Day 7 and some thoughts...

The children, by then, had gotten used to waking up early. They all rose early and packed their luggage, eager to head home.

Before that, we went for more shopping at Eslite Bookstore. The children were all excited with the wide variety of books and stationery available there. After a hearty lunch at a restaurant there, we headed for Taoyuan Airport.

Along the way, the mood was somewhat heavy, with many children reflecting on their trip and the events they had gone through.

In a short span of 7 days, this group of children have grown more confident both on and off stage. Some were more than happy to chat with Taiwanese residents about themselves and why they were in Taiwan. Though there were some initial bumps, these children have shown resilience and gained maturity.

The teachers are all very touched and impressed that all the pupils have shown responsibility and care for themselves and their assigned room-mates. Not a single complaint was heard when the itinerary underwent minor amendments due to the weather changes.

Group leaders also did a great job, helping the teacher ensure that everyone in the group was present. Most importantly, I believe the children have shown themselves their own capability, and that they will all be great musicians and leaders in time to come.

All in all, we would like to thank the schools involved (NYPS, BiHua Elementary, Guang Fu Elementary, Gang Ping Elementary and Wen Chang Elementary) for providing opportunities for such exchange programmes to take place, the pupils for being active participants, the tour agency for helping with the logistics and of course, you, the parents, who have shown great trust in your children and also for supporting us all the way.


Cheers,
Miss R. Lim
(on behalf of the teachers)

Day 6

Day 6 saw the children visiting the final school for this trip - Chiayi Municipal Wen Chang Elementary School. Our arrival was greeted with squeals of excited elementary children. Very quickly, we settled down and the events began...

Our flute soloist - see the more confident stance?

 

The principal, seated between the school's parent association head and Mdm Lai

 

Ensemble...

After the performances, instead of being assigned buddies for classroom experiences, the children were tasked with learning a small excerpt of a tune to perform together later.

 

Exchanging pointers...

 

Yang qin...

 

Everyone was serious and focused...

 

The children were not afraid to ask and answer...

 

Practising...

 

 

 

Trying out the piece - success!

After that, our children were grouped by level into different classes for lunch.

 

The lunch provided by the school - simple fare yet filling and nutritious! (^_^)

 

Trying out the swings - the school has a nice playground!

 

Taking a group shot

 

We bade the school goodbye as the children ran out of the school to see us off...

After that, we made our way back to Chiayi Ecological Farm - our first stop? Ecology observation.

The resort's infamous resident - the rhinoceros beetle (独角仙)

 

We spotted a banana plant!

 

Taking a walk down the lake.. misty and surreal...

 

Lychee picking! With help from the adults though.. (^_^)

 

The children fed the animals too. They managed to enter the compound later on.

 

Slow ride up the grassy slope for grass skiing...

The day ended with a BBQ dinner, dancing round the campfire and a game of tikam-tikam. After that, the children headed for the DIY corner, where they made lavender-scented satchets. A long and busy day, but the children rose to the challenges and did great.

Cheers,

Miss R. Lim