the ASPect - American School of Paris

8/student experience
Day 7 - Linyi Countryside
By Sabrine and Catherine
This morning we were on our way to Taiping Junior Middle School. First
we looked at an exhibition of students’ artwork; it was amazing to see how
talented they are. Then we joined the students with their daily exercises;
everyone got really into it and it was a lot of fun! Once we were pumped up, our class got
together to plant two friendship trees near the front of the school.
Then we separated into three groups and each group went to a classroom full of smiling
students, which overwhelmed us with gifts. We spent quite a bit of time with them answering
questions, teaching them some French and playing games. Their eyes lit up when we entered
the room. We really appreciate the kindness and are thankful for their way of welcoming us with
such open arms.
After lunch we went to a spa! We had a very fun time. We enjoyed the large swimming pool with
slides, underwater-massage seats and hot tubs.
Once we were all freshened up and we took the bus to Number 23 Middle School where we met
students who were around 16-17 years old. As usual they were extremely kind and excited to
meet us, and quite a few students had the most fun, out of all the schools that we visited here.
We joined them in their afternoon exercises, which were more complex and harder to follow
than they were at the previous school. There were over 3000 students on the field. Then we
distributed ourselves into pairs and spoke to classes of about 55 people, all curious to get to
know us.
Day 8 - Linyi to Xi’an
By Mauro and Trevor
Mr. Lynn referred to this day as our ‘recharging’ day which it indeed was.
Day 9 - Xi’an
By Michael, Rob and Max
Today we visited one of, if not the most significant archaeological findings of the 20th century,
the Terracotta Warriors.
Before stepping into the hanger where the soldiers were kept unearthed, we watched a short
film on the history and walked around an exhibit on the history. Stepping into the hanger, we
closed our eyes and opened them once we were inside. Once our eyes opened we fell upon
the beauty of the Terracotta figures before us, all else was forgotten. All that we could think of
was the beauty of these mute, yet fierce soldiers and how human hands can make things of
such beauty. We learned that every single soldier had different facial features, and that each
soldier was an archer, infantryman, low ranking officer, high ranking officer or a cavalryman.
We then went on to learn the history. We even had a chance to meet the man who discovered
of the first soldier in 1974, a farmer who was digging a well.
After lunch we visited the Xi’an Muslim/​Silk Market, part of the old Silk Road which stretches
from Xi’an to Istanbul, Turkey.
Day 10 – Beijing
By Amelie and Ben
We set off to Tiananmen Square to
visit several impressive historical
sites including Mao’s Mausoleum, the
Forbidden Kingdom, and, of course,
Tiananmen Square itself. Tiananmen
Square is the biggest public square in the
world. As we walked around the square,
we realized how much we were being
watched - one lamp post had 7 cameras!
We waited in the line for Mao’s
Mausoleum for approximately 20
minutes, but the wait was definitely worth
it. Hundreds of flowers lined a cabinet to
commemorate Mao. There seemed to a
mixed feeling of both unspoken fear of
Mao and of pure admiration. We entered
the second room. And there was Mao.
He seemed to be resting so peacefully
that he could wake at any moment. He
was covered in a preserving wax, a bright
light shone on his entire body, and a flag
of a hammer and sickle covered his torso
and legs. He looked simply heavenly. An
uncomfortable silence hung in the air as
people stared in admiration or in shock
at the body of one of the most influential
men of the 20th Century.
After an hour a half visit we boarded
The Aspect - November 2010