15 pupils and 5 members of staff left Combe Pafford School at 9am on Friday June 18th for a trip of a lifetime to China This trip is part of an exchange with Dongfang School and we look forward to hosting 8 chinese students and 4 members of their staff when they visit us in July.

These are the reports that we are getting from the pupils in China!

DAY ONE

Good first day ! All settled in the hotel which is of good quality and the rooms are nice if a bit untidy now ! All rooms have air conditioning which is needed as it is fairly hot and humid. We were treated to two meals yesterday by Dong Fang School, we went to lunch shortly after we arrived, we had two large tables and Grace, the teacher who will be with us all week, ordered 13 dishes for each table !! Some dishes we could recognise,some were a bit of a mystery, we couldn't eat it all !At 4.30 we went to the school, about a 30min ride through Beijing, we were given drinks and fruit on arrival in their special awards room, we then went to a formal welcome ceremony where we met Dong fang staff and the students who will be visiting us in July. We had to use an interpreter to understand the welcome message and our replies to them. Then we went to another meal, one we weren't expecting! There was even more food here, including fried ducks feet, well done to Kym for managing to eat one as it wasn't obvious and we didn't find out what it was until it was too late! Mr Lock was not too keen on the sea cucumber, but the Dong Fang Head teacher, Mr Han, was insistent he try it as it was a local delicacy, 'I don't see it catching on in Torquay !'

Afterwards we said goodbye to our hosts and went to a shopping area near Tianamen Square, we were a bit tired and after a walk around and an ice cream and a coffee, we headed back on the metro to the hotel, it was busy but easy, then there is a short walk from the Metro to the hotel, although Mr Thompson made it a bit longer by taking a wrong turn!

At the hotel, everyone was soon in bed and it was not long before the youngsters were asleep, funny that?

Today is Sunday, I am writing this at 7 am local time, the sun is shining already, breakfast is at 8am, we are going to The Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven and hopefully the Pearl Market today.


DAY TWO

Now Sunday evening here, went to Forbidden City today, joined by Grace and some Chinese students, split into two groups and walled for two hours before meeting up. It was extremely hot, we had frequent drinks and ice cream stops, the youngsters coped very well, it is a magnificent spectacle, the size of the palaces and the colours and the grandeur are wonderful to see. We then spent lunchtime recuperating in a KFC, large portions all-round !

 In the afternoon we travelled by metro to The Temple of Heavenly Peace, it was a little cooler and there was more shade, the locals were enjoying the afternoon in the surrounding park, dancing , singing, playing cards and Chinese chequers

At tea time we all went into the Pearl Market, I had explained how to barter, obviously it was one of the best lessons I have ever taught ! The pupils got the hang of it straight away, when they asked 'how much' and were  told 350, they offered 25 and usually settled for about 40-50, all except Mr Thompson who still thinks he has a bargain if he gets 10 off something !

We then returned to the hotel for a shower and change and then went out to eat at a self service restaurant across the road from the hotel, returning and in bed for 10.30

Tomorrow is our first school morning at Dong Fang, the afternoon to the Drum Tower and Hutong, more on Mr Thompsons bartering progress to follow !


DAY THREE

Today is Monday. We needed to get up at 7.00 as breakfast was at 7.30 and the coach collected us at 8.30 to take us to Dong Fang School. The traffic was very heavy and the journey took 45 mins, Beijing rush hour looks as bad as London.

The teachers and Head teacher were on the playground/car park to meet us as we arrived, we then had a welcome ceremony by the horticultural department, a short set of pictures from previous visits here and some of the four teachers who visited us in Jan 2009.

We then moved into two groups, one for flower arranging and one for making pictures from pressed flowers. The flower arranging group worked with a Chinese partner student and they had to make a Dragon Boat arrangement, a special design here for a festival which happened last week. Everyone made a really good attempt and were pleased with the results. The pressing group had to arrange flowers on a small key ring before glueing, anyone sneezing had to begin again !

