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China Trips 2017 are finally over and done with! The 10th-grade trip is widely recognized as “one of the top two China trips”, and a new batch of tenth graders having finally gone through this heavily praised trip, are back with their thoughts and experiences. This China trip takes place in Sai Kung, Hong Kong and occurs over a period of 5 days and 4 nights. Out of these 4 nights, 2 are spent in a local dormitory and 2 are spent camping in Hoi Ha. During the days, students participate in 6 activities: stand-up paddleboarding, exploring mangroves, canyoning, hiking, kayaking, and snorkelling.
With the stellar reputation, this trip had students’ expectations very high and many were truly excited about this trip. Leyla S, who has been to her fair share of China trips in her 9 years at AISG, said that “[she was] so excited about the trip, and we [hadn’t] even gotten on the bus [yet], so that’s good.” Her excitement was not matched by all, though. Sophia M questioned why “we have to hike 4 kilometres for 3 hours when we could just sail across the water and be there in less than 5 minutes.” She followed up her comment with an exclamation of annoyance: “ugh.” Nevertheless, the 80 sophomores piled onto 3 busses and headed for the China-Hong Kong border for a week of adventure.
During the trip, spirits were low. Sam J explained how “heat burned down like a breath of hell.” Gabriel K corroborated this statement adding that the “Grade 10 china trips gave us sunburn, tap water for drinking, and hot sleepless nights at the campsite.” To be frank, the heat and “unique” water were specific negative aspects of the trip. Many students were upset and annoyed because we were given interesting water, to say the least. It “tasted SO bad” according to Lisa M. Many students also agreed with Lisa on the quality of the water. Upon returning to Guangzhou, Helena K stated that she was “so done with drinking tap water” and that “she was going to Starbucks [immediately].”
However, many students found that they could persevere through the various challenges and make lifelong memories on these physically tiring trips. Lisa M, GenCo President for 10th grade, stated that “even though China trips [were] tough and frustrating at times, [they were] still a fun experience for bonding with friends and getting to know new people.” She was not alone in this reflection. Richard A added that it was “a great experience for people to communicate, cooperate and have fun,” and Cindy W claimed that “the trip to Hong Kong this time was the best one out of three China trips [she has] been to in AISG.” Sehun K opined that “it was a special experience to cook our own food [when we were] camping.” Although Sehun K might have enjoyed camping, this opinion was not shared by many. Most sophomores agreed that their favourite activity this year was stand up paddleboarding (SUP) and that they disliked exploring mangroves the most.
However, the trip was not all smooth sailing for some students, in specific Khushboo D. Unfortunately, a combination of a recent injury on her ankle and slipping during SUP and exploring mangroves caused her to break her ankle on the second day. She couldn’t participate in the rest of the trip. It was a bittersweet experience as she wouldn’t have to suffer through the rest of the difficult aspects of China trips, but she also wouldn’t get to have fun during activities with her group and peers in general. Mr Timmerman, the HS principal, actually went to pick her up from the hospital in Sai Kung. During the trip, Khushboo was specifically “very upset to be missing hiking” because she was especially looking forward to it.
After returning to school after a relaxing October break, Bonny C also had an interesting quote to share with us from Ms Allan. She told Bonny to “stop leaving DNA in [her] classroom,” a comment on the extensive sunburn and dry, peeling skin Bonny, like many students, returned home with.
Although this trip had its highs and lows, it was overall an amazing experience, and China trips remain a great opportunity to bond with peers and make new friends. Here’s to a successful 10th-grade China trip for 2017 and fun trips in the future!
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