First day in school.

Leaving the hotel for our first day.

Wow! What a day. We had our first day in school today, (Monday) and it was absolutely incredible, for many reasons, not least the trip there! To say Chengdu traffic is chaotic, is probably the biggest understatement since Apollo 13 sent the message, “Houston, we have a problem!” (Kids, google it!) I think most car owners are in practice for Formula 1, and all motorbike owners are just plain crazy. Add a load of reckless Rickshaws and some suicidal pedestrians into the mix and you might just start to understand how bad it is!

Reckless Rickshaw.

We have also experienced a few technical difficulties with the blog, and technology in general, so this post will also include bits from Miss Harrington, Mrs. Thompson and Miss Butler. We have managed to get over most of the problems now, but bear with us if things are a bit slow getting through.

We also had a few problems with the cold today too, as Wuhou school has no heating! All children and staff wear their coats for lessons during the winter, and just put up with the cold! (No, I’m not joking)

Mr. Golightly.

From Miss Butler:-

A fascinating day observing lessons in our link Chinese school. All teachers loved joining in with a Calligraphy lesson, where they practised writing their names in Mandarin.

The children in the lesson were thrilled to receive a special Head Teacher’s Award each.

Miss Butler.

Miss Butler shares news with Wuhou teachers.

From Miss Harrington:-

Finally, my first blog!

After a very long journey we arrived safely in a very misty China! Jeff and Lara (teachers from Wuhou school) met us at the airport. The driving is quite scary, to say the least.

The school is very different from our school. We are so lucky to have heating, it was freezing in their school today. I will never moan about being too cold in class ever again! Everything is an experience though and I am drinking it all in.

I have been designated as fashion correspondent for the trip, so I will be commenting on new and interesting sights, so I will start with the fact that everyone wears a coat and warm clothes – even for lessons. The new fashion here is arm warmers. I have taken some photographs and will be looking to buy some – very soon!

So much more to see, but I am loving it so far!

Miss Harrington

From Mrs. Thompson:-

As the group food critic, I’ve been making a mental note of all the fabulous food we’ve had a chance to try.

We met for breakfast this morning in the hotel and were amazed by the huge variety, ranging from pastries and fruit, fish and vegetables to noodles, rice and broth.

We also had a fantastic lunch at school. The dining hall is huge and the children (and us) were served food in a metal tray. We had spiced beef and broccoli, served with butternut squash, rice and pak choi. We also had a cabbage soup that we had to drink from the bowl. The children from each class take it in turns to clear tables and our monitors were very keen, removing Mr. Golightly’s tray when he was only half finished!

Lunch - Chinese style.

We have been allocated a room at school where we can work from and also reflect on our day. A lovely selection of fruit had been left in there for us. Mr. Golightly, Miss Butler and Miss Harrington all tried a fruit called a ‘Dragon’s Eye’ and said it was delicious.

Mrs. Thompson