Arriving to China!
Friday, July 28th: The Forbidden City
Our adventure began with a thrilling opportunity to venture and see a center point of Chinese culture and history, the Forbidden City. A very historic place with thousands of years of history. As we were walking around people were very interested in talking to us. We learned about all the interesting history that happened there. Today was a very intense day as we walked over 7 miles.
Saturday, July 29th: The Great Wall of China
Today, our second day in China, we got to spend the day hiking The Great Wall. I know I speak for everyone when I say that it was truly an amazing once in a life time experience. We hiked about 7 miles on one of the hardest parts of the wall to get to a hidden spot where the government does not maintain it. One of the main reasons we went to that particular spot was because over the years, people have been leaving trash, causing a magnificent place to turn into a landfill. When we got to the top, we spent some time picking up bottles and trash. We all had a fun time while doing so! When we finished, we had over three large bags of trash. Personally, I felt that I gained more insight on how our actions, although small, affect our surroundings.
When it was time to go, we all had a sense of accomplishment and knowing that we made an impact even if it was a small one.
We all knew that three bags would not make a significant difference, but we hope that our actions will inspire others to do the same.
Monday, July 31st: Kunming
Today we had the exciting opportunity to explore the fascinating Spring City. After a quick breakfast, we were off to explore the city of Kunming. We stopped at several awe-inspiring sights such as Lotus Park, Green Lake Park, and a famous Buddhist Temple. At the parks, we gained a unique understanding of Chinese architecture regarding its use in parks and gardens. At the Buddhist temple, we were fully immersed in the concept of Chinese religion, the use and functionality of urban temples by the local people. Along with these trips, we also dined at a local restaurant that served delectable dumplings, and sipped bubble tea from a nearby stand. Most of all, our excursion in Kunming proved not only fun and enjoyable, but moreover culturally eye opening and intensely new.
Wednesday, August 2nd: First Day in Shaxi
Today was our first day at service and it was a very eye-opening experience, from getting to bond with the locals to getting to see the work that goes into farming. This morning we spent our time helping in the rose gardens learning how to make “good compost that doesn’t smell” and gathering the stuff for it. And then we spent the afternoon helping weed and gather fresh produce for our diner, even though this was a hard day’s work I know I speak for everyone when I say it was well worth it.
By: Bryce, Andrew, Rahul, Kimberly and Darren
