During the recent Easter holidays, three Transition Year students from Loreto Secondary School in Fermoy travelled to China, to experience the trip of a lifetime. Students Niamh Fenton, Aoife Howard and Shirley Lam, had undertaken learning Mandarin Chinese as part of their class year, the school having introduced it as a full year programme of study within its Transition Year programme. They travelled with other students from around the country on a cultural exchange to the country.

Loreto Secondary School, Fermoy have worked in collaboration with the Confucius Institute at University College Cork for the past five years. Now, such is the demand, that capacity will be doubled to provide the subject in the 2014/15 Transition Year programme. Students are introduced to not only the language itself, but also to the history and culture of China. The programme provides great enrichment to the school’s broad and balanced Transition Year curriculum and calendar of activities.

THROUGH STUDENT’S EYES

Below is a brief synopsis of the students’ experiences on their trip, written by Aoife Howard.

‘I have many memorable experiences from the Chinese Easter camp which includes getting to the top of the East Pearl TV Tower, visiting Yu Gardens, getting lost in Shanghai, braving the street food, haggling in the fake market and making many new friends. I honestly have to say that the most memorable experience of the Chinese Easter camp was visiting the ancient town of Zhujiajiao, which is located east of the Dianshan Lake.

‘At first we were unsure of what to expect from this ancient town, but when we arrived we were shocked. It was very different to the modern buildings in the city centre. The little town had a river running straight through it and the shops were on each side of the river. The shops were very small and narrow and many were family businesses. The buildings were very old and they had very quaint traditional Chinese designs on them.

‘The atmosphere in the village was very different compared to the hustle and bustle of the busy city centre. People were much more relaxed and they chatted easily with visitors and neighbours.

‘We strolled around looking at the many items on sale in the various different shops. Some of us decided to buy some turtles which became our new pets for a few days. We also had some very entertaining turtle races. We also let some of the turtles free on the Freedom Bridge in Zhujiajiao.

‘There were many unusual, if not curious items on sale in the shops. In one shop they were selling a very strange type of meat. None of us were brave enough to try it out and we still are unsure of what it was. In another shop we purchased some lovely silk kimonos and beautiful artwork.

‘The food that we ate in the ancient town didn’t taste very well but the dining experience created many wonderful memories. I will never forget some of the facial expressions of my friends as they sampled the delicacies of the ancient town of Zhujiajiao. I also enjoyed posing for photographs with some of the local Chinese people.

‘These are the reasons why this ancient town of Zhujiajiao was one of the most memorable experiences of the Easter Camp. I really enjoyed experiencing a new culture, new foods and a new language. I also loved meeting some of the local Chinese people and speaking to them. I found that it gave me a great insight into the way of life in this ancient Chinese town.’

blog comments powered by Disqus