Day 11 -- Making Change

Heidi Chan 3P (1)

Today was an exhilarating day filled with various activities. We had a lesson on making change and discussed how to make a difference in society. We presented ideas on this topic and finished our dream college after the lesson.

After lunch, we made our way to the YMCA. We went for high ropes, low ropes and some other challenging activities which required us to utilise communication skills fully and work as a team. My group mates and I enjoyed those activities a lot and we had a lot of fun.

We then prepared for culture night. My group was in charge of making Tang Yuan. We rolled the dough and wrapped the sesame paste with it. It was truly an unforgettable experience. The MCs of the programme introduced Hong Kong and delivered an interesting Cantonese lesson for the counselors. I will surely miss my experience here

Charlotte Chan 3A (2)

In the morning, we had a discussion about making change and how we can make the community a better place. I think that the video we watched is very inspiring. Irrespective of our social background, we can all make an effort to help the community and needy people through various ways, such as charity walk and clothes donations. No matter how big or small our actions are, good deeds can lead to positive changes in our society.

In the afternoon, we went to the YMCA outdoor centre and participated in exciting activities like high ropes. It was exhausting but a good experience in that we learnt to overcome our fear of heights and strengthen our team spirit. We then headed back for culture night. We made some delicious Chinese food together and bonded with each other. I feel delighted to have had the chance to share and spread Hong Kong culture with the counselors. Time flies and we have already come to the last few days of the trip. I will definitely miss my experience and the people here in Brescia and Canada.

Florence Poon 3L(27)

I have learnt a lot from participating in the High Ropes challenge at the YMCA today. The activity helped me break through my limits and encouraged me to take the first courageous step out of the comfort that I am accustomed to. Climbing the ropes to reach the top was surely a mental and physical challenge, for the ropes were not fixed, making the entire process harder. We did not only battle with exhaustion, but also felt the urge to give up. However, with our friends' continuous cheers and support, many of us gained the impetus to climb to the top.

Another activity that required a huge amount of communication involved two people who would climb up to a heightened balancing log. They had to communicate with each other in order to stand up, walk to the side and ring the bell atop. The two people had to be at the same walking pace for the log to be balanced, which is the most challenging part. I learnt to use the simplest wording to express my needs accurately so that there wouldn't be misunderstanding.

Nicole Yiu 3U (37)

The theme today is Making Change. Making changes in society is usually what motivates people to become leaders. To bring about positive changes, developing a profound understanding of social issues is necessary, so is setting goals for a team.

We also learnt about the concept of a servant leader. If a leader is open to suggestions, considerate about their members and allows members to fully utilize their abilities in group work, he or she is a servant leader. Such leaders can help a group to function at the highest efficiency.

In the afternoon, we did high and low ropes at YMCA. The high ropes challenge mostly aimed at pushing us out of our comfort zones, while the low ropes trained our teamwork. I think the rope ladder course was the most difficult because the ladder was not anchored to the ground and it swayed as I climbed. Some plastic and metal parts of the ladder were very hot from the sun’s heat, so it was very hard even to hold onto them for more than a few seconds. The height did not really bother me and neither did the process of climbing the rope ladder, but pulling the safety rope for the other teammates was the most exhausting. We had to hold on to the rope really tight to support the climber’s weight or else they would easily fall off. However, we were only able to take short water breaks in between climbers, so when we got to the third climber I felt like my fingers were falling off.

We finally had our Culture Night as it was pushed back by two days. It took about 3 hours for the food to be prepared but it was delicious. I helped with the entertainment PowerPoint and coloring the banner. With the hard work of all the campers, the Culture Night was a great success and it was a memorable event for both campers and counselors.

Kate Liu 3A (24)

In my opinion, today had to be the best day of our entire trip! This is mostly due to the fact that we got to go to the YMCA campsite where lots of fun activities were organized for us. The experience of climbing up extremely tall poles and high walls was very challenging for most of us, as we had to face physical challenges while overcoming mental blocks at the same time. Some of us were even reluctant to stand up straight on a pole high above the ground at first, but with the support and cheering from our friends, teachers, counselors and the staff there, we all managed to overcome our fears and had a lot of fun!

We also had culture night today, which is a memory that will stick with me even after we leave Brescia. My group cooked tang yuans while other groups cooked sweet and sour pork, vegetables, and scallion cake. The cooking process was very tiring, which made us treasure our chefs' hard work for the past two weeks a lot more, and I'm elated that all our hard work paid off, as the food all turned out very tasty!

