Last week the Grade 7s went on their experience week trip. 40 people went to Beijing and 112 people (including me) went to Chiang Mai, a part of northern Thailand very close to Burma. We were there for 6 days from May 6th ~ May 11th and I enjoyed it a lot. We were split into 8 groups of 14 and we always had different activities each day. The climate in Thailand was incredibly hot and I seemed to constantly be walking through sweat.
While I was there, I think I demonstrated the Learner Profile Attribute: Risk-taker, because I was always doing things I was secretly very afraid of. An example of this is the confidence course, which was a series of obstacles suspended over a yucky-looking brownish lake. I was so afraid of doing it that when it was almost my turn I “ran to the bathroom” for 5 minutes trying to build up the courage to do something. I came back, and the first time I tried to get across the lake, instead of trying to walk across the chain that was strung between two tires, I just stood there, shaking and fell off the tire that was still on dry land. However, I wanted to prove something (I’m still not sure what) to myself so I decided to go again. I actually faced my fears and made it across the chain. I was so ecstatic that I had made it across that instead of continuing on with the course, I jumped off the tire with the dumbest smile on my face. At the end of the activity session, I was voted by the rest of the group to be “The Most Determined Person”.
Another example of this is the rock climbing course. I was very afraid that I wouldn’t be able to hoist myself up the wall, would fall to the ground and go splat. However, I thought about what happened on the confidence course and jumped right in. I scaled the entire wall, which was better than some people did. Sadly, after I reached the top and rung the bell, just when I though I was out of the danger zone, I heard everyone saying “WOW!” and looked down. My stomach practically flew into my brain and my heart stopped. I grabbed the wall as tight as I could, but that meant I wouldn’t be able to come down, so I had to get over my fear. I let go and started jumping down the wall like James Bond. I really felt like him so just to emphasize the awesomeness of my James Bond jumps, I shot Mrs. Kirchner and another student on the way down with my awe-inspiring imaginary gun. I actually enjoyed it a lot!
While I was there, I also think that I demonstrated the Learner Profile Attribute: Communicator. I think the most prominent example of this was when we volunteered at the school to play with the children. We played many games with them and had to use hand gestures to describe what to do because of the language barrier. To help you imagine how difficult this was, I need you to imagine trying to teach a martian how to play wink murder. I became particularly attached to this one kid named Kun Chew Ah. He though I was amazing at soccer and practiced his goalie skills with me. (I actually barely know how to play soccer…) He also taught me how to write his name, but I have already forgotten. We drew pictures together to communicate or used hand gestures. Kun Chew Ah tried to get my attention at several points by yelling in Thai, but he realized the easiest way for him to get my attention was by manhandling me. I was yanked along by him for most of the afternoon.
Some things really surprised me while I was there. One of them was how homesick some people got after only 1 week where they were able to communicate with their family using a phone. This was crazy to me, as I had just been gone for three months without any communication. Another thing that surprised me was the state of living for the children. I feel very bad for the kids there who have to live in poverty. They accept our donations and smile but that only goes a certain length. Personally, I believe the problem with charities nowadays is that you are unable to see your money put to use. If you knew that by sharing your wealth with someone, you were making their lives easier and you were able to meet them and see how much you’ve helped that would definitely make more people want to help charities or foster children. Some of the children there were actually malnourished and unhealthy. They are significantly shorter than average kids. My friend Kun Chew Ah was only at my ribs, yet he was only a year younger than me. This seemed to be the case with most of the children.
In conclusion, this trip really helped me to become aware of some of my strengths and weaknesses and opened my eyes up to a new part of the world. I think the trip has inspired me to take a more active role in helping underprivileged children around the world.
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