Accompanied by Chinese teacher Lilly Zhang-Micco and Director of Student Activities, Toni Normand, students Isabel Yeoh, Mabel Cheng, Malia Libby, Aimee Pak, Kennedy Cambra-Cho, Angela Hesch, Nicole Turina and Tiffany Lau returned from a two-week trip to Fuzhou, China supported by the Trimble Foundation.
The Trimble Foundation, a strong supporter of the Academy and a generous donor of scholarships for Academy students each year, was the sponsor for the exchange program with Chinese students. The foundation wants Hawaii students to have the opportunity to meet Chinese students and vice versa.
After meeting their “big sisters” from Hwa Nan Women’s College, the Sacred Hearts students took a short trip to Wu Yi Mountain and Panda World from Oct. 25 to 26.
“We rode a train for about seven hours. It was long and tiring, but I was able to get some homework done,” said [Aimee] Pak. “We climbed Wu Yi Mountain. There was a total of 848 stairs! It was extremely tiring because the stairs were uneven and steep. Although the view was nice, I think once is enough.”
During the two days, students did bamboo rafting and went to the Provincial Museum.
“I was surprised that they had dinosaur fossils. It was all pretty fun, but it made me really tired. Nearly everyone fell asleep on the bus ride back,” said Libby.
“Later on that day, we went on a 1 1/2 hour long bamboo raft ride. The scenery was beautiful and we all had a lot of fun, even if we did get a little wet. We also went tea shopping in the evening,” said Cheng.
While visiting Wu Yi mountain, the group also went to see a theatrical show.
“Despite my limited knowledge of the Chinese language and the show being entirely in Chinese, the actors and actresses’ performances made the plot understandable and enjoyable,” said Cambra-Cho. “When we first arrived to the area where the show was being held the air was cold and crisp. By the end of the night I couldn’t feel my toes or fingertips. Overall, the show was fantastic and I would definitely love to see it again.”
The Academy students and Hwa Nan Women’s College participated in a Cultural Exchange day.
“We took the bus to visit Pingtan Experimental Primary School. We were being filmed for almost the entire time,” said Lau. “We were there with the Trimble family and sat in a panel to learn about the school and its history.”
“We did our whole lineup of songs including the one hula and our alma mater. I think it was nice how we did a cultural dance and then the Hwa Nan students did a cultural dance and played instruments,” said Turina.
Although the group experienced a 6.6 earthquake, their adventures continued.
“We went to Quanzhou, another neighboring town in the Fujian province. There, we went to a museum, a Shaolin temple and another temple,” said Turina. “I liked seeing the temples because they’re so beautifully built. The intricacy of the carvings and the scent of incense do set the mood of a temple.”
Through the trip to Fuzhou, students and adults had the opportunity to be fully immersed in the Chinese culture.
Yeoh said, “I think that this entire experience has been amazing and educational in every way. I loved living at Hwa Nan College and am grateful for everyone who contributed to put into this trip to Fu Zhou, starting way before we even turned our application forms in.”
“This trip has shown me a perspective that isn’t from my own country. My opinions from before have changed and I feel like I’ve grown a little as a person. Many thanks to the Trimbles, our teachers and our big sisters here in China!” said Turina.
