Community & Service- How will my actions affect the individuals at the community center?
The Huiling Community Center is a place for people with learning disabilities. Before I visited the community center I have always thought that the ones with learning disabilities could never do the activities we do in our daily lives, for example dancing, singing and even drawing. Once I arrived at the community center, even before I step foot into the room we met in I already heard their warm and welcoming applause from miles away. They were one of the happiest, positive and cheerful people I have ever met they welcomed us with multiple performances reflecting on the kind of person they are. For example there was one adult who really liked Michael Jackson and was inspired by Jackson’s dance moves, therefore the adult created his own dance sequence and performed it to us.
Before we arrived in the community center, as a grade we raised just over 25K for the Huiling Community Center. That amount of money is enough to support the fee of 2 adults in the community center, this includes shelter, significant amount of food, clean water and clean clothes. The process of raising the money for the Huiling Community Center was also a life changing experience. Each student put a lot of effort into trying to make this fundraiser possible without having anything in return except for happiness. That kind of happiness can only come from deep inside your heart when you feel that you have made someone else happy.
During the visit of the Huiling Community Center, the adults there gave us different performances that were both unbelievable and spectacular. There was no hint of nervousness when they were performing to us but only a face of happiness and feeling fortunate. Afterwards, we did a few performances to them and they enjoyed it very much. To be perfectly honest our performance wasn’t very good compared to the performance the adults gave us. But the adults still clapped as if they just saw the best performance that can be ever done. This has taught me to look at the bright side of life instead of the dull side of life, always look at what you have instead of what you don’t have.
My actions of the money being raised for all of them has helped them live a better and more luxurious life, whereas our presence has helped them be able to interact with new people and have the experience of meeting people from a city miles away.
Health and Social Education- What were some difficulties or personal challenges you faced on the trip?
I had a lot of fun on this trip I was able to experience new activities and customs. I am a very picky eater and sometimes it can be hard to push me to try new food. On the second day of the trip, when we went for lunch. I didn’t really like, moreover try the food that was put in front of me, therefore I was starved by dinner. My partner urged me to at least eat something, or I will become very hungry and I won’t have enough strength for the following days. Of course, I ate some of the foods during dinner and actually found them pretty tasty. In the future days, I tried new foods even if they didn’t look appealing to me in any way but in the end turned out pretty good. Therefore throughout the trip I have learned not to “judge a book by its cover”.
This trip has helped me open my mind into trying new foods and become a risk taker when eating, so I am able to experience and taste the delicious foods out there.
Environments- How does one’s environment shape the way in which one views the world?
Human Ingenuity- What are the consequences of what we create?
The Great Wall of China is one of the longest man made structure in the world. This structure was once used as a defense wall to protect China against invasion of other countries, but it is now a famous tourist attraction all over the world and is even listed in the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
This heritage site is very similar to the Summer Palace. The tour guide told us that the Summer Palace constructed as a birthday present for the mother of the emperor of Qing Dynasty. It was used as a paradise land for the Emperor’s family, away from the Forbidden City where they were able to have peace and quite. Now, the Summer Palace is now a tourist attraction and is also listed in the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Approches to Learning- “For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them”- Aristotle
The quote above is evident in many ways, sometimes you can’t learn how to do something until you actually do it. For example:
Mandarin Oral Skills-
Throughout the trip, I was able to communicate with local Beijing Citizens and practice my Chinese oral skills. The skill of being able to speak Chinese cannot be learned until you actually speak the language. During the trip, I was able to correct the accuracy of each note as sometimes I can get mixed up between Mandarin and Cantonese, therefore the accuracy of my tone can be very different sometimes and throughout the trip I was able to correct many tones. This skill is valuable, as I am a Chinese person and communicating to others in their language can be very helpful sometimes as there isn’t a language barrier.
Bargaining Skills-
Throughout the trip, we were required to bargin with shopkeepers to try to fight for a lower price. This skill cannot be learned until you actually do it as well. Tactics of bargaining can be discussed, but it will never be learned until you actually do it. During the trip, I was able to use my bargaining skills to try to get a lower price and was actually quite successful. I was able to get a $800 watch to the price of $50. This skill will be useful to me in the future, as I will be able to “shop smart” and get the price I want and at the same time saving money.
Rating: 4/5
I really enjoyed this trip, especially because this is my first time in Beijing. But I didn’t quite like the food there, therefore I’d give it a 4/5.
Vimeo Link: https://vimeo.com/42128369
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Nicole