My school went on a educational excursion. The students in grade 7 got to choose if they wanted to go to Beijing or Chiang Mai province. I decided to go to Chiang Mai. I wanted to go to Chiang Mai because I have been to Beijing many times before and I wanted a new experience. When we went to Chiang Mai we didn’t go to the city, we went to the northern part of the province that is extremely close to Burma. We went for 6 days with 112 students from the 6-11 of May.
We stayed in the MRVR or the Maekok River Village Resort. It was a nice resort on one part of the grounds and then a slightly rundown dorm on the other side of the dorm. We were staying at the dorm. Over the course of the trip we had two blocks of time one was in the morning and one was in the afternoon. We would always play a game in the night.
One of my favorite activities during the trip was rock climbing. I had done some rock climbing before, but I still found this activity really fun. When I went up first I was really nervous because the only people that were holding me up were the students, so I didn’t know how well they were holding the rope. I was scared that if I fell that they would drop me. Then when I got near the top, I looked down and realized how far away the ground was, and even though I had done this before I aways get scared the first climb. After the first climb though, I was ready to try a different face with a blind fold on. After that it was time for the hard climb. I easily finished the hardest climb and then went on to do the upside down face. The upside down face is a face of the wall that you climb up straight then go upside down then straight again. I found this face a little bit harder to do then the supposed hardest face but I also managed to finish it.
I think that this activity gave my classmates and I a chance to realize how lucky they all are to be born in to the kind of lifestyle that we have in Hong Kong. I also think that it gave my classmates and I a chance to give back and help out others in need. Personally I liked building the school for two reasons. I liked helping the community and I liked doing the actual building. It was the first time I had ever made bricks though.
Over the course of the trip I think that I showed two learner profiles. The one that I think I expressed the most was risk taker. I believe that I expressed this learner profile because I volunteered for every activity or I tried to. Every time one of the group leaders asked for a volunteer, I raised my hand even if I was nervous or worried about what the activity might be. One night I volunteer to go check if the doors and the windows were closed and the lights were off in every room. I started running to the blocks. Then I slipped in a puddle of water and scraped my knee on the concrete, but even after that happened, the next day I volunteered again.
The second learner profile that I think I showed was knowledgeable. I think that I was knowledgeable and was able to share information with my group in almost every activity that I did. For example when we did the confidence course I was able to share information and give tips to them. I did this by showing them how to they should hold the rope. I also showed them how to swing on the rings. I also think that I helped people when we did the rock climbing because I when I was down on the ground I would give advice to the climbers and help the on their climb.
I think that over this trip I realized that I shouldn’t be as competitive as I am. I then tend to miss out on the funny and exciting things that are happening and just focus on the ending and if we won. For example when the mini Olympics were going on I didn’t have fun on any of the races, I just cared if we were the first to sit down and were singing as loud as possible. Now that I have realized it, I will try and relax during a competition. There is an old saying that says what I need to be doing. “It is not about the destination but it is how you get there.
In conclusion I think that this trip was a good experience and has benefited many people, such as the students in the school, since we helped build a kitchen for them. Also, the donations that we gave to the center to distribute throughout Chiang Mai were beneficial. Lastly, my classmates and I benefited because we have had a chance to have new experiences and learn new things about ourselves. I would definitely do this again and I am really looking forward to going on next years’ trip.
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