At 11.15 we went into the boardroom for a rest and some fruit and water and then to lunch at 11.30 in the attached restaurant, the youngsters are getting used to the dishes they like now and there is a definite improvement in the use of chopsticks. We waved goodbye at 12.45 and the school coach took us in towards the centre of the city and we then continued by metro to the Hutong area. Luckily we arrived at the Drum Tower to see the drummers beat the time out, quite a sight. We then had a rickshaw ride around the streets and could see the tiny houses of the area, obviously a very poor one. We then walked to the tourist shopping area and walked around the lake, we are getting used to the sales people who try to sell watches, bags, chopsticks, give you a massage etc whilst you are walking and all in very good humour. The shopping area is a bit up market and the pupils thought the previous days visit to the Pearl Market was better value and the bartering more successful !

After a metro ride home we stopped off at the Pizza Hut for a long drink and a good meal before returning to the hotel at 9.30, tired but having had a great day.

 

DAY FOUR

Today was not quite so hot as it has been, and although it was still rather muggy, it was a great relief to be out of the intense heat of the previous few days. The group spent its second morning at Dongfang Vocational School, starting with a 3-D film about the Summer Palace which we visit on Sunday. The emperors of the Ming Dynasty grew fond of escaping from the heat of Beijing in the Summer for the cooler surroundings of the Summer Palace, where they could overlook the beautiful Kuming Lake. Then we were treated to a presentation by one of the English teachers about the Chinese language and how the meaning of the characters came about. Then we were treated to another generous lunch in the school restaurant, where it was obvious that the children are getting much better at using chopsticks and trying different foods. A leisurely stroll to the world-famous Panjiayuan Flea Market followed, where several purchases were made, with the youngsters putting their bartering skills to the test. The finale for the day was a trip to the Red Theatre to see the awesome Kung Fu show, which not surprisingly enthralled the youngsters with its martial arts brand of dance, gymnastics and story telling. A truly great way to end another enjoyable day. 
Tomorrow a trip to the Catering and Hairdressing Departments of Jinsong School awaits, followed by a trip to see the 'Bird's Nest' Olympic Stadium.
 
DAY FIVE

Today, Wednesday, has been  very busy, we went to Jinsong School which is the first school we linked with three years ago, they specialise in catering and hairdressing and have looked after us really well in the past. We split into two groups according to interest and the catering group were taken into a very busy kitchen with about 30 Chinese students in and were given a demonstration on a dish that looked a bit like a Chinese version of Hawaiian Chicken in that it had chicken and pineapple! Whilst the meal was cooking, the master chef made some fantastic flowers from Turnip and leaves from cucumber ! We were all able to taste the meal which was cooked in a wok in 2 minutes. Pupils were then given meat cleavers which is the main cutting tool even for vegetables, and with a Chinese student partner set about recreating the dish. Everyone looked very professional in their hats and aprons, the completed dish looked very appetising at the end and we were able to take lots of photos, Jonathon and Jordan did particularly well and can cook for me any time!

The hairdressers had a tour of the schools amazing new hairdressing salon, it includes all the latest new equipment and technology for the world of hair and beauty, sadly they couldn't do much for Mr Thompson except recommend he see a plastic surgeon ! The salon our pupils worked in had 35 Chinese students, all boys and our group set to work with a partner and despite the obvious language difficulties they got on very well. Holly and Kelly did very well, James cut a little too much hair of a dummy head and is trying to bring back the shaven head look !

We left the school and went for a Korean indoor barbeque, everyone tried frying their own beef, chicken and sweet potato and had a good meal. After that it was off by metro to the Olympic Stadium, sadly the swimming pool, The Cube' was closed, but the 'Birds Nest', the main athletic venue was open. We had a wonderful walk around, pupils bought some souvenirs then it was off to Wanfujing  street market to try barbequed allsorts, shrimps, snake, other things ?!

Then back to the hotel to all watch in one room England win 1-0, the perfect end to a very good day !