Cassie Lui 3S (21)

Today is a very busy day!!! This morning, we had a lesson on making changes. We learnt that we should all do things and set goals for the future. For instances, we may  serve the community by donating money, joining charities, sharing what we have with others or helping those who are in need. There are indeed many ways to serve people, we just need to do our best to make a change! This afternoon, we set off to YMCA campsite for high ropes climbing. It was super fun! The high ropes course was challenging, especially the one like a seesaw in the air. I almost fainted when I climbed up to the top. But it was still enjoyable! I tried standing straight on the beam and it was really cool! I wasn’t scared anymore and felt proud of myself to be the first one in my group to stand on it! the experience is rewarding. I was glad that I took the courage to do it. This evening, we had our long-awaited “culture night”. It was fabulous! All of us participated in it and had an assigned role. I was responsible for cooking the sweet and sour pork. We faced challenges at first. There were diverse opinions between our group and the chef on how to cook the dish and we all  got confused. We went gloomy for a period. After some time, we figured out the best way to keep the cooking process efficient and effective. And we all got spirited again and started working hard! This dish was scrumptious! It’s better than expected. We were really glad to present this Hong Kong dish to our beloved councillors. The presentation and trivia session with the counsellors were also fun! They learnt more about the culture in Hong Kong and Cantonese! We supported them and cheered for them when they attempted to speak one of the most difficult languages in the world! I saw their happy faces and that made me feel relieved! To conclude, today was a really enjoyable day. I bet everyone enjoyed it a lot seeing so much cheeky faces and hearing multiple laughters, despite the scorching sun when we are in the woods.

Stephanie Ng 3S (22)

Today was the second last day of our study tour. In the morning, we had a lesson on making changes. We learnt that we should make changes in our life after noticing what we didn’t do well before. We then set off to the YMCA campsite for high ropes climbing after lunch. Through the event, we learnt that team spirit is very important and that we should respect each other and embrace one another especially when we were facing challenges and difficulties. Moreover, we learnt to step out of our comfort zone and to challenge ourselves. After the YMCA activity, we went back to Brescia University and prepared for the Culture Night. We cooperated well in order to make a variety of delicious food for the counsellors within a few hours. This was truly a wonderful day for us!

Joanne Hui 3T (14)

Today was an amazing day. In the morning, we had a lesson about making changes. It was really inspiring. In the afternoon, we went to the YMCA campsite for high ropes climbing. The courses were really challenging but we all managed to overcome the challenges. I realised that pushing myself out of my comfort zone was a hard. However, when stepping out of it, we will realise that the outside world was bigger and more fun. It would definitely open our eyes to a new world. Finally, at night, we had our long-awaited culture night. We had planned our recipes beforehand. We attempted a few Chinese dishes and cooked for our counsellors. The dinner turned out to be extremely successful, and all the counsellors loved it.

Karen Leung 3P (22)

Our theme of today was making changes. We first had our lesson on it and we brainstormed what we could do to serve the community. We presented our ideas to the class and received valuable feedback from others. I think it was a great opportunity for us to do some planning and actually do something for our community. We then did some preparations of the culture night and dinner for this evening. After lunch, we went to the YMCA campsite for high ropes climbing. We first played some games which really enhanced our communication skills and teamwork. We took the high ropes challenges. Although it was scary, it was a great chance for us to step out of our comfort zone. We then had our culture night dinner, we had a lot of fun cooking together as a team. The food tasted yummy and the entertainment were amazing. We had a great time today.

Day 10 -- Goal Setting

Abbie Hui 3P (11)

We focused on goal-setting today. We started off the day with a fitness session called bootcamp. It was surprisingly fun and relaxing and we enhanced our team spirit through the running race. Then, we made a dream collage by cutting out some desired strips from the magazines and affixing them onto a card. The experience is inspiring as we had a chance to figure out and reflect on our goals. Moreover, we had our lesson on goal setting, in which we learnt ‘SMART goals’, which stand for goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-based. This helped us set our goals more effectively.

In the afternoon, we went to the Kustermans Berry Farm. We were given the opportunity to pick strawberries, which were really sweet and huge. It was a memorable experience though the fiery sun was beaming on our faces. Moreover, we also enjoyed some of the park facilities there. There brought back some childhood memories of mine.

In the evening, we had pamper night. We watched a movie called ‘The Princess Bride’ and ate some cookies and ice cream. There was nail-polishing in the study corner. Although I did not experience it as I did not fancy it, I seemed quite intriguing to me.

Bella Kan 3L (14)

We had a fruitful day starting off with some morning exercises of barre style boot camp. First of all, we did some warm up exercises. After that, we are divided into two teams to compete in relay races. We ended the lesson with some stretching exercises to cool down ourselves. Then, we immediately headed to Ursuline Hall for the Dream Collage activity, which was about cutting from magazines some photos and meaningful phrases that best describe what one wants to achieve in the future and putting them on a card. After lunch, we visited the Kustermans Berry Farm. The most remarkable things I did were playing the zip line course and picking strawberries. I jumped out of my comfort zone by trying out the zip line. It was fun unexpectedly. Although the weather was very hot, we were very contented with the strawberries we picked. The day ended with the pamper night with a movie.

Our theme today was goal setting. During our lesson, we learnt to set goals by using an approach called SMART goal. With this, we are able to reach our targets efficiently and effectively. I am greatly inspired by this method of setting goals and will certainly try to apply it in my everyday life.

