Day 2 — Tiring and excited!!

We woke bright and early and had another wonderful meal. We eagerly headed to Zhongyingzi Primary School where we were greeted with a happy school yard chant. Our objective at the school was to make a drive-way leading to the school building. We were supposed to dig 15cm deep and clear the area of rocks. As soon as work began, we knew it was going to be tough. Pick-axes and shovels came down on the hard earth. After about an hour an a half of digging, we realized that our method was ineffective and made plans to hire a mini bulldozer for the next day. After that, we spent time interacting with the primary school students and we thanked our helpers for their hard work. Mr. Lamont taught the students a couple of basketball moves and we all passed the ball for a little while. After that, we made plans to paint a wall to symbolize our friendship with the school. Our preliminary ideas include a Groton School Crest, the chapel, self-portraits and portraits of the students. It certainly will be exciting to see how that will turn out.
After that, we came back to the High School to enjoy lunch and then quickly headed to the bank to change some American money. The city was thriving. People were playing Mahjong in the streets and young workers and families bustled up and down the street. After returning from the bank, we started learning “yangge”, which is a very traditional dance in north-east China. The process was fun, and sometimes even tiring. Most of us got confused first but soon started to really get the dance. The dance class is really special and we all love it!.
After that, we enjoyed dinner and fresh fruit. Over dinner, we all decided to start eating dinner and possibly lunch with the students. It’s a great plan and we all can’t wait to interact with kids our age. So far, this trip has been a blast and we all can’t wait for what’s in store tomorrow.