DAY SIX


Today,Thursday, we spent our third morning at Dongfang School. They have been excellent hosts and we enjoyed another morning in their Horticulture department, this time at their other site. We took part in two activities in groups and then swapped round to give all the pupils a go at both. One activity was in one of their huge greenhouses, consisting of making a miniature garden in a deep tray using bonsai plants, other foliage, rocks, compost and cocktail sticks! The other activity was a tour of their labs to show us how the Dongfang students grow plants from tissue cultures in controlled conditions in a sealed flask. We then enjoyed a lovely tea ceremony in which we were introduced to all the paraphernalia of tea making, followed by tasting six different types of tea - Green, Red, Yellow, White, Oolon and Black, and smelling all the different types of tea leaf. We then had Chinese food for lunch at the school before going to the White Cloud Temple. This is an interesting Taoist temple in West Central Beijing where Beijingers drop in to pray. They burn a considerable amount of incense in the process. In the  evening it was off to the Chaoyang Theatre to see the Chinese acrobatics, a truly stunning show that had the pupils transfixed. A trip to Pizza Hut followed before retiring to bed, tired and weary.
DAY SEVEN

Today is Friday and we visited Dongfang School for the last time. We again took advantage of the opportunity to try our hand at flower arranging and pressed flower decorations. Both activities demand patience and creative flair, and the pupils enjoyed having a go. We then split into groups and joined two classes of English students and answered their questions, at the end of which our pupils were presented with handmade wooden models the Chinese students had made in their own time. We then went to the school kitchens where we experienced making Chinese dumplings. These were eaten together with other Chinese fare at lunch whilst sitting and chatting with the Chinese students. After saying our thank-yous and goodbyes, we then took the metro to Beijing Zoo where we saw the Giant Pandas and a good selection of big cats. 
 
Then followed an unpleasant ride on Line 1 in the height of the rush hour to visit the home of Miss Liang Yong, the Assistant Headteacher. We were made to feel extremely welcome and found ourselves on the receiving end of some very generous and very genuine Chinese hospitality. As everyone was extremely tired by this stage, we took taxis back to the hotel, showered quickly and walked the short distance to McDonald's where we indulged ourselves before having a (relatively) early night. The Great Wall at Juyongguan awaits tomorrow, and we all need our batteries recharging for the climb, especially if it is another hot one!
 
DAY EIGHT

Had a great day today, Saturday, everyone up on time and we boarded the coach that Dong Fang School provided for us for the one and a half hour journey to The Great wall of China. It was an impressive sight as we drove up the hill to the fort at the bottom of the pass, running at a really steep angle, the wall disappeared up into a slight haze which made it a little cooler. The wall running to the left was a huge loop and the pupils and staff who hadn't been before thought they had to walk up and around a really steep gradient which looked a long way ! Luckily there is a smaller loop to the left which although didn't look too bad was about an hour and a half walk with a REALLY steep start. We all had a good drink at the bottom and set off at our own pace, stopping half way around for a small picnic.

The second half of the walk (down !) took about 10 minutes.

Back on the coach, several group members took the opportunity to have a nap, but once back at the hotel, showered and refreshed we set off for the Pearl Market and a final shop for presents, Mr Spooner needed to buy a new case, Mr Thompson looked at a new table tennis bat, Mrs Cole wanted a Man Utd shirt (?). Everyone left with some interesting purchases and a lot less money.


DAY NINE


Today, Sunday we left at 9.00 for a long tube ride to the Summer Palace, as the name suggests where the Emperor went to escape the heat in the summer, we didn't notice any difference !! We had a good look around, a boat ride across the lake, before we decided to get 5 air conditioned taxis to bring us back across the city which took an hour.

It is now 5.30 on Sunday evening, we are being taken out for a farewell meal tonight, the coach is collecting us at 6, we are going to a Peking Duck specialist restaurant. I am sure we will have a really good time as the school have hosted us really well. Then its back to the hotel to finish the packing in time for the England v Germany match at 10pm. Fingers crossed !

We leave for the airport at 6am tomorrow, Monday, this will be the last bulletin from Beijing, standby to hear all about in from your youngster over the coming days, expect them to be tired from jet lag, Tuesday is a day off for them, we will see them again on Wed, please arrive as arranged at school AT 8pm on Monday evening.