! Although the location was the same, the trip was very different; we went to a different hotel, tea farm, and had different bike and kayak routes. Even veterans of the 8th grade trip had a unique experience.  This time we did not get chased off the river by the police! This time no one was attacked by a chicken during biking! This time we came back with better cooking skills and made edible food! Bearing in mind this was our last trip together as a grade, many of us even teared up during some activities as we realized this was the last time for everything.

Some highlights of the trip include the light show, West Street, food, caving and hiking. Although we had some pretty serious injuries during the trip from Joyce falling off her bike to Mr. Sinclair encountering a fall during the hike, we survived and returned stronger. Ironically, the hike was one of the favourite activities of the trip. With only one map, a few pictures and a compass, groups of 5-6 students had to find their way to the seashore destination. The paths were steep and unclear, so some people feared losing their way, but Sinou Thangal commented, “Getting lost is part of the fun. Being confused and lost is a part of life. At least, we can say that the hike was interesting.”

Being seniors now, the caving course definitely increased in difficulty. Senior Nikhil Budhdev said, “The caving I’ve always done was just walking . . . but this time we had to work our way through the cave.” One of the cutest moments of the trip occurred between Ayman M and Ibrahim B while caving. You know it is a true bromance when your bro carries you across a muddy path to help you avoid getting your shoes dirty. Learning from this lesson, Bah advises all future students to bring water shoes. While caving, the Sams (Sammi Xu and Samantha Lucier) had an intense mud fight which resulted in them both being covered in mud.  With all this dirt and water activities, many seniors had to learn the hard way that Ms. Lindsay was not kidding when she said you will need at least one change of clothes each day.

                                                                                                              Food, one of the main concerns for people during China trips, was better than usual. For those who hate Chinese food, sorry! It cannot be avoided (after all, these are CHINA trips). Try to think more like the somewhat optimistic senior Kim Rikter-Svendsen who said, “It was edible food.” For all the vegetarians out there, Nikhil Budhdev voiced his opinion about the food stating, “I was impressed because I’m vegetarian and usually when I go on China trips I don’t get a large variety of food.” Some food recommendations to try from us include the roasted pork fat, fried eggplant, potatoes and Guilin noodles.

At night, we explored West Street, which is a tourist street at the center of Yangshou. With food, entertainment and shopping everywhere, you will definitely enjoy your time if you make it there.

A literal “highlight” of the trip was the light show. Although the plot was hard to follow and very confusing, the special effects blew many away. Ms. Barga even remarked, “It far exceeded my expectations in terms of quality…the way it looked on the water, everything looked so pretty.” Sadly, photographs do not capture the true essence of the show.

Being a senior, college applications will haunt you everywhere. Even during our China trip, seniors had a college application seminar/activity. Surprisingly, it was not a lowlight for everyone; although some students called it “boring and gruesome,” some students said, “it wasn’t even that bad because we were actively analyzing and debating about real situations.” Also, Ibrahim Bah commented, “I just started applying to schools so it was helpful and I was okay with it.”

During normal school days, students do not necessarily interact with everyone in their grade, so the China trip was an opportunity for students to interact with those who they may not normally talk to. Punya Bhargava said, “I’m going to miss the unity we felt during this trip—that feeling of being a grade, that first time I realized, ‘We’re the class of 2017! We’re in this together.'”

As many said, “Go in there with a good attitude; then you’ll have fun.”