Zoe Wong 3L (36)

We started off the day with a workout with our instructor who’s also from Western University. She was extremely friendly and gave clear instructions. It was such a refreshing exercise to warm up our muscles for the rest of the day! Next, we moved on to making our unique dream collages. A dream collage is a collection of images of the achievements or goals that we wish to experience in reality, thus it shows lots of our aspirations and feelings towards life. I filled my board with inspirational quotes, pictures related to performing arts, nature and social harmony. I find that this activity was really meaningful to me as the board acts as a constant reminder of  my aspirations and core values of life even when I am feeling down. Later on, we went to the Kustermans Berry Farm. The farm is full of animals and recreational activities such as sheep, pigs, chickens, jumping pillows, racer rides and more. We went on a truck to get to the strawberry field. Through the process of picking berries, I now understood the hardships of the role of berry pickers. We had to go to lots of different rows of harvest just to find our ideal strawberries. It wasn’t easy as we were all under the burning heat of the sun, but we all persisted and enjoyed our time at the farm a lot.

Louisa Law 3U (26)

Today's theme was goal setting. Setting a goal is very important in life. Everyone, especially when working in a group, needs a goal or an objective to work towards. It provides motivation and direction for everyone to work.

For me, I usually use SMART criteria to set goals. The criteria are specific, measurable, assignable, realistic and time-related. It is a good way to set a goal as it can make sure our group can finish the work efficiently and nicely.

We went to the Kustermans Berry Farm in the afternoon. The farm is really huge. There are a lot of facilities for kids to play with and there are also animals like: goats, horses, etc. We picked a lot of sweet strawberries. However, it’s a bit disappointing as the raspberries and blueberries were still unripe so we couldn’t pick them.

Rachel Lin 3A (23)

In the morning, we joined a bootcamp. It wasn’t as tiring as jazzercise and having physical workout with my friends was fun.

Since today’s theme was goal setting, we all made a dream collage which was made of a board with pieces of magazine cuttings on it. For example, I wanted to be more active and fit in the future and to step out of my comfort zone by trying ice skating on a frozen pond some day, so I stuck an image of someone ice skating on the board. Also I’m actually really interested in black and white movies and photos and history.I would like to do more research and studies about the stories behind each of them, therefore, I stuck something historical from the national geographic magazine onto it. I will try my best to reach these goals with the help of S.M.A.R.T (specific; measurable; assignable; relevant; time-based).

After lunch, we went to the Kustermans Berry Farm. I love strawberries and it’s so amusing to pick them by myself. I learnt how to distinguish which one is rotten or safe to eat. In the free time, we went to play the trampoline and took some photos of the animals. They were so adorable! I thought I burnt many calories by actively participated in the activities today.

Charmaine Liu 3S (20)

We started off our day with fitness. It was very refreshing and fun! I sweated a lot and my thighs still ache. However, after all the exercise for about two weeks, I get sleepy less often. I also drank more water and felt healthier, which is brilliant!

In the afternoon we went to the Kustermans Berry Farm to pick strawberries, though the original plan was to pick blueberries. I was really looking forward to picking blueberries as I am keen on them. Still, the scent of strawberries is very enticing. The process of searching for ripe and fresh strawberries is hard and exhausting but the taste of strawberries made me think that the hard work pays off! I enjoyed it a lot. We also had a session of arts and crafts, making “dream collage”. We cut photos out from magazines and affixed them onto our cards. It was great fun!

Ronny Wong (36)

The theme today is goal setting. We started off the day with a fitness session called bootcamp. Although it was physically demanding and exhausting, we had so much amusement doing the exercises. Doing fitness not only allows us to ease off, but is also beneficial to our health. We were all in our element during the fitness lesson.

Next, we had a lesson about goal setting. I have learnt that our goals have to be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely if we are to achieve them successfully. Also, we did a craft called ‘Dream Collage’. We cut pictures from the magazines which represent our goals and affixed them onto a card.Through this activity, our goals and dreams have taken their shape.

In the afternoon, we went to the Kustermans Berry farm. Picking strawberries under the fiery sun was definitely tiring. However, the strawberries are unexpectedly sweet and delectable. It was such an intoxicating experience! Plus, the movie we watched at night was very engaging and the plot was exhilarating. We all enjoyed it and it was such a pleasure watching the movie!

Chloe Cheng 3T (3)

Today we had a ton of exciting activities. In the morning, we had boot camp. It was a vigorous exercise drill, but I had to sit it out because I got injured the other night. From what I heard, it was an extremely fun activity. In the afternoon, we went to Kustermans Berry Farm and each of us got to pick a pint of strawberries. The farm is very beautiful, with a children’s area and acres of farmland. However, I was mainly excited for pamper and movie night! Although the movie stopped playing halfway, I still enjoyed painting my nails with my friends and spending a fun-filled girls night together.

Keona Ma 3P (26)

Today, we had our fitness class taught by a student from Western University, followed by a visit to the Kustermans Berry Farm. We picked many organic strawberries there. The strawberries are so sweet and fresh. As we have not tried berry-picking before, we had a great experience there.

After that, we went back to Brescia and had a lesson on setting goals and made our “dream collage” as well. We cut pictures or words from magazines and affixed them onto a card. We set our future goals and wrote some words of encouragement to remind ourselves of our goals and the importance of striving for them. After dinner, we watched a movie called “The Princess Bride”. It is a fantastic movie and all of us enjoyed it.