Victorian Young Leaders in China

Week one in Beijing

Hi Parents, teachers and friends, this year’s group of young leaders have arrived in Beijing! We are staying at the Beijing Language and Culture University, which is located in the heart of Beijing. Our daily schedule keeps us quite busy- we have three hours of class in the morning, lunch, and then either sport and another activity or an excursion. After that, we have dinner (all meals are eaten at the impressive yet slightly overwhelming canteen) and then self-study time. The campus has many facilities, such as a supermarket, basketball courts and gym equipment. All of us are very excited to continue this once in a lifetime adventure, and we can’t wait to tell you all more about it soon.

Tilly

On 2nd November, nineteen Year Nine Northcote students embarked on the Victorian Young Leaders to China program. Our first flight was to Singapore before we got to our main destination, Beijing. When we first walked into the airport, all we could see was a sea of blue and yellow jumpers (our uniform). After checking in and going though customs it was a nice wait till our 4:40pm flight to Singapore. This flight went for an easy 7 hours and 40 minutes. The Asian meal was mighty fine if I say so myself as well as some ice cream! After arriving at the Singapore airport and getting the a-ok from our teachers, it was our playground. One of the main attractions was the butterfly garden. However, it being night-time meant we didn’t see many butterflies!  We also got to ride a train which would get us around the airport. Then at 1:10am we boarded SQ800 to Beijing. The majority of us slept in this flight; nonetheless, it was pleasant.  However, no ice cream.  The best thing about the flights was for sure the company. 10/10 if you ask me. Arriving in Beijing at 7:15am is something I will never forget, as well as when a guy came up to us and took a photo and then ran away.

Izzie

Each day, after breakfast, we’ve headed off to our morning Chinese classes. They go for around three hours and our group has been split across four classes. The subject matter has ranged from appearance to weather to countries and even making phone calls. After each class, we get a homework task to complete during self-study time, such as making a family tree or writing a list of what we eat in a day. In these classes, we also enjoy singing and dancing to Chinese songs and receiving coupons for doing good work. At the moment, we are preparing for a weekly test to asses how much we’ve been learning.

Mila

So far China has been amazing! We have been to the Temple of Heaven, Tiananmen Square, and the National Museum, with many more fantastic outings to come. We spent a lot of time at the Temple of Heaven, where we were able to wander around the grounds. Some highlights were the echo wall and learning about the history behind the temple itself. Two days later we went to Tiananmen Square.  We learnt about how Chairmen Mao’s body is kept in a mausoleum on-site, and how the Chinese people often go there to pay respects to their past leader.  That day we also went to the National Museum where we went off in small groups to complete challenges about ancient China. We have also enjoyed Kung Fu, and participated in two Chinese lectures, as well as attending the three-hour classes daily. In the days to come, we will also be visiting the great wall of China, the Summer Palace and much more. We can’t wait for more fun to come and we miss everyone very much.

Alicia