WWW GIS China

Farm work in Yaoji

After a long trip in the bus we made it to Yaoji to were received by long rows of beautiful buddist prayer flags. The architecture is quite unique as you can see from the pictures.

The temperature on the mountains was quite a bit lower than in the city, and the effects of the high altitute marvelled the students as they witnessed their potato chip bags and football increase in volume considerably.

In the first day we hiked to the top of a mountain where we appreciated the sights of snow in the sourrounding mountains and a buddist temple.

In the second day we collected corn from the stem and cleaned it for a local farmer. At night, the locals lit a bonfire for us and taught us some circle dancing. After that the students used their sound system to play their songs and dance with the locals.

The next morning we made our way to Chengdu city, shopped at a famous open air market, and had a hot pot dinner. Many students taught this was the culinary highlight of the trip.

On our last day we went to an art school to learn chinese caligraphy, paint our own fan, visited a 300 year old buddist temple, and learned tai chi at a cinematographic park.

We’ll be at Mazaya Mall at 4:30am. I currently write to you from the plane which has just started moving. See you soon!

Panda Conservation 2

10pm Today we went to a new panda researh center, the biggest one in the area, to resume our voluntary work. This base occupies an area of 150 acres, but more importantly, it has baby pandas, after a hard days work, it was great to see them playing.

Afterwards we went for a stroll in the city and the students were able to see parks with public music and dancing and visit many shops, learning more about the lifestyle of the local population. We ended up in the Wallmart, where we bought snacks and food to support us for the 6 hour bus ride we have to face tomorrow, and on the way back. At night, students played cards, and some watched Man City vs Man United football match.

We will be far from the city and will not have internet access for at least 2 days.

Panda Conservation

We left the hotel at 6am and had breakfast on the bus on the way to the panda reservation. There the students promptly started their voluntary work, cleaning enclosures, preparing and carrying bamboo, cleaning the yard and feeding areas, and some manual handling of poop was involved as well.

1pm After a delicious Sechuan lunch with chop sticks, the students washed their plates and are currently watching a documentary about the panda center and breeding of pandas. In a few minutes, we will go back to feeding the pandas.

9:30pm After an eye-opening day at the panda research base, we headed back to the city to have dinner at a halal chinese food restaurant. Fried morning glory, tofu with sechuan sauce, and kung pao chicken were among many appetizing plates brought to our tables. Afterwards we made our way back to the hotel to recharge the batteries for tomorrow’s work. We will have breakfast at 6:30am, and leave at 7am sharp.

We are off

Please find the pictures on the Picture Drive link on the side menu on the left.

Goodbye and see you soon!

Chengdu

Exhausted but happy, we arrived in Chengdu and went straight to the Hotel. The team that received us is enthusiastic and caring; we had subway sandwiches on the way that they had bought in advance. We’ll leave at 5:45am to the panda conservation.

China Communication

Dear parents and students,

In less than 24hrs we will be departing for our WWW China trip. I hope you are as excited as I am. Here are just a few more pointers before we leave.

1. Our Camps International Expedition leader will be Sharon Cruse and she has been doing expeditions with Camps International since 2010. Sharon is currently on her way to Dubai and will hopefully be able to join us during today’s lunch meeting with the students. She will be traveling to China with us and will meet us at Mazaya Mall, 3:30AM on 9th November. All the flight tickets, itinerary, Itinerary and Extensive First Aid Kit (everyone should bring their own basic first aid kit too, as per the kit list)
2. The Camps International emergency phone number is +971 (0)56 364 4156. The line is manned 24 hours a day by a member of staff in the UAE who will always be prepared to assist in trip related emergencies. Please note that this is strictly only to be called in an emergency as the line needs to be kept clear for any incoming calls from other groups travelling at the same time.
3. Our school’s emergency contact number will be Mr. Lee, +971 50 902 6967. Please make sure that this is strictly for emergency.
4. We will be keeping in contact with you via https://mrpacios.com/china/ . Mr. Pacios will be uploading the photos and updates through the site as soon as we are able to connect to the wifi. However, please remember NO NEWS, IS GOOD NEWS!
5. Camps International T-shirts are here and I will be distributing them during our meeting today.
6. Please be reminded to bring your School ID Card on the trip with you, as some places in China need to verify that you are a student in order to be eligible for the student fee. This is it. Please let me know if there is anything else that I can do. See you tomorrow, bright and early.

Best Regards, Tanja Kolarov MYP/DP Science HoD Science

Departure time change

Dear parents and students,

One more week and we are off to CHINA. I have just received a confirmation of the time change from Camps International regarding our buses to Abu Dhabi International airport. Due to below changes, we will meet at the Mazaya Shopping Centre (Etihad Airways Mall) at 3:30am to check-in on Friday, 9th November, 2018. The bus will depart at 4am, so it is import that you are there at least 30min before that.

(Mazaya Shopping Centre) EY 5411 G 09NOV XNBAUH HK5 0400 0540 - 0445 0605 OLD TIME EY 818 G 09NOV AUHCTU HK5 0810 1900
EY 811 G 16NOV CTUAUH HK5 2020 #0050 - 0100 OLD TIME (Mazaya Shopping Centre) EY 5414 G 17NOV AUHXNB HK5 0250 0430 - 0410 OLD TIME

I am still waiting for Camps International to send over our T-shirts and will keep you posted regarding it. By now, all students should have the China tourist visa, if not, please make sure that it is done before the departure. Students are allowed to bring between 50USD to 100USD for snacks and souvenirs and 80USD for insurance excess (this will be returned to you at the end too the trip, if no emergencies occur). You can exchange the money yourself to Chinese Yuan or we can do it at the airport.

Thank you so much.