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Published: October 16th 2015
Before we went
Our farewell assembly at school in Australia在一开始的时候 In the beginning.................
From Alan Laoshi:
Day 1 It was hard to believe that shortly after leaving Cairns we were taking a leisurely stroll though the streets of Singapore. After eating a huge buffet (Western/Malay) breakfast we set out for a quick stroll before we had to head to the airport. We saw old British colonial buildings and the luxurious apartments with a 1.35 million dollar starting price (that's just the ground floor ones)!
When we arrived in Chengdu the school bus along with Yashoda were waiting for us - Yashoda and 5 students had arrived one week earlier. We were taken by bus to the Chengdu Waldorf School where our hosts families were patiently waiting to meet us. We had our first night with our homestay families where we all had varied experiences, from farms to modern high - rise apartments.
There are 14 students from Cairns Hinterland Steiner School and 3 teachers on this trip.
Day 2 The following day (Saturday) we regrouped back at Chengdu Waldorf School while our student hosts went to classes as normal (weekend school is normal after a week-long holiday in China).
We were asked
The Pioneers - at the airport departure
The 5 students who went before - with teacher Yashoda and daughter to provide some first impressions of China, the people and the culture shortly after arriving (in a word or two) - these were some of the responses;
Busy (in an organised way)
Delicious Food
Tuk tuk!
Friendly
Language sounds as though they are always arguing
Smog
Crazy Driving
Chilly
People always staring
Armed guards
Yummy food
Boiled water
Smoke
Smell
Soy
Music
Lots of phones everywhere
Sport
Special shoes are worn in the house
Views
Cars
Hard working
Wifi
Speeding
No road rules
Bus cards
Settling in is going to take a while
People are so nice and polite
We went on a Tuk tuk up a bridge, then on the foot path on the side of the road just to get back onto the road
The bigger the vehicle, the more right of way
Tai Chi
The currency is going to be difficult
There were people stopped in the middle of the road at a green light all talking to each other
Shortly
Dinner in Singapore
The other 9 students arriving one week later with 2 teachers - Alan and Dave. Stopover in Singapore for 1 night. Met with the uncle of one of the students (who works in Singapore) for meal after this we were taken on a mystery tour of Chengdu involving travelling on many buses and the final leg being driven by a fleet of tuk tuks!
The mystery finally unfolded - we were taken to the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding and Research Centre. We were quite amazed by the Giant Pandas, the Red Pandas and the tiny little baby pandas. We then came back to school to be taken home by our host families.
Day 3 Sleep in! Sunday - we mostly had a leisurely morning getting to know our host families and settling into daily rhythms of life in a Chinese home. Little bits of "culture shock" and homesickness being reported by some, but spirits high. We met at the Theatre to watch a Sichuan Opera performance with our host families. A huge feat getting everyone together as arranging large meetings of families is not the norm, but we did it! The families all joined together to enjoy a traditional Sichuan "hotpot" meal together that was very popular and well enjoyed by everyone.
A great first few days!
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