Middle School Chinese teacher Jin Huo and I are accompanying the Middle School students on a cultural exchange trip to Chengdu, China. With this blog, I would like to provide everyone with a glimpse of their exciting daily activities!
We continued the day with a visit of the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, where we discovered the need for pandas to grow up in a very safe and nurturing environment in order to survive. This is especially true in the first few months after birth, as many pandas are born, as humans would call it, prematurely. We also saw many pandas relaxing in their enclosures, trying to cool down from the warm day, as well as the mysterious red panda, even coming within petting distance of one of them.
In the afternoon, we visited Dufu's thatched cottage and the Wuhou temple. After a small break, we braced the crowds of Jingli Street, a traditional street with local artisan and street food stalls.
After enjoying a delicious dinner, where we tried Mapo Doufo (a spicy Sichuan dish combining tofu and spicy chili in a broth), we were delighted by the sights and sounds of the Sichuan opera (Shu Feng Ya Yun). It was difficult for some of us to stay awake, as the jet lag, short night, busy day, numerous translations, and large crowds tired many of us out.
After a delightful traditional lunch, we drove back to Chengdu to tour Kuan Zhai alley, which proved to be fairly easy compared with the larger crowd of Jingli Street the day before.
We ended the afternoon with our arrival at the Wuhou Foreign Language School, where we were warmly welcomed by the students, faculty, and staff. We toured the campus with our host students, had dinner at the school cafeteria, and experienced our first 7:00pm class! Our INTL* students settled into their dorm rooms with their host students and were left under the watchful eyes of the dorm staff member.
The students then all went to their respective classes, which included the typical subjects like Chinese, English, math, biology, history, geography, and art but also more unique classes, like politics and calligraphy.
Shortly thereafter, during the afternoon culture class, our students got firsthand experience in calligraphy, learning about basic brushstrokes from the school's calligrapher.
After a small recess break, we all had our dinner at the school cafeteria. The plan for tomorrow is regular classes with the host students in the morning and an art class in the afternoon.
*In 2020, the International School of the Peninsula (ISTP) formally changed its name to Silicon Valley International School (INTL) to better reflect its bilingual programs, location, and international values.