China Trip Parent Perspective

Travelling China with school students from TSPS and Doherty Creek: An amazing life-long experience   

By Zeenatur Reza Elias (Shaian’s mum)

I must say the whole trip was filled with incredible experiences that does not happen often.  It was a great opportunity for me as a parent travelling with my son, other students, their mums and principals from both schools, Mandarin teachers and other co travellers. The trip was designed for twelve days -starting from Melbourne to Shanghai and then to Beijing straight away. We spent three days in Beijing, the capital of China, two nights in each of the cities of Xian, Nanjing and Shanghai.                                                        

We have visited so many exotic places , learnt the ancient histories and the journey the people of China had gone through to develop today’s modern magnificent country. A great blend of old and modern civilization that one could find while travelling in China. I would say this trip gave us a whole range of feelings- seeing great historical places, glimpes of ancient architectures and culture, learning long social and economic movement  to achieve a modern growing economy, great chinese food and off course friendly people we met.

Climbing the Great Wall of China is a must see attraction when you go to China. We had climbed the steepest part and I grasped the accomplishment of achieving something countless on  everyone’s face after meeting  at the summit. This was a life-long experience for the  students and  all adult travellers . Terracotta warriors’ archeological site, the acrobatic shows, Tienenmen Square, Shanghai Disney Land, suburban family visit, rickshaw ride, cruising along the river, food, Chinese Calliography and Art classes, jade and silk factories, crafts, even walking along the street was great fun and a  very different feeling from our everyday life.  A simply marvellous happy  travelling experience!

Personally my best experience was visiting sister school at Nanjing. It was a very good opportunity to met students and teachers, learn and exchange our views and educational interests. Our students  had the amazing opportunity to spend an art class with their students and teachers and made some great friendships and learnt different things. The hospitality they have shown to us was unforgettable.

As a parent I would always encourage my children learn different languages and cultures. It acts as a catalyst for personal development but also is a very important aspect for our multicultural society as well. Friendship and cultural exchange can bring so many good  educational things in the early lives of our children.