Student comments 2003#

The visit to Baiwan has always turned out to be an extremely rewarding experience for IS students. The following are some comments written by Group 2003 at the end of the trip.

I felt that I had accomplished something every time I walked out of the classroom. The children were always smiling or looking at you as if you were from outer space! After seeing some of the villages and their living conditions it makes me more aware of other people in poor countries and it makes me want to help more.

We had rooms with spiders, cockroaches, mosquitoes and ants, had cold showers, had the same breakfast menu for 5 days, and had to walk many kilometers a day, but we couldn’t complain because we knew they were the best things we could have in this town. Looking at how primary students have to walk around 8 km a day, how they are eager to learn anything yet have poor education standard, and how they appreciate the small things like a balloon or a simple “hi” from us, we couldn’t help saying that we take too many things for granted. …they absorbed everything we told them…some of them started to develop some complicated movements and profound understanding in chess. … they refused to play outside even if the class was over.

In the secondary school we visited, we were shocked to see how the students voluntarily studied hard. They seemed to know instinctively that education was the only thing they had, and we felt ashamed…On the bus going back to HK, I miss the air, smell, dust of Baiwan, and those 20 innocent smiles and 40 sparkling eyes that always pleased us. … . I wish someone else better than us would be there to give them more insights and help.

Going to Baiwan was and will be one of the best experiences in life, which I’d trade for no other. The most important lesson I learnt through my stay is learning to be thankful. I never realized how blessed I was, until I saw almost everything that I considered basic being luxuries that the local people didn’t get. Though my tonsils are burning and are terribly sore, I am certain this is the best interim week ever in my life.