Sunday 21st October 2018
After a 12 hour sleep for most we were raring to go. We were served a wonderful Chinese breakfast before meeting our buddies who accompanied us to the Hero (Iron Man) Museum. They, along with a guide helped us to understand the life of Weng Jingxi - a national hero for brining Oil to Daqing. We learnt about his trials and tribulations and why he was given the name ‘Iron Man’.
We then travelled straight to the Science Museum to learn the logistics behind extracting the oil and how different methods are used in different areas.
We then returned to school to be collected by our hosting families. We were all very nervous about visiting the family homes, we went in pairs and were taken there and back by their parents. The majority of us made traditional dumplings which we then ate. We had the opportunity to ask questions about their way of life and their schooling. We were then treat like kings with the banquet of food they served. We were able to play Chinese board games, Watch Chinese TV, go for walks and go to the Park. We also received generous gifts from the host families which was unexpected but a lovely touch.
We even had a Daqing TV journalist with us for the day!
We returned to school for an hours rest before our evening meal. We weren’t very hungry after our feast at lunchtime but managed to have some of the food that was served.
We spent our evening in the sports hall burning off some energy in the gym, playing basketball, badminton and Ping Ping!
A great first day with lots to look forward to tomorrow...
What the boys have to say about today...
‘The family way of life is very different to that of ours, it is very much centred by food which is shared, they sit around the table to eat and chat. I was nervous but very much enjoyed the experience.’ Jack C
‘My favourite part of today was visiting our host family, to experience how people live on the other side of world has just been amazing. I wasn’t sure about going on the visit but so glad I did!’ Luke R
We are very excited for tomorrow to meet the headteacher and start looking around the school.
Parents: we will update this blog every other day as it won’t let us do it using WiFi.
Amazing!!! Thanks for the updates. They are very much appreciated.
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ReplyDeleteLooks amazing! Thanks for keeping us updated. Have fun. Joanne L
DeleteGreat to see you all having a fab time. Thank you for the updates.
ReplyDeleteFantastic photos! It's great to see the boys looking so at home.
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