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Published: July 28th 2012
A big thank you to Crystal 'Head Master' Morse for guest blogging about our trip to the Summer Palace.
The next leg of our adventure took place yesterday at the Summer Palace, which was built in 1750 at the direction of the Qing Emperor Qianlong. Our students were thrilled to see us as we joined them on the bus. What a feeling to be showered with adoration. The charter bus took us out of the 4th ring of Beijing (away from our hotel in center city). During the ride the students were eager to exchange vocabulary and common phrases. Anna is a born teacher, carefully explaining the four fundamental sounds in the Chinese language and patiently repeating for us. So many of the kids wanted to share their snacks with us too. Our Chinese teaching partners told us that it is a sign that they like us when they bring us treats. We have enjoyed the taste-test; kidney beans packaged like fruit snacks, beef jerky, prawn flavored puffs, tomato flavored whales (like Goldfish), and a favorite - cucumber flavored Lays chips.
The sheer massiveness of the Summer Palace is definitely humbling. As a school, we chose one path that
led us past the Stone of Longevity, many intricate statutes and artwork, down the Long Corridor for lunch. The Long Corridor is an outdoor structure that is home to 14,000 pictures that were completed by the artist over the course of 5 years. The students were eager to share food again and watch our reaction as we tasted melon ice cream, green bean Popsicle, fruit bread, strawberry Pocky, and a new favorite peach & grape Oreos.
The best part of the day happened just after our boat ride across the Lake. After some exploring and shopping, Grant rounded up the students to play "Chocolaté", a rhythm game with their hands. Then Jen took over for a group game. We all jumped in to play with students too. Partner tag was so much fun! We drew quite the crowd. We didn't realize it at the time because of the fun we were having with the kids but were amazed at the onlookers in the pictures.
A fantastic field trip with so many chances for teachable moments and using authentic conversational English with our students! A great day!
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Bri Schuiteman
non-member comment
Hello from home! :)
Thanks for the updates. I am enjoying hearing of your adventures. Sounds like the sights are amazing and the kids are a joy to be around. Special shout out from home to Jen! :)