URBAN DOMAIN 2024

China- Day 5

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Day 5
Waking up and opening the blinds to our moving boat, we were thinking about what the day had in store for us. Walking into the buffet and smelling all the different foods was certainly the best wake up call of the whole trip. 
After we finished a hearty breakfast, everyone went to have some free time to relax and reflect on the journey that has already passed. Some of us went to the top deck to socialise and look at the magnificent views that the Yangtze River had to offer, while some of us lounged around in some of the meeting rooms reading a book. 
Mr Toohey invited us to the onboard cinema room to watch Jason Bourne and have some popcorn as a treat. Later, we had a group photo at the entrance of the Three Gorges. This was a perfect opportunity for all of us to take some awe-inspiring photographs of the beautiful scenery on either side of the boat. 
After our group photo was taken, we all had an amazing buffet lunch at the restaurant before disembarking to another boat to explore the Mini Three Gorges. Again, this was a remarkable sight and a great chance to learn more about the history of the Mini Three Gorges. 
4 hours later, we returned to our big cruise ship before taking another group photo in front of the Second Gorge. Afterwards, we had more free time to pack our bags prior to our departure tomorrow. Then we had our last buffet dinner onboard the Hua Xia Goddess. 
All of today’s activities helped us develop a greater understanding of the environmental effect that the Three Gorges and the Yangtze River has on the surrounding landscape, which closely links to our studies in the Environment Domain of our CUE Program. 
Signing off,
Cooper and Nick 

China- Day 4

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Waking up to the loud sound of the Chinese man speaking over the microphone speakers accompanied with some lovely soothing elevator classical music… We had a western breakfast this morning featuring lots of pancakes and scrambled eggs. The breakfast this morning was a buffet. All of us have really developed the Chinese way of eating, using chopsticks and we are eating at least 20kg of rice a day. Very nutritious!
Before getting off the boat to do our on shore excursion, we did a small Remembrance Day service which included a few students talking about world war 1 at 8am which would’ve been 11am in Melbourne. During this service Cooper said some really meaningful words about what happened, which moved students but also teachers to tears. He said
 “The significance of Remembrance Day to Australia now is to remember our grave, fallen heroes and to appreciate their sacrifice for our privileged way of life. Although we are on a foreign country, our home is Australia, and even when we are abroad, we must remember that without our ANZAC’s sacrifice, we may have never been able to travel in the first place. Luckily, the ANZAC’s sacrifice has been able to sustain our extremely privileged way of life. Today, we are truely proud to say that we are Australian. Thank you.”
After the minute of silence and a reflection, we had free time to stay on the boat and do whatever we wanted to for almost 3 hours. We then went into the theatre to watch the most exciting documentary ever… nobody fell asleep and we were all very interested in the Chinese documentary… after the sleep sesh we went down to eat some really yummy Chinese food for lunch and then made our way off the boat to do our shore excursion. We went to the Shibaozhai Pagoda and it was honestly beautiful. It was so interesting that there was just a mountain with a gorgeous red temple on one side. 
After the temple we went into all of the little markets and bought lots of little gifts for family and friends. We all practised a bit of bartering and we are quite talented… There were lots of little children roaming around and there were also older adults, but their weren’t many students our age. Personally, our favourite part of the day was when all the Chinese people were taking photos of us and not the surroundings because we must look like aliens. After the shopping we went back to the boat and ate dinner, then we had a lecture from our Chinese tour guid, Shua Fung (Stony). Now ready for a nice sleep; we have a 6:30am start in the morning. 
Juliette B and Millie D 

