Part 1: Going to School
We were given an opportunity to visit a local school in Chengdu and see what it’s like to be a student in China. Just like all the students, we started our morning with exercise, also known as 早操(zao cao). All the kids were lined up like little soldiers, mirroring each other exactly while we looked like wild animals randomly kicking and flailing our arms. To top it off, we had to run in a loop to the end of the field and back for what felt like an eternity (10 minutes). The morning exercise was followed by a music class where we were able to observe a 古筝(gu zheng) performance given to us by the many talented students at the school. We also observed the 堂鼓(tang gu), or traditional Chinese drum and the rarest instrument of all: the piano. The day was really fun, and interacting with the students was a kind of reality check for us Americans. -Eon Kounalakis, Grade 11
Part 2: University of Technology
In the afternoon, we took a trip to the University of Science and Technology, one of China’s top nine schools in the country. There, we got to see a beautiful campus and library, as well as their avionics and aerospace facility. I was super excited to get back that night, however, because my host family was going to teach me how to cook traditional Si Chuan (四川) food. We ended up making some of the spiciest food that has ever entered my mouth. The dish was called 麻辣烫, or numb spicy soup. I want to attach a photo to this post just so you, the reader, can see how many peppers were in this ungodly array of spices. -Madison Kwan, Grade 10
Convent & Stuart Hall Travel 