October 1 is Chinese National Day and it is called the Golden Week, because there are 7 days off. Chinese people will take this chance to go traveling. It is also a good chance for Keats School’s students to explore Chinese culture and scenery. They made plans before the holidays. This week all students resumed taking lessons at the school, and they were very excited to share their experience with the teachers and classmates.
During the Golden Week, Strawberry Music Festival 2014 was held in Dali. Several students went to this festival. One student who is from Israel said “I like music, especially the live music. So I won’t miss this music feast. Actually there are many music festivals in Kunming held each year. Many famous bands, some even were foreign bands preformed in Yunnan. I knew many good bands through these festivals.” He strongly recommended everyone to take advantage of these activities.
Many students chose to travel during the holidays. Some went to Chongqing – one of the hottest cities in China. Some went to Guilin and Yangshuo – impressive landscape. A student traveled to Jianshui – an ancient town which is famous for the largest Confucius temple in China.
Some students took the train while some took the plane. A German student told us it was the first time he took a train in China. He had an interesting trip and made a lot of new Chinese friends along the road. An American couple went to Xishuangbanna. The reason they traveled there was that they would like to know more about the unique minority – Dai people, and to try very delicious Dai flavored food. They had many wonderful experiences, such as visiting plant kingdom, talking with locals, and riding the elephant. They told us, the happiest thing for them this time was they were speaking Chinese all the way. They booked the hotels, ordered foods, asked directions, and so on in Chinese. It was a really good opportunity for them to practice Chinese in a real situation, and also they could find the weakness of their Chinese, so when they returned, they could practice more.
Around half Keats students stayed in Kunming during the Golden Week. Many of them still went to school for self study because they like Keats’ environment very much. There is wifi, free tea and a teacher available who can answer their study questions. They took this chance to review all things they had learned before. Although they didn’t go for a trip, they learned and practiced a lot.
All students shared their unforgettable experience and looked forward to future Chinese holidays as well.
