Now that I have settled most of my work, I can get down to blog about my trip in China.

Spent the first few days in Beijing sight-seeing. Its airport looks exactly like the one in Hong Kong, and I must say the airports in Beijing and Shenyang are both very efficient when it comes to loading luggage, clearing of customs and so on. We encountered some problem at Changi Airport in the morning, so Beijing airport was a pleasant surprise to all of us.

Visited 天安门广场 in the evening. The girls were freezing (some of them were wearing t-shirts under their coats) but it was heart-warming seeing how they hugged each other to keep warm. In a way, it was a great ice-breaker for the girls, considering they are from different classes.



The first few days were spent touring around, eating, and doing reflection with the girls at night. Of course when we were traveling, I had to make sure that none of my girls went missing, and none of their belongings got stolen. I was watching the girls most of the time, and there wasn't much chance to take photos and stuff. That's alright, coz I got the girls to give me the photos they took anyway. The best thing is, I have an AEP student in my group, who is really pro in capturing nice scenaries.



I think 水立方、鸟巢 are one of the most magnificant buildings I have ever came across.





Beijing is a really nice place. Even my girls fell in love with China.

The remaining days were spent in Shenyang. It is very cold, but the enthusiastic and friendly people there gave us warmth. There, is a totally different education system, and we see a totally different set of behaviours among the students. And if we ever think that HCI or RI campus is grand and beautiful, that's because we haven't been to Dongbei Yucai in Shenyang. They have indoor sports stadium, indoor swimming complex, one whole block mainly for sabatticals. Not to mention their kindergarten, which is so big and grand. Along every corridor, I heard my students' "wah" and "wow".



the campus where we attend lessons


during one of the cultural lessons


another campus, this is just one of its many blocks


kiddos in the kindergarten classroom

Their math standard is way beyond our imagination. I bought some of their math olympiad books, those meant for normal students (students in dongbei yucai are much more advanced). In the book for Secondary One, I saw stuff which I only learned in University.

I gave a lecture on graph theory, and the sec 2s understood... sweat...



It is a really fruitful trip. Now that I know what to expect over there, I don't mind going over again next year. The girls who went with me have been sensible and obedient. Although there's a case of misplacing passport, and everyday I had to get people to fix the stuff in their hostel rooms, but overall, I felt quite fortunate to have them in my team. The girls had a good time with their buddies' and family. I guess all of us are looking forward to the buddies coming over to our school in Jan.