Days 8 and 9 from Changsha

Day 8 Sunday: By Sunday everyone was back in town. Many people met up at the University Hotel to share stories, but for the teachers, the most memorable part of this day was when Coach Pablo locked himself out of his apartment and Mr. Cosgrove and Coach Pablo had to take down the bars covering one of the windows to break back in!


Day 9 - Monday: Today was the first day of school and what a welcome had been prepared for us! Replete with third grade tango dancers and the school band, we were honoured at the official flag raising ceremony and many gifts were exchanged between our two schools. Our students were assigned to different classes although by the time the ceremony was over, there was only about 45 minutes left until lunch. Every afternoon, special activities have been arranged for us. Today we were taken to a beautiful temple close to the school which was the original site of the primary school (which, along with the university, dates back over 1,000 years). From this temple, we hiked up the Yellow Mountain, through beautiful grounds, to an ancient Buddhist Temple on the top of the hill. The peace and tranquility was enjoyed by everyone and we were fortunate enough to arrive just in time to hear the monks start their evening rituals; the music was enchanting and for several people, this was one of their favorite things that they had seen so far. The children left with their host familes while the parents were invited to stay to enjoy a vegetarian meal made by the monks. Many of the dishes were designed to look and taste like meat and had we not been told beforehand, many of us would not have been able to tell the difference