July 18 | Wuhu, Anhui

11:15 PM - Is this really our third and last “goodbye” to another school? I’m not even going to sugar coat it – this was not an easy week. As incredible as this trip is, it’s one hell of an emotional rollercoaster. Some days you are on a travel high and feel on top of the world. Other days, it’s definitely a constant challenge because of the language barrier but again; it is all part of the learning experience and is what makes this kind of trip so valuable. I can’t believe I am saying this but… that’s a wrap - for the conferences anyways… this trip isn’t over until its over ;). Three cities. Three schools. +100 students. Each week could not have been more different than the last. For my own memory sake, here’s a quick capture of each school:

SCCSC (Shenzhen) – As this was the first stop of our three-school tour, everyone was definitely on a high. I will never forget the first moments when we pulled up to the gated school. It didn’t even look like a school… it literally looked like a resort. Every day was scorching hot, beautiful rays and not a cloud in the sky. The campus was lined with palm trees and was splashed in colour. By far, the Shenzhen campus was my ultimate favourite. However, I had different things to say about the food. It was cafeteria style – literally a tray and the caf’s lunch lady would slop mystery food onto it. Sounds delicious right? But seriously though, it wasn’t too bad – being a Canadian born Asian definitely has its perks because I’ve tried most of this food at home already so it wasn’t too much of a shocker but still, missed my steaks and burgers. Another thing that I loved about Shenzhen was it was so close to the main roads, which really gave us a taste of authentic China. The sounds, the lights, the smells (okay, not so much the smells) but I loved it all – I would want to live like a local versus feel like a tourist annnnny day. Minus the one day that the school took us out for a fabulous dinner in a private room at some swanky hotel – I don’t mind that part of being a tourist. Definitely some of the best peking duck I’ve ever had and whatever that hot, vegetable infused drink was… get in my belly. Totally wished that we figured out there was a Starbucks just 2 minutes from school (maybe it was for the best). I’ll also miss the sweet, little setup we had outside our bedrooms – loved our late night beers and patio chats. Don’t forget those Canadian teachers we befriended from New Brunswick… definitely an interesting bunch. Shenzhen, I am in love. You’ll be missed dearly, and will always have a place in my heart!

BCCSC (Beijing) – Oddly enough, the majority of our trip was spent in Beijing – one full conference week, in addition to two weekends of touring – yet it felt like the shortest chunk of time out of all 3 cities! The campus was opposite from Shenzhen, that’s for sure. Enormous in comparison, but it really did feel empty – maybe a little too empty! Then again, it could have been the smog that we experienced the majority of the time that made it feel a bit gloomy but the incredible students we had definitely made up for it. In comparison to Shenzhen, I loved how close knit and intimate the conference was. Our living quarters were also a huge, but neat change. Similar to our Hong Kong hostels, the girlies shared a room on, of course, our little bunk beds (call me crazy, but I actually enjoyed our wood beds. Literally, wood mattress). Space was scarce but it was definitely a fun time. Food was absolutely fantastic – every meal literally felt like Christmas morning. At the time, there were so many Canadian foreigners on their campus, so they definitely upped their “Western” game when it came to the meals – personal pan pizzas versus some random fish head wasn’t too shabby of a change. BCCSC was practically in the middle of nowhere, so we got well acquainted with this hack, little convenience store that sold the most delicious dragon fruit popsicles. Other notable foods of Beijing… 3+2 Crackers were definitely a hit LOL. I’ll also never forget all the stray cats all over campus, makes me sad to see animals in such poor conditions but I guess if they were to be stray animals, being at a school is better than being on the streets. BCCSC is the birthplace of the girls’ ‘kimono parties’. Don’t forget the broken toilets, and private in-room pool, aka the water that never failed to flow out from the AC haha. Personal weekend driver was pretty nice too. Not paying for gas was even nicer. Another highlight was definitely trying out the Beijing subway system. Again, it was a hot and sweaty shitshow but loved being able to navigate Beijing like a local. Things I can’t get enough of… the shopping. Oh my lord, the shopping. Also, how can I forget?!? Probably one of my favourite parts of Beijing was spending the weekend with our other Laurier group. It was so nice to see familiar faces, and ever nicer to see them around the world.

Things I won’t miss about BCCSC… the lack of Wifi and working outlets. I have never appreciated charged devices more than I do right now, in Wuhu. Aside from the school, I don’t even know where to begin with all the incredible wonders that we were able to see throughout the week. Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Summer Palace, The Great Wall of China, Houhai Park, Chinese Acrobatics, Pearl/Silk Markets, The Great Hall of People annnnd… KTV. Each and every place deserves a blog post on its own so I’ll try not to spoil it here!

ACCSC (Anhui) – Ah, the last stop. By far, ACCSC is the most aesthetically pleasing school. The campus looked like a brand new, prestigious university – pretty grand for teaching K – high school. I thought Shenzhen was in the middle of nowhere, but Wuhu definitely takes the trophy for this one. We were gated in for all 5 days because you couldn’t even go anywhere if you tried! At first, I thought I’d feel caged in but because the campus was so massive, it felt completely normal. Unlike the first two conferences, I taught an older group of students (most were going into grade 11). Having an entire suite to yourself was pretty nice… in the day anyways.. cause it just gets creepy at night. Let’s just say I won’t miss the paranoia of “people hiding in the dark” or sketchy kitchen workers who refuse to wear clothes (long story). The stash of garbage from the amount of snacks I consumed in the 4 days was actually horrendous LOL – it’s hard to resist when you have this amazingly stocked store on campus :(. Kudos to the awesome kitchen staff who always set up a special table for us with extra snacks and drinks, even though all of you stand and watch us eat – ALL THE TIME haha. On campus, there was an injured, stray dog and she pulled on everyone’s heartstrings. She looked like she was in horrendous shape but it was heartbreaking to see how happy she was to see us. Hayley named her Ci Ci after one of the empresses we learned about at the Summer Palace and bought her food and water. One thing I won’t miss about China is the number of stray animals everywhere. Luckily, if there is anywhere to be a stray dog, at least it’s on a campus, and not a random street. Leaving Wuhu was bittersweet – it was the beginning of the end but we were all soooo excited for Shanghai!