China – Day 3

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We woke to the sound of the traffic below and knew that it was our final day in Chengdu. We went down to level 2 in our hotel and sat down for a buffet breakfast. For breakfast there was a vast variety of food ranging from eggs and toast to chicken feet. After breakfast we went back to our room to pack for the train to Chongquing. After a quick tidy up we were out of our rooms by 8am and ready for the day ahead. 
Our trip to Zongbei Middle School was full of excitement and anticipation for both schools. We arrived at the school receiving a warm welcoming from the staff, including the headmaster of the school. The Zongbei Middle School has 5 campuses throughout the Sichuan province, housing over 5,000 children from years 7-9. We were first given a tour of the school from a selection of students and staff and saw first hand what life was like for a student in China. The differences were great, such as the number of students per classroom, but there were also many similarities between the two schools. The students were so eager to meet us and practice their English. 
After the tour we were taken to a room modelling the United Nations headquarters where the students discuss important world issues. After a formal presentation we entered into group conversation and debate over issues like American Presidential election and Brexit. Following this, we got to speak to students individually, highlighting the differences between our knowledge of foreign languages as well as our different opinions. 
Next, we joined the entire school in their daily physical exercises. Seeing and participating in this was incredible, everyone seemed to love keeping fit. Activities in the morning exercise included: push ups, squats, running and jumping. After the morning exercises we either went into a pottery class or a Kung Fu lesson. These were great fun as we got to work with the students more closely. 
After saying goodbye to the children and teachers we got on the bus and visited a Buddhist temple in Chengdu. It was very large and showcased the beauty of Chinese religion. Finally, we made our way to the train station where, for some of us, was the first time on a bullet train. It peaked at 300 km/h and by 6:30 we were in Chongquing. The city is one of the largest in China, with over 35 million people making it one of the most populated cities worldwide, yet, not many people have ever heard of Chongquing. On our hour long drive to the boat we saw the vastness of the city. As we approached the Yangtze River, we were greeted with a modern skyline filled with hundreds of skyscrapers, all lit up like Christmas trees. 
Finally, we boarded our cruise ship, where we were relieved to relax and enjoy our dinner before setting sail at about 9pm. Chongquing is so large that tomorrow morning we will still be in the boundaries of the city.
Daniel and Filip

Vietnam Red- Day 5

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We were woken to the sound of roosters and the smell of lacking deodorant. Breakfast left us filled and ready for the long day ahead. Sunscreen and insect repellent was lathered on, and with gloves in hand, we were set to go. After the short walk and boat trip, we arrived at the building site where we were briefed on how to lay bricks and mix cement. 
The worksite was divided into two core crews; the cement mixers and the brick layers. Both equally as challenging and eventually equally as tiring. We learnt very quickly that brick laying required an eye for perfection, it is much harder then crafting Lego houses. Cement mixing required a cement mixer, which we did not have. This meant that six of us were to become human cement mixers. 

Brick after brick the house started to form. By our morning break we had a lot done, a start to most of the major walls and everyone’s skills had increased dramatically. Lunch was delicious, served to us by the local family. After a mid-day siesta, in which nothing out of the ordinary occurred, we ventured back to the site and prepared for another good session at the construction gym. With a lot of work done we were ready to put the trowels down. 

On the walk back to the house, we reflected on our bricklaying technique. More importantly, we took in the surrounding environment and culture. Dinner tonight was once again authentically amazing.  

After our first day as tradies with the expert Mr Slykhaus, we are all ready to hit the hay and are eager to begin our long day ahead tomorrow. 

Thanks Mum and Dad for allowing us to have this experience and opportunity. So far we have constantly been inspired by the culture that surrounds us. 

With much love 

Cris & Owen 

Continuing comments from the orphanage on Day 3:

Dmitry: In a day with many feelings, it was the orphanage in particular that drained out many emotions from me that I had rarely experienced before. Realising how privileged and a ‘step ahead’ we are in our Melbourne region forced me to grind to a halt and just soak everything in. Seeing the children one on one, looking into our eyes, was rather difficult to comprehend as, although, I have had a slight interaction with young kids before, seeing these mentally challenged, sick, yet very positive young lives, was a page in my life that had never been turned before.

Lachlan: For the duration of today I found that the orphanage was a good experience for me in general, because I found out that the kids have great personalities and that it’s hard for them to do things that we do because of their physical and mental disabilities which obviously affects their social interaction with people. I believe that it helped me get a deeper understanding which allowed me to see how nice the kids really are. For the next section of the day, we went on a short journey to the Cu Chi Tunnels, I enjoyed this because I had the chance to investigate and learn more about the war between the Americans and the Vietnamese, where the Americans had an alliance with South Vietnam which they fought against their enemy North Vietnam. To conclude today’s experience I find that it was a good learning curve for me and also everyone else in the group.

Ayda: I was excited but nervous at the same time. The moment we walked into the orphanage, into one of the small rooms with 1-4 year olds, I had no idea what to do. After a while I realised that I just had to go up to one of the children and that small gesture would make them happy enough. The orphanage had the effect that I was expecting on me but it also did so much more. As I was expecting, visiting the orphanage made me appreciate life so much more and made me realise how lucky I was. As I sat with a little girl I realised she would never have the little pleasures that I had in life: braiding my hair, trying new foods, wearing new clothes or just sitting with my family and enjoying their company. I fell in love with all those children, not only did their happiness rub off on me but their endurance also did too. The visit to the orphanage did end up with me crying a little, but it was all worth seeing those children smile.

