Today, the students got much more involved in the culture of the area. We began the day by visiting a local school to practice some traditional Chinese crafting skills. Using clay, the students were taught how to make a figurine of Confucius - with varying results! They then had a talk about the history of calligraphy and the use of carving in ancient texts. Using what they had learnt, they created their own Chinese characters using stamps and ink.
After lunch in the school, the students boarded the bus and we traveled to a monastery where the students took part in a variety of different activities. They acted out different scenes from Chinese history, created freeze frames about different local myths, reflected upon the stupars (monuments to monks who have passed away) and visited a shrine and constructed stories.
After dinner, the students checked into our hotel for the next few nights and reflected on what they had learnt over the day. They then retired to bed - the cultural focus of the trip is now changing to more of a physical challenge for the next two days and they will need all their energy.
Update from Mr. Jim Hartland, Assistant Head of Secondary
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