S P R I N G 2 0 1 6 / F ocus on E O T C
Out in the World Students reflect on No Boundaries New challenges in Gopeng, Malaysia I just chose the Gopeng, Malaysia, trip for the adventure—it looked fun. The trip advertised whitewater rafting, zip-lining, a high-ropes course and abseiling. It did not advertise the outhouses we used for bathrooms, the mosquito bites like chicken pox, or no wi-fi. And the dorm situation wasn’t exactly a five-star hotel. In the middle of our first night, one of my friends was returning from the outhouses, and broke the dorm door completely off its hinges. We all spent the whole night trying to fix it, but finally leaned the door against the doorway to avoid anyone noticing it broke. The next morning Mr. Kai Fong pushed open the door to wake us up. To his surprise, it came crashing down. We woke with a jolt, saw the flattened door and burst out laughing. Thankfully so did Mr. Kai Fong. Our whitewater-rafting trip delivered the adventure and the fun. The instructor driving the boat with five of us, decided to show off a little. We were still tired from the door incident, but he probably thought we were bored. He steered the raft sideways as we went down a rapid so we could surf the miniature waterfall. This did not go as planned. I was sitting on the edge of the boat when we bumped on a rock and I fell out. My friend next to me decided to laugh instead of grabbing my hand to keep me in the raft. But luckily, I caught him with my foot and pulled him into the water with me. I swallowed some of the river, but not my pride. Abseiling challenged us. Our group of 20 students and teachers started on top of a mountain cliff as high as Discovery College. We had to ease our way down to the ground while attached to a rope, our life literally hanging by a string. The five minutes it took for our feet to reach the safety grass below felt 10 times longer. But one of my friends froze a quarter of the way down and tried to go back up. The teachers on the cliff-top shouted down moral support to him, while the rest of us on the ground shouted up encouragement. He conquered his fear and landed safely on the ground, probably just to shut us all up. We will always remember our Malaysia trip, because without it we wouldn’t have crashed through doors, surfed mini waterfalls, triumphed over our fear of heights, seen giant butterflies, drove around in the back of a pickup truck, played football with orphans, or pulled off leaches from our ankles while hiking. No Boundaries proved to be an amazing experience for me and every other Year 10 student. Not only did we see a different part of the world and meet people from a different culture, but we also had some outrageous fun. Brendan Tighe Year 10 Student
A cycling journey in Fujian “Right foot, left foot. Repeat. Don’t fall over!” This was the message repeating in my head as I cycled, like a broken radio. Never in my life have I ever been both so exhausted yet happy, as I was during my trip to Fujian for No Boundaries. A 5-day, 100km+ cycling trip was never something I had planned to do before this. It was very nerve-racking leading up to the day we left Hong Kong, but was incredibly rewarding as we cycled through fields and mountains admiring the picturesque scenery. It opened my eyes and gave me a chance to take a break and appreciate the nature around us. Cycling approximately 25km every day, we restored our energy through multiple bowls of rice and fragrant traditional Chinese dishes, such as braised pork (扣肉), Dongjiang salt-baked chicken (东江盐焗鸡), rou jia mo (肉夹馍) and much more. As our route was along rural Guangdong and Fujian, we stayed in a different hotel every night, including a night’s stay in a traditional Hakka house. More commonly known as a Tulou, we were given the chance to meet with the residents there and explore the area. We also had the opportunity to work with the children at a local school in Fujian, where we did an activity day, teaching origami, playing card games, and making hand-paintings and coloured in photos of Hong Kong. Seeing them learning English and smiling from ear to ear was such an gratifying experience. Sitting on the bus travelling back to Hong Kong, I felt invincible, with legs of steel. This entire trip was unbelievably rewarding - great people and incredible experiences, what more could one ask for? I’ve made new friends, gained the skill of perseverance, and have learned that going down a long, winding hill is worth the tiresome ride up. Nicole Woo Year 10 Student
SHI JIE MAGAZINE / SPRING 2016
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