Steph: When I was in the orphanage I felt so excited but also scared of what was to come, meeting the kids and seeing them smile when we walked in the room I must say almost brought a tear to my eye. We then played with the kids and they were so easily entertained it was so beautiful. When it was time to go I must say I balled my eyes out and it really made me feel so grateful for my family and friends and my health.

Photos: tools down at the end of the first day of building! Drinking from a coconut straight off the tree; bricklaying & the human cement mixer(s). 

Vietnam Red- Day 4

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Thank you for your patience. We did not have any internet as the village we were staying in was very remote, so all of the blogs from this time will now be posted. 

Day 4 + continuing orphanage comments

The most sentimental part of this experience has begun as today as we travelled to a village in the Mekong Delta. After a long four hour bus journey with interesting conversations, and musical numbers along with an intense discussion of American politics and a scenic boat ride, we finally made it to the village!

Settling in, all of us were over the moon about sharing a room all together, boys and girls separated of course! We then got the chance to meet the people that have offered us accommodation and warmth, with lots of giggles involved because we couldn’t understand each other. They commented on our appearances and thought that Helene was fluent in Vietnamese. We all know that the language barrier between us won’t stop the strong relationships being built between us and that is one thing all of us are really looking forward to.

Heading to the site that we will be building the house on, we met the young family who will we be building the house for. They had two sons, 12 and 1 years of age and were extremely grateful for what we will be doing for them with the mother shedding a tear. At this point, many of us were really touched and knew that however difficult the task which awaits us may be; it will be more than worth it. 

The next couple of days will definitely be remembered as something really special and most likely life changing for many of us. We are super excited about the massive job ahead of us tomorrow morning as we learn to lay bricks and mix cement.

Lauren & Helene

Continuing comments about the orphanage visit on Day 3: 

Cole: Today’s activities brought out a lot of mixed emotions in me, I had never really experienced anything like this and was severely challenged in ways I had never experienced. It was a real confronting experience in the way the kids were challenged in many different ways, and I felt extreme gratitude towards myself in knowing that, these kids have to go through many difficulties everyday.

Emerson: Of the orphanage, I say this: the world has deemed these children sick, dysfunctional, broken beyond all hope of repair. But if lucidity is a measure of one’s ability to wilfully influence one’s place and condition in the world, then these children are more lucid than most; they have turned the supreme suffering of never knowing normality into contentment, and have taught me that the limit of happiness is not the quality of one’s life, but the quality one is able to believe one has. 

Amelia: The orphanage was a confronting and beautiful experience. Although it was bittersweet as you couldn’t help but feel sad for the kids it was extremely enjoyable. It was truly an amazing experience just to be able to give the kids a bit of happiness even if it was for a short time. The best word in my opinion to describe this whole experience is humbling. It truly made me grateful for everything I have and it made me realise how much I love making people smile.

Helene: Nervous about approaching the unknown, turned into an experience that was truly amazing. At first I was definitely pushed out of my comfort zone, not knowing what to expect, but at the end of our visit to the orphanage, I was just so grateful to donate just such little time to make the children feel so happy. To see a smile on their face was just so special and it was so heartfelt and sentimental. Our trip to the Cu Chi tunnels was another experience of its own. Learning about the conditions that the soldiers fought in during the war was mind blowing. I was so amazed by the intelligence of both the Vietnamese and American soldiers and their tactics to win the war. I am so grateful of what I have and the value of a smile. 

Photos: Vietnam Red standing on the foundations of the house they are about to build with the family who are going to live in it; and on the boat to our village. A boat is the only way in or out of this area. 

+ Some more photos from the orphanage yesterday. 

Vietnam Red- due back on the airwaves soon.

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Dear families of RED group,

Whilst they have been busy building in the Mekong Delta  without Internet access we have all missed them!

The group return to Ho Chi Mihn city for a stop over tonight.

They will fill us in of their time in the village late tonight or tomorrow morning. I, like you look forward to hearing all about the wonderful and cultural service learning experience they have shared in the mighty Mekong!

 

Luisa Ingram