Tuesday 19th June

I arrived at school this morning to lots of excited squeals from the grade 4 class, we went over the rules for the field trip and then at 9am we got on the coach and were on our way. It took about an hour to get there and it is a lot like an American summer camp. Think Butlins after its been abandoned for a few years and you get the idea. It would have been beautiful in it’s day but it obviously hasn’t been maintained very well over the years and looks a bit run down.

We were taken to our cabins on the opposite side of the ranch and let the kids settle in. Each cabin has two beds downstairs and two beds upstairs (or in some cases a double bed). There is an upstairs balcony and downstairs is the bathroom, sauna and Jacuzzi!! I managed to get a cabin for just me which I am really happy about and was just as excited as the kids looking round it.

At 11.30am we walked across the bridge over a lake and to the restaurant which is built to look like a boat (imagine the titanic on land) there we had a Chinese lunch which was OK. A lot of the western kids didn’t eat much, but they had been snacking on sweets and crisps since we got here so probably weren’t hungry anyway! After lunch we went back to the cabins and had an hour before swimming. I had just started getting changed into my swimming costume when two of the grade 4 boys burst into my cabin thinking it was theirs (they were next door) and caught me topless, I don’t know who was more embarrassed! Oh the shame!

At 1.30pm we set off for the indoor swimming pool which is on the opposite side of the ranch and a 15 minute walk away. It was really hot and the kids were all so excited, but when we got there it was a bit disappointing. The water was a bit dirty, there was lots of sand in it and the water was freezing! I just dangled my feet in the water and after a few minutes my feet felt numb it was that cold! After only 10 minutes a lot of the girls were too cold and wanted to go back to the cabins so I walked back with them.  The boys weren’t far behind and we had more free time. I played cards with some of the girls and then at 4pm we went for a game of football. After the game we had even more free time until the BBQ dinner at 6pm. It wasn’t really a BBQ, there were only chicken skewers that were barbecued. After dinner the children could play pool or table football and then we went back to the cabins where the girls were having a “girls only party”.  This turned into a massive girls vs boys pillow fight which went on for ages, then as I was checking the rooms I found that it had evolved into a wrestling match, with students taking it in turns to take on each other and wrestle the other person to the floor and hold them there for ten seconds on one of the mattresses.

By 8.30pm most people had drifted back to their own rooms and were getting ready for bed on their own without having to be told, this I was not expecting! It didn’t last though, lights out was at 9pm and all night we were having to tell kids to go back to their rooms as they were playing outside!